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Thursday, March 28, 2024 - 05:30 PM

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

First Published in 1994

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

Amidst the impeachment sham, the House and Senate recently passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020S. 1790 (NDAA). This past July, House Republicans overwhelmingly voted against the Democratic-backed legislation.

The July NDAA authorized about $733 billion for fiscal year 2020 which is $17 billion below the amount the President requested in his budget proposal and $17 billion more than enacted in fiscal year 2018. Additionally, this version of the NDAA Reauthorization included many anti-family provisions. Among these are access to emergency contraception, or abortifacients, for sexual assault survivors and SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity) language, which attempted to use the military as a tool to redefine gender.

Specifically, Congresswoman Jackie Speier’s amendment made broad steps to force acceptance of the LGBTQ agenda. Not only did the Speier amendment completely undermine the Trump/Mattis Policy provision allowing a mentally-stable person with gender dysphoria to serve in the military only under their biological sex, but it also affirmed that Congress believes gender is something that can be chosen on personal whim, not through DNA.

Thankfully, the NDAA, which was signed into law this past week, is a much better piece of legislation than its predecessor. Some highlights of the legislation include about $738 billion in defense funding, no restrictions on the President’s ability to secure the border, and the removal of the Speier amendment.

Unfortunately, there is a huge democratic win tucked into the bill. The NDAA provides for up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for federal government personnel. Paid family leave has been an initiative of Ivanka Trump. She said:

“As the country’s largest employer, the United States government must lead by example. After three years of relentless advocacy, the passage of the NDAA will secure Paid Parental Leave for all federal employees. This will mark a HUGE step forward towards making paid leave a reality for all Americans…”

Phyllis Schlafly wisely cautioned against the appeal of paid family leave and its ability to surely create another entitlement program dependent on taxpayers. The United States national debt is about $23 trillion and Congress continues to pass spending bills that increase that amount. The Heritage Foundation has estimated that this proposal would add a conservative estimate of $9-12 billion to our national debt per year, creating a quicker timeline of the Social Security program’s depletion. This puts our economy at extreme risk of instability.

Instead of creating this new entitlement program, Congress should learn to balance the budget and enact policies that support and foster a healthy economy. When this is done, employers will have the financial flexibility to provide flexible benefits to their employees. Eagle Forum will continue to caution against paid family leave and the expansion of the federal government.

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