Penna Dexter

It looks like we’ll end the year with a final defense bill that provides more money for military and defense operations than requested by the administration. It’s normal, in December to find lawmakers working hard to get the National Defense Authorization Act, the NDAA, finalized and to the president’s desk. There are lots of pieces and parts to this bill and members of the conference committee appointed to reconcile the House and Senate versions had their work cut out for them. The bill that came out of conference included some very good news: America’s daughters will not have to sign up for the Selective Service. This means, that should we ever institute the draft, women will not be included. Back in 2015 the Department of Defense issued a directive requiring all military roles be opened to women and directed that women are eligible to serve in combat. When a presidential administration issues an order, sometimes Congress takes the opportunity to enshrine it into law. That’s how much of the social engineering that’s taken place in the military has become entrenched. When the House of Representatives debated including legislation that would implement this directive in the NDAA, opponents named it the “Draft Our Daughters Act.” House members wisely voted it down. But the Senate included a ”Draft Our Daughters” provision in their version of the NDAA. Wisely, the conference committee took it out. The disappointing news is that lawmakers stripped language out of the final conference bill that would have protected the religious liberty of military contractors. This was an amendment the House had passed that would have allowed the Defense Department to continue working with religious corporations, associations, and educational institutions for services without those organizations having to jettison their religious beliefs. Religious groups are often uniquely qualified to work as partners with the military in functions like serving refugees, veterans, and children. But, according to a 2014 presidential executive order, the hiring practices of all military contractors must protect sexual orientation and gender identity. So contractors that have conduct standards concerning marriage, sexual behavior, bathroom policies would be ineligible to work in partnership with the U.S. military. Oklahoma Congressman Steve Russell introduced an amendment to prevent the administration from severing contracts and pulling funding from faith-based service providers just because their staffing policies line up with their faith principles. Opponents argue that this language would give Christian businesses and organizations the right to “discriminate” based on sexual orientation and gender identity. They won the day. The Senate did not pass the Russell Amendment and the conference committee did not include this language in the final bill. Faith-based groups should not be excluded from partnering with the federal government just because they oppose an extreme sexual ideology. Congress should try again, early in its next session, to find an opportunity to tighten religious liberty protections and create a level playing field for religious contractors.