Senate Democrats rejected a number of additions to the $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act suggested by Republican lawmakers on Wednesday. Among the amendments were a motion to reinstate unvaccinated military personnel and a proposal to create an exclusive office to audit American aid to Ukraine — neither of which gathered the 60 votes required to pass.
The amendment proposed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz would have allowed the nearly 8,400 servicemembers discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine to return to duty. The motion failed 46 to 53, with every Democrat voting against it.
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“This shouldn’t be controversial. The military is struggling with recruitment, yet it kicked out over 8,400 servicemembers over Biden’s vaccine mandate,” Cruz tweeted after the vote. “We must right this wrong. I will continue to fight until this bill becomes law and we deliver justice for wrongfully dismissed servicemembers.”
Tonight the Senate voted on one of my amendments to the NDAA — the AMERICANS Act. Democrats blocked this crucial legislation.
This amendment would have allowed servicemembers who were dismissed over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate to be reinstated or have their discharge status… pic.twitter.com/0Cu99SdpBw
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) July 27, 2023
The other notable amendment rejected during the Wednesday night session was the proposal from Republican Senators Josh Hawley, James Risch, Roger Wicker, and John Kennedy, which would have seen greater oversight for American aid payments to Ukraine. Had the bill passed, $10 million from the NDAA budget would have been diverted towards establishing a 30-man committee to audit future aid packages, ensuring transparency and accountability. Since the Russian invasion began in 2022, the US has sent more than $100 billion to the Ukrainian government.
However, this amendment likewise failed to reach the required three-fifths support, falling short with a vote of 51 to 48. “Whether or not you support additional aid to Ukraine — and I don’t — rigorous oversight of what we’ve already provided is common-sense,” Hawley told Fox News on Thursday.
Deliberations on the Senate version of the NDAA will resume this coming Thursday ahead of the August recess. When sessions resume later this year, the Senate and House versions of the bill will be reconciled into a single piece of legislation. The Republican-controlled House passed its own version of the bill earlier this month.
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