Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Vice Chairman of the House Rules Committee, released the following statement after voting to pass the H.R. 2670 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (NDAA).

“The Constitution is clear that one of the main responsibilities of Congress is to provide for the common defense. While no bill is perfect, the NDAA provides the framework to roll back the harmful partisan policies this administration has forced on our military,” Burgess said. “This legislation rejects the indoctrination of our military by eliminating critical race theory training and Green New Deal initiatives. Further, it protects servicemembers who decided not to take the COVID-19 vaccine and provides a path back to the military for those who were unfairly discharged for not getting vaccinated.

“The debt of gratitude we owe our service men and women can never be fully repaid but providing the most significant pay raise for our troops in over twenty years is a laudable first step. With the passage of this legislation, America’s elected representatives have spoken with a unified, bipartisan voice and demonstrated that Congress will always provide our warfighters with the weapons and material support to achieve total victory.

“Most importantly, this legislation continues to counteract the emerging threat from China and the Chinese Communist Party’s continued belligerence and hostile posture towards America’s allies in Asia and the Pacific. My commitment to our troops remains unwavering, and I will continue to fight to ensure that the core responsibility of our military institutions remains the provisioning and preparation for our Nation’s common defense and not to be warped into a vehicle for radicals to implement and disseminate radical race and gender ideology among our troops.”