Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer offered Wednesday to hold a vote on an amendment that would repeal the military’s policy of paying travel expenses for troops and their families to receive reproductive care, including for abortions.
The Pentagon policy over reproductive care and abortions is at the center of Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) blockade of over 275 military officer confirmations.
“The bottom line is that if he wants to have an affirmative vote, we would not object to it,” Schumer (D-NY) said during a press conference Wednesday. “Tuberville said he wanted a vote, we’ll see what happens.”
Tuberville has called on the Pentagon to reverse its abortion policy and he has insisted that Democrats hold a vote to codify the policy into law if they want it to remain in place.
Democrats expect that a vote on an amendment repealing the policy would fail in the Senate, according to Politico.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer argued that Republican leadership will ultimately need to pressure Sen. Tommy Tuberville to end his boycott. Getty Images
Tuberville’s office told The Post Wednesday that Schumer’s proposal alone will not end his hold on military promotions. Getty Images
The amendment vote would likely be attached to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act, which the Senate hopes to pass before the August recess.
Schumer’s offer, however, would not be enough to end the former Auburn University football coach’s protest, according to his office.
“Coach welcomes a vote but a vote alone would not be enough for him to drop his hold,” Tuberville’s communications director Steven Stafford told The Post.
In June, the Alabama Republican indicated that he wouldn’t want to use the annual defense spending bill to try to reverse the Pentagon’s abortion policy, instead favoring a standalone bill on the matter.
“Let’s vote on a standalone [bill]. I don’t want to mess around with NDAA,” Tuberville told reporters.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Monday made an impassioned speech defending the Pentagon’s policies, arguing that rescinding it would harm recruitment efforts.
“One in five members of the US military are women,” Kirby said. “We’re an all-volunteer force … When you sign up and when you make that contract, you have every right to expect that organization – in this case, the military – is going to take care of you, is going to take care of your family.”
The Pentagon reimburses travel expenses for service members that seek out abortions. Getty Images
Tuberville’s protest began in March. AP
Kirby told reporters that denying women and female dependents access to abortion and other reproductive care risks military readiness by discouraging individuals who need such care from enlisting or remaining in the armed services.
He also explained that service members have little say in where they are stationed, which may result in troops and their families living in states that have severely restricted or outlawed abortion.
Tuberville’s protest, which began in March, has stalled military promotions and has caused the Pentagon to leave some leadership roles vacant.
If the senator’s boycott drags on, it could lead to a spot on the Joint Chiefs of Staff being left unfilled, as Joint Chief of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley is set to retire this fall.
Schumer argued that it’s up to top Republicans to pressure Tuberville into ending the boycott.
“It’s up to Republican leadership,” the New York Democrat said. “This is a problem that they have in their caucus, that they have with the country. They are risking our security, and it’s up to them to fix it.”
Schumer willing to vote on Pentagon abortion policy in effort to end Tuberville’s hold on military promotions
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