According to the bill report released late Wednesday, the Senate's version of the legislation would have completely barred the Pentagon from requiring members of the armed services or Department of Defense (DOD) civilian employees to list their preferred gender pronouns in any official communications. However, despite the GOP's support for efforts to remove gender ideology from the military, the final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets the DOD budget for fiscal year 2024, modified the amendment to make it clear that the secretary of defense cannot forbid the action.
"A member of the armed services or a civilian employee of the Department of Defense may not be required by the Secretary of Defense to identify their gender or personal pronouns in any
Proposals in the House version of the NDAA that would have prevented the Pentagon from supporting travel for abortions or treatments for transgender troops were also removed from the bill, which is expected to become law.
According to a copy of the bill, the House version of the bill enacted in July also nullified the Pentagon's abortion travel coverage policy and prohibited military insurance from paying for gender-transition hormone therapies and sex reassignment surgery. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2024 was not amended by Republicans in the Democratic-controlled Senate to include comparable provisions. This created an environment in which Republicans in the conference committee would be under pressure to yield while the two chambers worked out the final law.
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