Press Releases
Webster: Safeguarding Americans’ Liberty is Paramount
December 14, 2023
Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the FY24 NDAA Conference Report. Earlier this year, Congressman Daniel Webster, R-Clermont voted to pass H.R.2670, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, calling it ‘the one of the most conservative and commonsense defense bills Congress has developed in years.’ Many of those conservative policies were not included in the final Conference Report.
“I take seriously my Constitutional duty to provide for our common defense, but I am unable to support this year’s NDAA because I could not vote for legislation that perpetuates undermining Americans’ personal liberties and allows the DoD to continue violating federal law and use our troops to promote a far-left social agenda,” said Rep. Daniel Webster. “I am also incredibly disappointed that our bipartisan Coast Guard Authorization Act was left out of this year’s NDAA. This is critical legislation to ensure the United States Coast Guard has the resources they need to fulfill their national defense mission to protect our coasts, secure maritime trade by protecting our ports and waterways, respond to emergencies and disasters, and more.”
In September, Rep. Webster was named to the NDAA Conference Committee, but today’s conference report was developed behind closed doors without the involvement of the conferees. During these negotiations, conservative policies in H.R. 2670 were removed and a clean authorization of the FISA program was added.
Webster further commented, “I support increasing servicemembers pay and am pleased this bill invests in military readiness to counter Communist China’s aggression and authorizes the Maritime Administration while banning Critical Race Theory and Drag Shows in the military. However, the conference report allows the DoD to continue ignoring federal prohibitions against taxpayer dollars covering costs related to abortions. Furthermore, it extends the FISA government surveillance program without any reforms. Safeguarding American citizens’ personal liberty is a priority of mine and I’ve been a consistent voice for Congress to institute strong safeguards when reauthorizing FISA.”
“I take seriously my Constitutional duty to provide for our common defense, but I am unable to support this year’s NDAA because I could not vote for legislation that perpetuates undermining Americans’ personal liberties and allows the DoD to continue violating federal law and use our troops to promote a far-left social agenda,” said Rep. Daniel Webster. “I am also incredibly disappointed that our bipartisan Coast Guard Authorization Act was left out of this year’s NDAA. This is critical legislation to ensure the United States Coast Guard has the resources they need to fulfill their national defense mission to protect our coasts, secure maritime trade by protecting our ports and waterways, respond to emergencies and disasters, and more.”
In September, Rep. Webster was named to the NDAA Conference Committee, but today’s conference report was developed behind closed doors without the involvement of the conferees. During these negotiations, conservative policies in H.R. 2670 were removed and a clean authorization of the FISA program was added.
Webster further commented, “I support increasing servicemembers pay and am pleased this bill invests in military readiness to counter Communist China’s aggression and authorizes the Maritime Administration while banning Critical Race Theory and Drag Shows in the military. However, the conference report allows the DoD to continue ignoring federal prohibitions against taxpayer dollars covering costs related to abortions. Furthermore, it extends the FISA government surveillance program without any reforms. Safeguarding American citizens’ personal liberty is a priority of mine and I’ve been a consistent voice for Congress to institute strong safeguards when reauthorizing FISA.”
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