On Tuesday, Breitbart posted an article about the Republican-controlled House’s version of 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. The bill has a number of provisions that the Biden administration opposes.
The article reports:
“The Administration strongly opposes the House’s sweeping attempts…to eliminate the Department’s longstanding [Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access] efforts and related initiatives to promote a cohesive and inclusive force,” the Biden administration said in a Statement of Administration Policy.
It seems to me that promotions based on merit promote a more cohesive and inclusive force. If people understand that they will be rewarded for their hard work, they are inclined to work harder. If someone knows that they will not get a promotion because they are the wrong color or the wrong sexual orientation, their attitude will reflect that knowledge.
The article continues:
The Biden administration specifically said it opposed Section 364, which would prohibit the defense secretary from appointing or employing a military or civilian employee whose duties include diversity, equity, and inclusion with a rank or grade above O-2 (military) or GS-10 (civilian).
It also said it opposed Section 523, which required the Department of Defense to issue policy that all military accessions, assignments, selections, or promotions must adhere to merit-based principles and that quotas are prohibited.
Those particular provisions were authored by Navy veteran and Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee Chairman Jim Banks (R-IN), who told Breitbart News in a statement:
It’s incredibly dangerous that the Biden administration is opposed to merit based promotions. When our service members are in life or death situations, we need the best leaders, period.
The Biden administration also said in its statement that it opposed two other of Banks’ provisions, Sections 525 and 526.
Section 525 would prohibit punishment of service members based solely on refusal to receive COVID-19 vaccines and authorizes the reinstatement of individuals discharged for vaccine refusal.
Section 526 directs the military services’ Boards of Correction to prioritize requests to review the narrative reasons of discharge and re-entry codes of veterans for service members discharged for refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Please follow the link and read the rest of the article. Actually, I think the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act sounds pretty good.