Military Families Urge An End To Senator's Hold On Pentagon Appointments
Consider This from NPR
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4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 7 August 2023
⏱️ 15 minutes
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Summary
Senator Tommy Tuberville says he's doing it to take a stand against a Defense Department policy that reimburses travel expenses for military personnel who have to leave their states to get an abortion or other reproductive care.
Tonya Murphy is a military spouse who went to Capitol Hill to hand deliver a petition signed by hundreds calling on lawmakers to stop the impasse. She explains how this political standoff is impacting military families.
And NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman gives us the big picture overview of how all of this is affecting the Pentagon and, potentially, national security.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | How much power does a single Senator have? |
| 0:10.1 | A growing cascade of damage and disruption, all because one Senator Malabama and 48 Republicans |
| 0:16.4 | refused to stand up to him. |
| 0:18.3 | That is President Biden speaking out against Senator Tommy Tupperville, Alabama Republican |
| 0:24.2 | who is using his power to single-handedly hold up hundreds of military promotions and |
| 0:29.7 | appointments. |
| 0:30.9 | The Senator says he's taking a stand against a Defense Department policy on abortion. |
| 0:36.3 | It reimburses travel expenses for military personnel who have to leave their states to |
| 0:41.2 | get an abortion or other reproductive care. |
| 0:44.4 | Democrats say my hold is unprecedented. |
| 0:46.9 | Well, I will say this, their abortion policy is unprecedented. |
| 0:51.6 | We are here to make the law, not the Pentagon. |
| 0:55.0 | In Secretary Lloyd Austin put the Pentagon policy into effect last fall to ensure all |
| 1:00.7 | troops have access to reproductive health care after the Supreme Court overturned the |
| 1:05.8 | nationwide right to abortion. |
| 1:08.2 | Austin says lack of this care would interfere with the military's ability to recruit, retain, |
| 1:14.4 | and, quote, maintain the readiness of a highly qualified force. |
| 1:18.4 | Tupperville says he has not been given evidence that abortion access improves readiness. |
| 1:23.5 | This is a taxpayer-funded abortion that nobody, and I mean nobody voted for in this building |
| 1:28.5 | or the other end of the building. |
| 1:30.3 | Since February, when the Senator began his protest more than 300 high-ranking military |
| 1:36.2 | promotions have stalled, he has objected every time Democrats try to call up nominations |
... |
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