Barksdale troops get big raise in House, but culture war amendments may doom bill

A House defense bill that includes the largest raises for troops in more than two decades and millions in projects for Barksdale Air Force Base and Fort Johnson could be doomed after Freedom Caucus Republicans inserted controversial culture war restrictions on abortion and gender affirming care for transgender service members.

Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson of Benton, Louisiana's only member on the Armed Services Committee, hailed Friday's passage of the annual defense spending bill as "the strongest, most strategic and most conservative NDAA I’ve had the pleasure of working on and voting for during my time in Congress."

But New Orleans U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, Louisiana's only Democrat in Congress, said "the current version of the NDAA has been overtaken by extreme MAGA Republicans looking to further their own dangerous agenda."

The annual defense bill is usually passed by a largely bipartisan margin, but Friday's passage came largely along party lines on a 219-210 vote after amendments to ban Pentagon spending on abortion and transgender surgeries were passed.

Lafayette Republican Congressman Clay Higgins is a member of the House Freedom Caucus.

"We're pushing back against the very liberal agenda that the Biden administration and four years of Democrat majority in the House has forced upon America," Higgins said.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" the House version of the bill has no chance of making it to President Joe Biden's desk.

Instead, Sullivan said he expects the coming Senate version of the bill to be melded with the House measure and that the two chambers will reach a bipartisan agreement on the final legislation.

Johnson, whose 4th District includes Barksdale in northwestern Louisiana and Fort Johnson in central Louisiana, defended the House amendments.

"Our soldiers shouldn’t be burdened with undue politicization from the Biden administration and far left indoctrination," Johnson said in a statement.

In the House version of the bill, troops would receive a 5.2% raise in basic pay, the largest bump in more than 20 years.

Among the funding for projects at Barksdale and Fort Johnson are:

∎ $112 million to continue building a weapons generation facility that will enable Barksdale to become a nuclear weapons U.S. Air Force base;

∎ $7 million for the 307^th Bomb Wing Medical Facility Expansion at Barksdale;

∎ $13.4 million for a new multipurpose athletic field at Fort Johnson.

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Barksdale troops set for big raise, but culture war may doom House bill