Valerie Foushee

12/10/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/10/2025 18:40

Rep. Foushee’s Statement on Voting Against National Defense Authorization Act

WASHINGTON, DC (December 10, 2025) - Today, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04) released the following statement after voting against the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026.

"Today, I voted against the National Defense Authorization Act because it falls short of what our servicemembers and the American military truly deserve. Our national defense should focus on strengthening and investing in our armed forces, and should not include provisions that unfairly exclude or marginalize individuals who are willing to serve our nation in uniform. Furthermore, this bill prioritizes massive spending on Trump's partisan militarized priorities, while omitting essential support programs for servicemembers and their families.

"I am, however, thankful that the NDAA includes long-overdue federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, a measure I have supported for many years. While I voted against the passage of this legislation in order to uphold fairness and support for our servicemembers, I am pleased that the over 60,000 Lumbee Tribe members in our state will finally be able to access the federal benefits and resources they rightfully deserve."


Specifically, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 would:

  • Authorize the largest giveaway to the military industrial complex in U.S. history.

  • When adding this to the $156 billion for defense in Trump's One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, total military spending is on track to top $1 trillion in FY26 with 54% of that spending going to military contractors.

  • Invest in Trump priorities like troops and military contractors at the southwest border and the ill-conceived Golden Dome missile-defense system, a $151 billion military-contractor bonanza.

  • Continue to allow Trump's unconstitutional uses and abuses of U.S. military force.

  • Double-down on the GOP's efforts to expand war-making capacity, including against our communities, while undercutting working families, veterans, and the social safety net that those communities rely on.

  • This comes just months after Republicans passed Trump's One Big, Beautiful Bill Act which strips 14 million Americans of their healthcare, and cuts food assistance from 11 million individuals.

  • Prevent collection of gender identity data by the Department of Defense.

  • Ban trans facilities at military facilities and the waving of the Pride flag at Department of Defense facilities.

  • Strip access to medically-necessary healthcare for transgender servicemembers and dependents, including mental healthcare for young trans people.

The full bill text can be found here.

Valerie Foushee published this content on December 10, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on December 11, 2025 at 00:40 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]