The House of Representatives continue to churn through the Appropriations process with yesterday’s passage of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 4016). In the bill, the House advanced several pro-family wins that refocuses our military on defense and strategic investments, rather than woke ideological battles.
Ideologically captured political leaders have a history of misappropriating defense spending to further radical social goals that, in turn, weaken national security. For example, former President Joe Biden long championed using defense dollars to provide free travel for members of the military seeking abortions.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) created waves in the Senate last Congress by exposing this illegal policy and fighting it at every turn. He wrote, “The Pentagon should be on the cutting edge of technology and readiness, not a classroom propagating indoctrination. And let me tell you – abortion will NEVER make our military stronger or our country safer.”
The Hyde Amendment explicitly prohibits forcing taxpayers to pay for others’ abortions, and President Trump clarified the Amendment’s scope, which includes abortion related expenses, through an executive order. The defense appropriations bill will ensure these protections as it relates to military funding.
The federal government’s era of wielding taxpayer dollars to violate citizens’ consciences is clearly coming to an end, and that rings true beyond abortion. The bill also protects taxpayers from having to finance sex-trait modification procedures, which is another priority President Trump set via executive order earlier this year. The Pentagon also has a storied history of drag shows and vaccine mandates, both of which are now explicitly prohibited.
The House additionally included prohibitions on federal censorship in the military with explicit protections for those who advocate for traditional marriage. Military families sacrifice every day to protect our country’s freedom, and they deserve to enjoy that freedom to the utmost degree.
Under the previous tenure, the Department of Defense (DoD) flaunted divisive and taunting messages from their Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts that undermined the strength and unity our opponents fear. This included new DEI military officials, quotas for hiring and promotion, and thwarting standards and expectations in the name of “equity.” Related DEI programming and materials were to be considered “core competency.”
This is not just distracting, it’s expensive and dangerous. In 2024, the Pentagon requested over $100 million taxpayer dollars for DEI related projects, growing what Arizona State University’s report called a “vast DEI bureaucracy.” Scholar J.A. Cauthen continues that this waste could profit our enemies;
Cohesion, unity of purpose, and duty to a higher cause are foundational to American military superiority. DEI seeks to undermine these crucial traits through the binary of oppressed and oppressor. If this becomes the underlying organizing principle of the military through DEI-centric education and training, then our enemies will have gained a valuable advantage over our armed forces in a future conflict.
But a new day has dawned. Rather than financing initiatives that weaken our defense and threaten our homeland stability, new leadership has redirected these previously misappropriated funds towards military superiority.
H.R. 4016 invests:
- $13 billion towards missile and space program development in support of the U.S. Golden Dome effort
- $1.15 billion to combatting international drug trafficking
- $500 million in the Israeli Cooperative Missile Defense Programs (Iron Dome and others)
- $122.5 million towards U.S.-Israel cooperative development programs
- And more
The bill additionally honors the men and women who serve with a 3.8% base pay increase.
Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee is proud to see the House of Representatives put Americans first by rightly respecting military families and hardworking taxpayers. The FY26 Defense appropriations bill reclaims the attitudes and purpose of the world’s most prestigious defense operation and prioritizes readiness, rather than ideology.
