President Joe Biden issued statements of administration policy Monday on two House Republican spending bills that also seek to address culture war-related issues.
The first one, annual appropriations for the Department of Defense's military construction program, the Department of Veteran Affairs, and related agencies, reverse the Pentagon's controversial abortion policy.
Female service members are currently able to obtain an abortion on military installations across the country, as well as receive reimbursement and travel if they seek one at a private facility outside a state where it is illegal.
Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama has been holding up nearly 650 senior military posts requiring approval from the upper chamber over the abortion policy.
Biden's directive also claims that the measure endangers marriage equality, hinders climate change initiatives, and prevents the administration from promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
Another annual appropriations bill covering the Department of Agriculture and its Rural Development mission area, in addition to the Food and Drug Administration and other related agencies, was slammed.
In their statement, the administration said the legislation would cut food stamp programs and threaten the FDA's approval of mifepristone — an abortion pill the agency is trying to allow to be distributed through the mail.
The Supreme Court is currently reviewing the agency's approval of mifepristone, most recently overturning a lower court's temporary block of it until litigation completed.
The administration also objects to provisions in the House bill that would cut the amount of nicotine allowed in cigarettes and prevent them from banning menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars.
Lawmakers are preparing to vote on the two bills this week. It's part of a new process detailed in the Fiscal Responsibility Act passed earlier this year that separates annual appropriations into 12 separate bills.
If Congress fails to pass all 12, then a continuing resolution would be approved that requires a 1% reduction in the deficit from the previous year.
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