Biden Signs Defense Bill Despite Objections To Ban On Transgender Health Care For Military Children | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday signed into legislation a protection invoice that authorizes important pay raises for junior enlisted service members, goals to counter China’s rising energy and boosts total army spending to $895 billion regardless of his objections to language stripping protection of transgender medical therapies for youngsters in army households.

Biden mentioned his administration strongly opposes the supply as a result of it targets a gaggle primarily based on gender identification and “interferes with parents’ roles to determine the best care for their children.” He mentioned it additionally undermines the all-volunteer army’s skill to recruit and retain expertise.

“No service member should have to decide between their family’s health care access and their call to serve our nation,” the president mentioned in an announcement.

The Senate forwarded the invoice to Biden after passing it final week by a vote of 85-14. In the House, a majority of Democrats voted towards the invoice after House Speaker Mike Johnson insisted on including the supply to ban transgender medical care for youngsters. The laws simply handed by a vote of 281-140.

Biden additionally objected to different language within the invoice prohibiting the usage of cash earmarked to switch detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to some international international locations and into the United States. He urged Congress to raise these restrictions.

The annual protection authorization invoice, which directs Pentagon coverage, gives a 14.5% pay elevate for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% improve for others.

The laws additionally directs assets in direction of a extra confrontational strategy to China, together with establishing a fund that may very well be used to ship army assets to Taiwan in a lot the identical method that the U.S. has backed Ukraine. It additionally invests in new army applied sciences, together with synthetic intelligence, and bolsters the U.S. manufacturing of ammunition.

The U.S. has additionally moved lately to ban the army from buying Chinese merchandise, and the protection invoice prolonged that with prohibitions on Chinese items from garlic in army commissaries to drone know-how.

The laws nonetheless should be backed up with a spending bundle.

Associated Press author Stephen Groves contributed to this report.