Southwest Montana News

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Matt Rosendale (MT-02) has filed several amendments to the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Amendment #34 seeks to prohibit TRICARE from covering and the Department of Defense from furnishing gender transition surgeries and hormone treatments for individuals who identify as transgender. “Taxpayers should never be on the hook for funding the mutilation of a soldier’s body. Anything that does not make our military the most effective fighting force on Earth is a distraction,” said Rep. Rosendale regarding Amendment #34. “TRICARE and the DOD should be focusing on their respective missions of providing care to servicemembers defending our country – not on bringing people’s delusional gender fantasies to fruition.”

Amendment #48 aims to amend Section 1021(b) of the FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act to limit the authority of the U.S. military to indefinitely detain individuals under the 2001 AUMF, specifically excluding American citizens from such detention. “The weaponization of government has become ever prevalent in today’s political environment. It is absolutely pertinent that due process is enshrined in legal disputes, especially when it involves the U.S. military detaining American citizens on U.S. soil,” stated Rep. Rosendale about Amendment #48.

Amendment #1338 proposes limits on certain types of assisted reproductive technologies to ensure human life is protected. Regarding this amendment, Rep. Rosendale commented, “The moral questions that surround the creation, storage, and destruction of IVF embryos are just beginning to be asked and certainly haven’t been answered. All life has inherent value, and genetic testing nearly guarantees the creation and destruction of embryos in pursuit of the ‘perfect’ child. I vehemently oppose all IVF promoting provisions not only because of my deep moral concerns but also due to the unacceptable destruction of life that will result.”