The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is an annual piece of legislation that dictates U.S. policy on defense and the men and women that serve in the military.

On Friday, the House narrowly passed a controversial version of this bill that would cut off access to abortion care for military service members, slash funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, block actions to address climate change, and endanger LGBTQ+ service members.

Even four Republicans voted against this bill because it is far too extreme – and goes against over 300 years of bipartisan work to fund and support our military and service members.

Instead of focusing on improving outcomes for our service members and prioritizing national defense imperatives, the GOP has prioritized culture war issues that take away rights and access to healthcare for our service members.

Speaker McCarthy allowed the furthest fringes of his party to fill this bill, which is typically a bipartisan agreement to set Pentagon policy and spending, with extremist agenda items.

John, this is the outcome of allowing the furthest extremes of a party to take the lead. We are fighting over abortion rather than investing in keeping our country safe. This needs to end, and we need to take back the House in 2024.

My district is among the top races in the country in 2024 as outside groups hope to flip CT-05 red. If Democrats want to take back control of the House, we MUST win this re-election. If you can, please chip in $50, $20, or even just $5 to support my campaign.

We need to put an end to extremism in the House and get back to work serving our military, investing in our future, and fighting for hardworking families across the country.

Thank you for standing with me,

Jahana Hayes