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Some Republican lawmakers, concerned about critical race theory being introduced in the U.S. military, are seeking to amend a defense spending bill in a bid to stamp out the promotion and teaching of leftist bias.
âMy Republican colleagues and I hear regularly from active duty and retired service members that even holding conservative values is now enough to endanger a service memberâs military career,â said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the ranking Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Rogers said in a statement that the issue needs to be addressed in the 2021Â National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)âwhich typically garners bipartisan supportâand that heâll work with âany free-speech-minded Democrats interested in joining our cause.â
In the Senate, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) suggested that Republicans may have to hold up NDAA spending to ban training that involves critical race theory (CRT) within the military. The quasi-Marxist theory claims that the United States is a fundamentally racist country, with a continuing power struggle between âoppressorsâ and âoppressedâ based on skin color.
Cotton, in response to a Fox News question about legislation proposing to remove CRT-related training in the military, said that holding up funding âmay be a step we have to take ⊠but I wouldnât say that we canât get that passed either.â
âRemember, the defense bill passes every year. It has passed every year for 60 years,â Cotton told Fox on May 18, referring to the NDAA. âWe have an open amendment process in the committee and on the floor. I think there may be one or two Democrats who donât think that we should be teaching our troops that the most important thing about them is the color of their skin, rather than their ability to help save the lives of the men and women to the right and to their left.â
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby responded, telling media outlets that âthereâs no pilot program being run by [senior Pentagon official Bishop] Garrison or the extremist working group to examine social media.â
Kirby said heâs ânot awareâ of a Pentagon contract with any private firm to surveil service membersâ social media accounts.
âCertainly, there is no such contract being led by Mr. Garrisonâs program,â he said.
A Space Force commander, Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier, was relieved of duty after he self-published a book that details the alleged spread of Marxism and CRT teachings in the military, claiming that the Pentagon has shown videos that âtaught that the country was evil, that it was founded in 1619 and not 1776, and that whites are inherently evil.â
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told the Washington Examiner he would look into the claims.
âIâve still got to get more details, but we do have freedom of speech in this country. So, weâve got to, weâve got to allow people to express their opinions,â he said.