ICYMI: Shaheen Pushes to End GOP Obstruction of 273 Military Promotions

**In her floor remarks, Shaheen calls for an end to the five-month-long obstruction of routine military promotions, which has affected military readiness and the financial security of service members**

Watch Shaheen’s remarks in full here.

(Washington, DC) — Last night, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke on the Senate floor regarding the unprecedented blockade of 273 non-controversial military nominations. Shaheen called for an end to Senator Tommy Tuberville’s (R-AL) blanket hold on these merit-based promotions and reiterated the harm the holds inflict on military families and national security. Shaheen also highlighted the qualifications of 11 of these military nominees who are impacted by this blanket hold.

“Our service members, who answered the call to serve our country, should not be used as political bargaining chips. I spoke on the Senate floor last night to call for an end to the unprecedented obstruction of 273 routine military nominations. No one — including Alabama’s senior Senator — should ever put our national security, military readiness or service members on the line for their own political benefit,” said Senator Shaheen, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “These reckless actions are unacceptable. Service members cannot plan for the future thanks to Senator Tuberville’s actions – he is forcing them to wait to enroll their children into new schools and delaying opportunities for military spouses to find new jobs all while receiving a lower salary than what they have earned. He is also causing our next generation of senior military leaders to question whether they want to stay in the military. These holds impact real people, people who have dedicated their lives to preserving our freedom. They should not have to wait any longer for the promotions they have earned.”

Senator Tommy Tuberville has led a months-long obstruction of military promotions, pay raises and command assignments of hundreds of service men and women who earned their promotions through meritorious achievements. These holds are an attempt to compel the U.S. Secretary of Defense to overturn a lawful Department of Defense policy that grants non-chargeable absence and travel reimbursement for military personnel who cannot obtain reproductive care in the state where they are stationed. As a result, service members from junior officers to nominees to lead the Marine Corps and Joint Staff are unable to take on new assignments at a time when Russia is waging an unprovoked war in Europe and the People’s Republic of China continues to threaten U.S. security around the world.

Since the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, 19 states have enacted total or partial abortion bans, limiting access to essential reproductive care for thousands of active-duty service women stationed in the continental United States. According to a recent RAND Corporation assessment, since the overturn of Roe v. Wade 46% of service women stationed in the U.S. have no or heavily restricted access to reproductive care.

Senator Shaheen is an unrelenting advocate for women’s reproductive rights. A senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, in 2013, Shaheen included an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which expanded access to abortion care for servicewomen to bring the Department of Defense to parity with other federal agencies. Last year, Shaheen offered an amendment to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 NDAA that would have enshrined the right for service members to access protected leave for abortion care and services. Recently, Shaheen unveiled the Protecting Service Members and Military Families’ Access to Health Care Act, which would codify the Department of Defense’s February 16, 2023 policy to ensure service members and their families can access non-covered reproductive health care, including abortion services, regardless of the state in which they are stationed.

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