FIRST ON FOX: A House Republican amendment in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) slashes the federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) employee pay cap, Fox News Digital has learned.
On Thursday, the House Armed Services Committee passed the NDAA out of committee, referring the military spending bill to the House floor for a full vote.
An amendment in the bill, brought by Indiana GOP Rep. Jim Banks, takes aim at the controversial DEI employment positions at the Department of Defense.
US MILITARY OFFERED ‘WOKE’ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY
"This year’s NDAA was a massive victory for the Anti-Woke Caucus," Banks told Fox News Digital.
"We passed my amendments slashing DEI bureaucrats, banning race and gender quotas in military recruiting and promotions, reinstating unvaccinated servicemembers fired by the Biden administration, and shutting down the Navy’s drag queen digital ambassador program, and we passed provisions to defund Critical Race Theory courses at West Point and our service academies, fire the Chief Diversity Officer at the DoD and end Drag Shows at our military bases."
According to Banks' amendment, the Defense secretary "may not appoint to, or otherwise employ in, any position with a duty described in subsection (b) a military or civilian employee with a rank or grade in excess of GS–10 not adjusted for locality."
"Joe Biden is trying to transform America by forcing his far-left, woke agenda into every federal agency," the Indiana Republican continued. "My goal is for every major piece of legislation we pass this Congress to look a lot like the NDAA."
"The 12 appropriations bills, the farm bill, the FAA reauthorization all should defund and eliminate wokeness from the federal government," Banks added.
The duties described in the amendment include those involved with developing, "refining, and implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion policy," as well as those who lead "working groups and councils to developing diversity, equity, and inclusion goals and objectives to measure performance and outcomes."
Banks’ amendment also affects Defense Department employees involved in creating "and implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion education, training courses, and workshops for military and civilian personnel."
Additionally, the amendment reassigns any DEI employees above a GS-10 grade 180 days after the NDAA goes into effect.
Banks’ amendment comes as wokeness in the military continues to be a hot-button issue.
The U.S. military’s Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) last month offered personnel virtual professional development courses, including one "woke" class focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.
JSOC offered to civilian and military personnel a list of 17 free online courses, including a "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" conference in May and others on a litany of woke topics.
U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Public Affairs Officer Ken McGraw confirmed to Fox News that the courses were offered to military personnel, saying the DOD "regularly notifies its employees of a wide variety of non-mandatory, professional education opportunities."
"These courses are not unique to U.S. Special Operations Command or any USSOCOM subordinate command," McGraw continued. "In this instance, JSOC notified their civilian and military personnel that DOD was offering 17 free, professional-development courses online, one of which is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion."
