Silver State Times

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, during the confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee for the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) called out the fact that General Charles Q. Brown, Jr.’s swift confirmation is being held up by an extreme Republican hold on senior military promotions. Since March, Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has blocked the routine promotions for over 250 military officers, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Vice Commander of the Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis Air Force Base, because of his objections to Department of Defense policy that allows servicemembers to access reproductive and abortion care. In May, Senator Rosen took to the Senate floor to push to end this extreme anti-choice blockade.

“I want to start by saying that I’m deeply concerned at the fact that your swift confirmation is being held up, along with hundreds of other senior military promotions, including those in my state of Nevada. That wouldn’t be acceptable for ANY reason, but it’s even more outrageous that these holds are to get rid of a policy that protects our servicemembers’ reproductive rights,” said Senator Rosen. “This extreme, anti-choice agenda is jeopardizing our national security in order to impose restrictions on our servicemembers’ reproductive freedoms. Enough is enough. We need to fill these critical roles. And I would like to see you have a quick confirmation.”

Senator Rosen has been a leader in the fight to protect women’s reproductive freedom. She helped introduce the Protecting Service Members and Military Families’ Access To Health Care Act to codify the Department of Defense policy to protect servicemembers and their families’ access to reproductive health care, including abortion services. Senator Rosen joined fellow Democratic women Senators to renew calls to protect access to abortion to mark one-year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. She also helped introduce the Women’s Health Protection Act to enshrine Roe v. Wade in federal law and protect millions of women’s access to reproductive health care. 

Original source can be found here.