ICYMI: Senator Murray Responds to Speaker Johnson Working to Strip IVF Coverage for Servicemembers from NDAA, Betraying Trump Promise to Increase Access to IVF
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, voted against final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (NDAA), and issued the following statement:
“I will always fight to support our troops and make sure our country has their back—as the daughter of a World War II veteran, that is a responsibility I have always taken seriously and always will.
“However, this bill does not do enough to curb a lawless administration at a moment when President Trump is threatening to turn the military on American citizens, and drag us into a war with Venezuela. While the NDAA takes some steps toward oversight into this administration’s actions in the Caribbean, full video of the lethal second strike that is currently being withheld needs to be made available to all senators—and this is just one in a very long list of things this administration needs to answer for. The politicization and weaponization of our military under this administration should alarm and frighten us all. Our Secretary of Defense is a national embarrassment who denigrates women in the military and put servicemembers’ lives in jeopardy by sharing sensitive war plans in a group chat—Secretary Hegseth is dangerously incompetent and must be fired.
“Furthermore, it is shameful that Speaker Johnson stripped the provision I worked on with Senator Duckworth to help our servicemembers access IVF. Servicemembers face higher rates of infertility and we should be doing everything we can to help them build their families—it’s outrageous that Republicans are denying servicemembers that opportunity. Republicans also cut a very straightforward provision I worked on—that was included in the Senate bill—to expand menopause research at VA and DOD. Menopause is one of the most important yet under-researched areas of women’s health, and I cannot fathom why this bipartisan, commonsense provision did not get included.
“It is also outrageous that Republicans, at the behest of this White House, stripped out a bipartisan agreement to reverse Trump’s disgraceful renaming of Army bases after Confederate traitors who went to war against this country to fight for slavery. The final legislation also rips away important protections against discrimination in the military and sets a dangerous precedent in acquiescing to Trump’s hateful pro-discrimination agenda. This is an affront to all of us.
“Finally, while I cannot support this legislation, I am glad it includes several important measures for Washington state. The final NDAA includes my legislation with Congressman Smith to bring relief to homeowners living near the Sea-Tac Airport whose properties were soundproofed with faulty equipment decades ago and are in urgent need of repairs.
“The bill also includes my language to prevent the Trump administration from cutting out Washington state and violating the recently finalized holistic agreement made it into the final bill. This heads off a major threat to the Hanford cleanup mission that was proposed in Project 2025, and that it became clear the Trump administration was quietly working toward. The Trump administration has proven it cannot be trusted when it comes to the Hanford cleanup. This language is an important check after DOE’s 11th hour attempt to stall progress on the Waste Treatment Plant earlier this year, and I want to thank Congressman Smith for partnering with me to advance this important work.”
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