{"id":30737,"date":"2023-10-06T22:41:14","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T22:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:46:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:46:25","slug":"congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress considers \u2018very severe rollback\u2019 of military\u2019s DEI programs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Standing on stage on Sept. 16 in a Washington hotel ballroom at the Pray Vote Stand Summit, Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., vowed to expunge \u201cwokeism\u201d from the U.S. military. The audience, largely evangelical attendees, responded with raucous applause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c\u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/APStylebook\/status\/1653798091403804672?s=20\" target=\"_blank\">Wokeism<\/a>\u2019 will eat our country inside-out if we let it, and we\u2019ve got to stop it from taking over and transforming the military,\u201d Banks said, standing in front of a backdrop adorned with the words, \u201cDe-Woking the Pentagon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve made that my top mission in Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hosted by the Family Research Council, an evangelical activist organization known for its staunch opposition to abortion and LGBTQ rights, the event was headlined by a discussion on \u201creturning the military\u2019s focus to its mission.\u201d Alongside Banks, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee\u2019s personnel panel, two retired military officials vehemently denounced the Pentagon\u2019s efforts toward diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23258841642254.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107227\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23258841642254.jpg.jpg 6000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23258841642254.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23258841642254.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23258841642254.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23258841642254.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23258841642254.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 6000px) 100vw, 6000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People pray during the Pray Vote Stand Summit, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Jose Luis Magana)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Opposition to the Pentagon\u2019s DEI efforts has spiked among select conservative lawmakers since 2020, when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/117th-congress\/senate-bill\/1605\/text\" target=\"_blank\">Congress first expanded such programs<\/a> and mandated the Defense Department\u2019s hiring of a chief diversity officer, said Liz Yates, a researcher with the advocacy group Human Rights First.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Attempts by some lawmakers to dismantle the military\u2019s DEI programs has reached a flash point as the House and Senate struggle to come to terms on the Fiscal Year 2024 Defense Department Appropriations Act, which Congress must pass annually to determine military spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In response to growing opposition, Human Rights First and 37 other advocacy organizations <a href=\"https:\/\/humanrightsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Ltr.-Congress-re-NDAA-DEI-Extremism_Final35.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">sent a letter to House and Senate leaders Wednesday, urging them to strike 22 proposals <\/a>from this year\u2019s bill, each of which target the military\u2019s DEI and anti-extremism initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eighteen of those proposals were included in the House-passed version, with the rest coming from the Senate. In total, Congress considered 56 proposals for provisions and amendments to DEI efforts. Lawmakers from both chambers still need to convene to negotiate differences between the two bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[W]e write to express grave concerns about dangerous provisions included in the House and Senate-passed versions,\u201d the letter states. \u201cThese provisions threaten the health and welfare of service members and their families, undermine diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in the military, and harm recruitment, retention, and force readiness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Minority Veterans of America, Protect Our Defenders, Service Women\u2019s Action Network, Vet Voice Foundation and Veterans for American Ideals are among the groups that endorsed the letter, which argues that the proposed cuts would yield a \u201cvery severe rollback\u201d of critical support for service members, according to Yates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Human Rights First started tracking congressional efforts to rein in the military\u2019s DEI initiatives this summer, when the organization reported that <a href=\"https:\/\/humanrightsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DEI-fact-sheet_August-2023.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">lawmakers had introduced 16 bills targeting such programs<\/a> during the current congressional session \u2014 double the previous iteration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If approved, the proposals would eliminate the Pentagon\u2019s chief diversity officer and cut pay and staff from the military\u2019s DEI offices. Also prohibited would be training on critical race theory, a term used to describe the idea that racism is systemic in U.S. institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additional proposals include the elimination of Pride flags on DoD grounds, gender pronouns on official correspondence, and books that mention gender identity in schools operated by the Department of Defense Education Activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Proposals to curb funding and staff, meanwhile, would negatively affect the collection of data about diversity in the armed forces, Yates argued, adding that such action could ruin efforts to determine the demographic makeup of service academies, officer training schools and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2023\/07\/19\/heres-how-the-senate-wants-to-boost-military-recruitment\/\" target=\"_blank\">Senior Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps<\/a>. That data, she said, is vital to understanding inequities in the services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese are dangerous. It\u2019s not just messaging \u2014 these can have serious impacts,\u201d Yates said. \u201cIf they\u2019re going to do everything they can to defund DEI, that means data collection is not going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some GOP lawmakers argue the proposals address items hurting the Pentagon\u2019s recruitment efforts. On stage at the Pray Vote Stand Summit, Banks told a story of a teenage boy who wanted to join the Marine Corps but was concerned about being condemned for his conservative background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI believe that \u2018wokeism\u2019 is driving people away who would have formerly wanted to serve in our military,\u201d Banks said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Little evidence exists, meanwhile, that DEI initiatives are a root cause for recruiting shortfalls. The <a href=\"https:\/\/media.defense.gov\/2022\/Nov\/16\/2003115791\/-1\/-1\/1\/MANAGEMENT%20CHALLENGES%20FY2023.PDF\" target=\"_blank\">Pentagon\u2019s Inspector General<\/a> reported earlier this year that the majority of would-be recruits are not enlisting because of fear of death in combat, having grown up hearing about casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. There is also increased competition between the military and the private sector for top talent, and private companies, on average, offer higher pay, the report states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As GOP lawmakers continue to accuse President Joe Biden of politicizing the Pentagon, advocacy organizations and political analysts contend that recent conservative messaging suggesting the armed forces are too \u201cwoke\u201d is the actual factor eroding public confidence in the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere is very little evidence of \u2018wokeness\u2019 in the military, but there is a lot of evidence of the <i>concern<\/i> of \u2018wokeness\u2019 in the military,\u201d said Peter Feaver, a Duke University professor and author of a book on civil-military relations. \u201cWe\u2019ve reached the point where the concern is greater than the reality. No one has presented evidence that is commensurate with the amount of energy that is being devoted to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">House Democrats argued this week that the chamber\u2019s version of the defense appropriations bill was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/budget\/2023\/10\/03\/mccarthys-speakership-threatened-in-part-by-defense-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\">one reason the party voted with ultra-conservative lawmakers to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House speaker<\/a>. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a letter Tuesday that McCarthy allowed the bill to become a \u201cright-wing wish list full of highly partisan poison pills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Debates over the House\u2019s defense appropriations bill offer just one example of lawmakers being less willing to compromise, Feaver said. Additionally, the tendency of lawmakers to push through an increasing number of proposals on the annual defense appropriations bill, rather than debate them as stand-alone legislation, is making Congress ineffective, he argued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe more we layer onto the defense budget all of our most divisive \u2018culture war\u2019 issues, the more we risk not having an appropriations bill and just having a continuing resolution,\u201d Feaver said. \u201cCongress has the authority to decide these issues, and if it wants to be seized with these issues, that\u2019s what Congress gets to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut to spend all of the congressional energy on these issues and fail to address military modernization and the mission-focused parts of the budget \u2014 Congress will have misallocated its energies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Editorial Fellow Jaime Moore-Carrillo contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>This story was produced in partnership with <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mvj.network\/\" target=\"_blank\"><i>Military Veterans in Journalism<\/i><\/a><i>. Please send tips to <\/i><a href=\"mailto:MVJ-Tips@militarytimes.com\" target=\"_blank\">MVJ-Tips@militarytimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dozens of human rights and veterans organizations urged Congress to strike 22 anti-DEI proposals from the 2024 defense appropriations bill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":74435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":38,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[38,31,67,15,9],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3379],"class_list":["post-30737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-home","category-hr","category-management","category-federal-oversight"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"P3KBWLEZJJA4NJBZXCNPFURPQM","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Congress considers \u2018very severe rollback\u2019 of military\u2019s DEI programs - Federal Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dozens of human rights and veterans organizations urged Congress to strike 22 anti-DEI proposals from the 2024 defense appropriations bill.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Congress considers \u2018very severe rollback\u2019 of military\u2019s DEI programs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dozens of human rights and veterans organizations urged Congress to strike 22 anti-DEI proposals from the 2024 defense appropriations bill.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Federal Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-06T22:41:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T15:46:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nikki Wentling\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nikki Wentling\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/06\\\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/06\\\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"Congress considers \u2018very severe rollback\u2019 of military\u2019s DEI programs\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-10-06T22:41:14+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T15:46:25+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/06\\\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1144,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/06\\\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP19011644409967.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Congress\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"HR\",\n\t                \"Inside the Agencies\",\n\t                \"Oversight\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/06\\\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/06\\\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/06\\\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Congress considers \u2018very severe rollback\u2019 of military\u2019s DEI programs - Federal Times\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/06\\\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/06\\\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP19011644409967.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2023-10-06T22:41:14+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T15:46:25+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Dozens of human rights and veterans organizations urged Congress to strike 22 anti-DEI proposals from the 2024 defense appropriations bill.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/06\\\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/06\\\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/06\\\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP19011644409967.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/AP19011644409967.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/06\\\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Congress\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/congress\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"congress\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Congress considers \u2018very severe rollback\u2019 of military\u2019s DEI programs\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Federal Times\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Federal Times\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Federal Times\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/federal-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/federal-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Federal Times\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Congress considers \u2018very severe rollback\u2019 of military\u2019s DEI programs - Federal Times","description":"Dozens of human rights and veterans organizations urged Congress to strike 22 anti-DEI proposals from the 2024 defense appropriations bill.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Congress considers \u2018very severe rollback\u2019 of military\u2019s DEI programs","og_description":"Dozens of human rights and veterans organizations urged Congress to strike 22 anti-DEI proposals from the 2024 defense appropriations bill.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/","og_site_name":"Federal Times","article_published_time":"2023-10-06T22:41:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T15:46:25+00:00","author":"Nikki Wentling","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nikki Wentling","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Congress considers \u2018very severe rollback\u2019 of military\u2019s DEI programs","datePublished":"2023-10-06T22:41:14+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T15:46:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/"},"wordCount":1144,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19011644409967.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Congress","Home","HR","Inside the Agencies","Oversight"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/","name":"Congress considers \u2018very severe rollback\u2019 of military\u2019s DEI programs - Federal Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19011644409967.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2023-10-06T22:41:14+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T15:46:25+00:00","description":"Dozens of human rights and veterans organizations urged Congress to strike 22 anti-DEI proposals from the 2024 defense appropriations bill.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19011644409967.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19011644409967.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2023\/10\/06\/congress-considers-very-severe-rollback-of-militarys-dei-programs\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Congress","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/","ad_zone":"congress"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Congress considers \u2018very severe rollback\u2019 of military\u2019s DEI programs"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/","name":"Federal Times","description":"Federal Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#organization","name":"Federal Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/federal-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/federal-logo-white.png","caption":"Federal Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Federal Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19011644409967.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30737"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30738,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30737\/revisions\/30738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30737"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=30737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}