Press Releases

This week, House Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Military Personnel Ranking Member Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06) and DWC member Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), both veterans, led 92 Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) members and House Democrats in a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressing deep alarm at his recent remarks and actions targeting women in the military. Specifically, the Members demanded the immediate reinstatement of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS), a committee that provides “advice and recommendations on matters and policies relating to the recruitment, retention, employment, integration, well-being, and treatment of servicewomen in the Armed Forces.”

Secretary Hegseth has attacked servicewomen throughout his entire tenure and made countless comments to discredit and diminish the invaluable work of our servicewomen. In their letter, Members explain why servicewomen and the infrastructure that supports them are essential to the strength and readiness of the United States military.

In their letter, the Members highlight the incredible contributions of our country’s servicewomen:

“Women have sacrificed their safety and, at times, their lives, for our country and we are deeply alarmed by this Administration’s attempts to attack their merits. We also oppose dismantling any resources that support their well-being and equal treatment. Any suggestion that women are unqualified, either in body or spirit, is a profound insult to the service women who have contributed so much to our country.”

Servicewomen already meet rigorous gender-neutral standards for military preparedness, the Members explain:

“You imply throughout your speech that women are getting special treatment and cannot meet physical fitness standards, even though women have already passed strenuous physical and mental testing that is gender-neutral to qualify for some of the most rigorous roles in our military.”

The Members also urge the reinstatement of the The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, a committee essential for maintaining and strengthening the readiness of our military:

“[The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services] DACOWITS’ role is to support the readiness and strength of our military and to ensure that the best service members are recruited and able to serve at the highest standards. Its recommendations have been essential in ensuring women troops have properly fitting combat gear, appropriate health care, and hundreds of other facets of military readiness and efficiency. Many of the recommendations, such as those addressing parental leave, benefit all service members by supporting overall military recruitment and retention….DACOWITS has played a critically important role in fulfilling your stated goal of a merit based system by breaking down barriers to ensure opportunities for the most qualified individuals to serve our country. Our military must be a place that enables our service members, of every gender, race, and faith, to serve with dignity and bring their full talents to bear.”

You can read the full letter from Members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus here.

In addition to letter leads Chrissy Houlahan and Maggie Goodlander, the letter was signed by Sarah Elfreth, Jill Tokuda, Joe Courtney, Steven Horsford, Scott H. Peters, Dave Min, Kevin Mullin, Rashida Tlaib, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Paul D. Tonko, Danny K. Davis, Lucy McBath, Marilyn Strickland, Stephen F. Lynch, Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr., Jonathan L. Jackson, Jason Crow, Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr., Julia Brownley, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Seth Moulton, Frederica S. Wilson, Bradley Scott Schneider, John Garamendi, Pramila Jayapal, Salud Carbajal, Sara Jacobs, Diana DeGette, Juan Vargas, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Nikema Williams, Jerrold Nadler, Eric Sorensen, Wesley Bell, Donald S. Beyer Jr., Doris Matsui, Ed Case, Eric Swalwell, Kelly Morrison, Kathy Castor, Dan Goldman, Mark Takano, Julie Johnson, Lois Frankel, Brittany Pettersen, Teresa Leger Fernández, Mary Gay Scanlon, Mike Quigley, Judy Chu, Chris Deluzio, Ro Khanna, George Whitesides, Emanuel Cleaver, II, Mark DeSaulnier, William R. Keating, LaMonica McIver, Val Hoyle, Jennifer L. McClellan, Derek T. Tran, Becca Balint, Delia C. Ramirez, Betty McCollum, Mark Pocan, Debbie Dingell, Terri A. Sewell, Chellie Pingree, Nancy Pelosi, Deborah K. Ross, Jim Himes, Ayanna Pressley, Mikie Sherrill, Shontel M. Brown, Adriano Espaillat, Laura Friedman, Sylvia R. Garcia, Dina Titus, Veronica Escobar, Zoe Lofgren, Greg Stanton, Bill Foster, Andrea Salinas, Lizzie Fletcher, Suzanne Bonamici, Donald Norcross, Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., Bonnie Watson Coleman, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Luz M. Rivas, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Yvette D. Clarke, Katherine M. Clark, Greg Landsman, Emily Randall.
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