Sen. Tom Cotton pushed back Sunday against Democrats’ claims that the House GOP is playing politics with the troops in Friday’s passage of a defense spending bill that includes measures to restrict Pentagon policies on abortion and diversity, equity and inclusion.

The Republican-controlled House passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act with a final vote of 219-210. The measure now goes to the Democrat-controlled Senate.

“I hope all these measures stay in there because, again, the military should not be paying for abortion tourism or for diversity consultants or sex change operations,” Mr. Cotton, Arkansas Republican, said on “Fox News Sunday.” “They should be buying the weapons that we need to defend our nation and to support the troops.”

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Alabama Republican, placed a hold on all military officer promotions over the Defense Department’s policy granting special leave for service members assigned to bases in states that restrict abortions. The Defense Department says Mr. Tuberville’s holds are harming national security.

“The secretary of defense and the president think that this is a readiness issue and they want to find the responsible party,” Mr. Cotton said. “They should look in the mirror. They’re the ones who are violating the law and using taxpayer funds to pay for abortion tourism.”

The Pentagon’s policy, championed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, authorizes three weeks of paid leave that won’t be charged against the service member’s account. Expenses such as travel and lodging also are covered.

Other forms of emergency needs for service members, such as the death of a family member, aren’t covered in such a generous fashion, Mr. Cotton said.

“An airman could walk in and say, ‘My mother and my father just unexpectedly died. Can I have leave to go to their funeral?’” he said. “They would be charged leave that comes out of their annual allotment, and they will get no expenses paid.”

If a service member wants to have an abortion, they should use their 30 days annual leave for the procedure, Mr. Cotton said, adding that it shouldn’t be funded by taxpayers.

“If Lloyd Austin and Joe Biden think this is a threat to our national security, the simplest thing to do would be to revert to the same practices we had for decades … and rescind this unlawful policy on abortion tourism,” he said. “What the House has done is taken reasonable steps supported by a large majority of Americans to ensure that we’re funding our troops and the weapons they need to keep our country safe.”

• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.