AOC Submits Nine Amendments to FY 2025 NDAA Focusing on Human Rights and Environmental Issues

Ahead of the vote on the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) has submitted nine amendments targeting practices associated with U.S. involvement in human rights abuses. These amendments aim to rectify historical and ongoing issues linked to U.S. military and foreign policy.

A pivotal amendment, accepted for consideration, mandates the Secretary of Defense, in cooperation with the Secretary of State and the Central Intelligence Agency, to conduct a declassification review of documents pertaining to the U.S.’s role in the 1973 coup in Chile. This amendment is set to be voted on in the upcoming week.

Among the other eight amendments, one seeks to block weapon sales to the Saudi unit implicated in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This unit received U.S. training sanctioned by the State Department, spotlighting the risks of military cooperation with nations involved in human rights violations.

Ocasio-Cortez has also introduced two amendments concerning U.S. relations with Colombia. The first calls for the Departments of Defense and State to compile a report on historical human rights abuses in Colombia, covering U.S.-Colombia military cooperation from 1980 to 2010. The second amendment aims to halt U.S. funding for aerial crop fumigation in Colombia, citing severe health and environmental repercussions.

Further amendments address U.S. interactions with other Latin American countries. One requires a study by the Secretary of State on the feasibility of offering debt relief to Amazon region countries in return for rainforest conservation efforts. Another demands a certification from the Secretary of Defense on human and civil rights conditions in Peru before continuing certain forms of cooperation with its government. The final Latin America-related amendment requests an unclassified report on the U.S.-Brazil military partnership between 1964 and 1985.

The Congresswoman’s two remaining amendments focus on environmental and climate issues. One requests a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the cleanup and decontamination efforts in Puerto Rico’s Vieques and Culebra municipalities. The other amendment calls for consistent emissions reporting from the Department of Defense, addressing discrepancies in reports to the United Nations and Congress.