The House of Representatives passed a defense spending bill Wednesday that includes $1 million for "gender advisors" and training on "gender perspectives," according to the Washington Free Beacon.
Under an amendment sponsored by Democrats and passed by voice vote, the measure is intended to give women a voice during diplomatic negotiations, the Free Beacon reported.
"When women's voices are heard, they can be catalysts for change, especially when it comes to peace," Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) said after her amendment was included in the spending bill.
"I'm thrilled my amendment securing funding for women in security efforts passed today, which will: (1) provide $3 million for our military branches to implement the Women, Peace and Security Act, helping countries to integrate women into security efforts and (2) Provide the Department of Defense $1 million to hire gender advisors who will assist in military missions and training to make sure more women are involved in foreign operations," Frankel said. "Women can create long-lasting peace — let's give them a seat at the table!"
The text of the amendment calls for $900,000 for training on the "meaningful participation of women" and $100,000 for training on "gender perspectives."
Specifically, the amendment states that it allocates $3 million "for training on gender perspectives and full-time advisors on Women, Peace and Security at each of the Combatant Commands, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, and the Joint Staff; $900,000 for training on the meaningful participation of women through foreign national security forces capacity building programs and for the collection of gender-disaggregated data in that programming; and $100,000 for training on gender perspectives at the war colleges and research on women’s contributions to security at the National Defense University Institute for National Security Studies."
Joining Frankel on the measure were fellow Democratic Reps. Bill Keating (Mass.), Jackie Speier (Calif.), and Norma Torres (Calif.).
The $670 billion spending measure overwhelmingly passed Wednesday and is awaiting President Donald Trump's signature.
