Elfreth Introduces Amendment to Preserve Our Nation’s Diverse Military History

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, introduced an amendment to preserve our nation’s military history in the Committee’s Reconciliation Legislation. This amendment follows the U.S. Naval Academy’s removal of nearly 400 books that explored themes of race, gender, and diversity.

The amendment prevents the Reconciliation Bill for Fiscal Year 2025 from using funds to destroy or censor any historical artifacts, books, papers or records deemed to contain improper ideology, unless the materials have been reviewed by a panel of experts from the Military Services’ respective historians, the Society of Military History, and the Company of Military Historians have reviewed, concurred, and Congressional notification of planned actions is completed 90 days before actions are to take effect. The full amendment is available HERE.

“Protecting history and accurately telling the stories – the victories and the struggles, the successes and the hard-fought progress of our great nation’s military and servicemembers – from erasure is critical to national security. It should not be a debate: Destruction of knowledge on the basis of disagreement is unacceptable,” said Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth. “Secretary Hegseth is spending precious time, energy, and resources erasing the history and diversity of our great nation, instead of on critical readiness or taking seriously the handling of sensitive national security information. It is unacceptable and dangerous. If soldiers and sailors don’t learn from history, they are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.”

Elfreth has been outspoken against this Administration’s attacks on history and diversity at the U.S. Naval Academy. Last month, Elfreth condemned the Naval Academy’s elimination of affirmative action. Elfreth also spoke on the House floor during Women's History Month to honor the women and women of color of the U.S. Naval Academy. 

CLICK HERE or the image below to view Elfreth’s full remarks.

Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth

Remarks as Delivered

House Armed Services Committee Hearing 

April 29th, 2025

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Protecting history and accurately telling the stories – the victories and the struggles, the successes and the hard-fought progress of our great nation’s military and servicemembers – is critical to our national security. 

And further, the destruction of knowledge on the basis of partisan disagreement is unacceptable and dangerous. 

The amendment at the desk is simple. It requires a panel of experts to review all artifacts and documents flagged for destruction and censorship, and to ensure critical Congressional oversight, the members of this panel who represent the Historians of each Armed Forces, the Society for Military History, and the Company of Military Historians must notify Congress of any destruction or censorship. 

A military that looks like our country and receives an education that teaches the accurate history of our nation is critical to our national security and ability to influence strong democratic principles abroad.

Yet, as we’ve seen under Secretary Hegseth’s guidance, the DoD has removed images and stories of historical events and heroes. 

We all read the headlines of photographs of Jackie Robinson, who served in the military during WWII, before he broke the color barrier in baseball, were removed from the DoD website. 

Articles and images highlighting the accomplishments of the Navajo Code Talkers who fought in the Pacific Island Campaign were removed. 

Photographs of Air Force Colonel Jeannie Leavitt, the first female fighter pilot and the first woman who passed the Marine infantry training and of World War II Women Air Service Pilots were all removed.

As the Ranking Member mentioned, pictures of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped an atomic bomb in Japan, were removed simply because the name included the word “Gay.”

At the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland’s Third District, we have seen nearly 400 books from their libraries that explored themes of race, gender, and diversity removed; Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was removed, yet Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf remains.

The fact that Secretary Hegseth is spending precious time, energy, and resources on erasing the history and diversity of our great nation, instead of on critical readiness or taking seriously the handling of sensitive national security information, only serves to set us back.

If soldiers and sailors don’t learn from history, they are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.

I ask for unanimous support to prohibit the destruction or censorship of text unless previously reviewed by experts. 

I urge support for this amendment and yield back the balance of my time. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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