Democratic senators seek to ax transgender care ban from defense bill
Fourteen Democratic senators will introduce an amendment to remove language from Congress’ defense spending bill that seeks to ban coverage of gender-affirming care for trans children of service members, Sen. Tammy Baldwin's office told NBC News.
More than 20 Democratic senators introduced an amendment Monday evening to remove language from Congress’ massive defense spending bill that seeks to ban coverage of gender-affirming care for transgender children of service members, the office of Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., told NBC News.
The 1,800-page National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, passed the House last week by a vote of 281-140, with 200 Republicans and 81 Democrats voting “yes,” and 124 Democrats and 16 Republicans voting “no.” The $895 billion bill authorizes the annual budget for the Defense Department and sets defense policies for the upcoming year.
The group of 21 senators, led by Baldwin — who will be the Senate’s sole LGBTQ member in the new term — is seeking to remove a provision tucked into the bill that would prohibit “medical treatment for military dependents under the age of 18 who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria” under the military’s health care program, Tricare.
“Let’s be clear: we’re talking about parents who are in uniform serving our country who have earned the right to make the best decisions for their families. I trust our servicemembers and their doctors to make the best healthcare decisions for their kids, not politicians,” Baldwin said in a statement. “Our amendment would protect military families’ right to make their own decisions and access sometimes lifesaving care for their children.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pushed publicly and behind the scenes for the provision to be added into the defense spending bill, which was negotiated by senior House and Senate leaders from both parties. In a statement following the House vote last week, Johnson said the legislation prioritizes “military lethality, not radical woke ideology. This legislation permanently bans transgender treatment for minors, prohibits critical race theory in military academies, ends the DEI bureaucracy, and combats antisemitism.”
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