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HuffPost: House GOP Uses Must-Pass Defense Bill To Strip Care From Military Families' Trans Kids
HuffPost - House GOP Uses Must-Pass Defense Bill To Strip Care From Military Families’ Trans Kids
A provision tucked into the National Defense Authorization Act forces parents in the military to weigh their careers against providing health care for loved ones.
By Jennifer Bendery
Dec 10, 2024, 07:32 PM EST
WASHINGTON — House Republicans have tucked a provision into a must-pass defense bill that would strip health care from military families’ transgender kids, putting parents in a position of having to choose between their careers in the military and providing medically necessary health care for their loved ones.
The language slipped into the National Defense Authorization Act, which the House is voting on later this week, is buried on page 399 of the 1,813-page bill. Republicans added it at the last minute, after Democrats had worked with them to help craft the legislation.
It’s just one sentence: “Medical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization may not be provided to a child under the age of 18.”
The GOP has been relentlessly campaigning on restricting trans rights — Republican candidates spent a whopping $215 million on ads vilifying transgender people in this election cycle — and they’ve now found a way to tie trans issues to legislation that authorizes federal spending for the military.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Tuesday that he’s “proud” of the NDAA bill and specifically pointed to its provision that blocks TRICARE, the military’s health care program, from covering the costs of gender-affirming health care for servicemembers’ kids.
/snip
A provision tucked into the National Defense Authorization Act forces parents in the military to weigh their careers against providing health care for loved ones.
By Jennifer Bendery
Dec 10, 2024, 07:32 PM EST
WASHINGTON — House Republicans have tucked a provision into a must-pass defense bill that would strip health care from military families’ transgender kids, putting parents in a position of having to choose between their careers in the military and providing medically necessary health care for their loved ones.
The language slipped into the National Defense Authorization Act, which the House is voting on later this week, is buried on page 399 of the 1,813-page bill. Republicans added it at the last minute, after Democrats had worked with them to help craft the legislation.
It’s just one sentence: “Medical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization may not be provided to a child under the age of 18.”
The GOP has been relentlessly campaigning on restricting trans rights — Republican candidates spent a whopping $215 million on ads vilifying transgender people in this election cycle — and they’ve now found a way to tie trans issues to legislation that authorizes federal spending for the military.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Tuesday that he’s “proud” of the NDAA bill and specifically pointed to its provision that blocks TRICARE, the military’s health care program, from covering the costs of gender-affirming health care for servicemembers’ kids.
/snip