House Democrats plan to introduce legislation rolling back Defense Department efforts to force transgender troops out of the ranks, a move that could force a public vote by Republican lawmakers on the issue in coming weeks.
The legislation — sponsored by House Armed Services Committee ranking member Adam Smith, D-Wash., and backed by several other prominent panel Democrats — would bar the defense secretary from separating any member of the armed forces “on the basis of gender identity, including a diagnosis or potential diagnosis of gender dysphoria.”
It would also prohibit the Defense Department from denying “medically necessary health care coverage” to those service members.
The move comes one week after Pentagon leaders announced plans to begin screening troops for gender dysphoria during certain medical visits, in an effort to boot transgender service members from the armed forces.
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Since January, the White House has been locked in a series of legal fights over its efforts to bar transgender individuals from military service. Officials estimate about 4,200 troops could be impacted by the policy.
Already, about 1,000 service members have voluntarily identified themselves as transgender and begun the process of departing the military, senior defense officials said.
The new legislation is unlikely to become law, given Republican control of both the House and Senate. But Smith could make the issue a key point in the annual defense authorization bill debate in coming weeks, potentially forcing a vote among defense lawmakers on the transgender service issue.
The authorization bill — which has passed Congress annually for more than six decades — regularly includes a host of defense policy updates and budget priorities.
But committee leaders often prefer to avoid controversial social issues in favor of a bipartisan final bill, with varying degrees of success from year to year. In 2010, Democratic and Republican leaders removed language repealing the Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy from the annual authorization bill, passing it as a stand-alone issue later.
Along with Smith, the legislation will have the public backing of three other Democratic armed services committee members — Pennsylvania Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, California Rep. Sara Jacobs, and Illinois Rep. Eric Sorensen — as well as House Veterans’ Affairs Committee ranking member Mark Takano, D-Calif.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
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