Equality Caucus Condemns Anti-Equality Riders in FY25 Defense Appropriations Bill

­­­WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the Congressional Equality Caucus released the following statement condemning the passage of H.R. 8774, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2025, which contains several anti-LGBTQI+ provisions:

“Once again, Republicans have sunk to attacking the brave Americans who serve their nation in uniform,” said Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “Instead of supporting those serving our country, this bill included bigoted riders to restrict access to medically necessary care for transgender servicemembers and servicemembers’ transgender dependents, censor queer voices, and perpetuate a spirit of malice towards LGBTQI+ people in the armed forces.”

BACKGROUND
H.R. 8774, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2025, contains 5 anti-LGBTQI+ riders:
 

Sec. 8145: Creating a license to discriminate against the LGBTQI+ community
This rider creates a license for people and organizations—including those receiving taxpayer funds—to discriminate against LGBTQI+ people under the guise of religious liberty, and it prevents the federal government from adequately responding.

For example, it prohibits the federal government from reducing or terminating a federal contract or grant with an organization that discriminates against LGBTQI+ people if the organization justifies their discrimination based on the belief that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. It similarly prohibits the federal government from reducing or terminating the employment of an employee who discriminates against LGBTQI+ people if the employee justifies their discrimination based on the belief that marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

For example:

• A benefits specialist could not be terminated from employment for refusing to file paperwork for spousal benefits for a servicemember who is newly married to someone of the same sex.
• If a subcontractor turns away same-sex spouses of servicemembers at the gym on base, the service could not request the contractor use an alternate subcontractor in the future.

Sec. 8152: Drag Show Ban
This section would ban appropriated funds from being used to promote, host, facilitate or support drag queen story hours or drag queens as military recruiters.

Sec. 8144 & Sec. 8153: Bans on medically necessary, evidence-based care for transgender people
Section 8144 would prohibit the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) from covering or providing referrals for “gender transition procedures”—including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries—for servicemembers’ dependent minor children. The amendment would further prohibit servicemembers from being reassigned to a different duty station via EFMP in order to provide their dependents with gender-affirming care.

Section 8153 prohibits funds made available by the bill from being used “for surgical procedures or hormone therapies for the purposes of gender affirming care.”

Sec. 8155: Blocking LGBTQI+ Inclusive DEI Executive Orders
Under this section, funds appropriated by the bill cannot be used to implement, administer, apply, enforce, or carry out:

• Executive Order No. 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government”
• Executive Order No. 14035, “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce”
• Executive Order No. 14091, “Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government”

All of these Executive Orders are LGBTQI-inclusive.