CEC Slams House GOP’s Move to Rip Healthcare Away from Servicemembers’ Children

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Rep. Mark Pocan (WI-02), Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, released the following statement after the House adopted the rule to consider the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which contains a ban on medically-necessary care for servicemembers’ transgender dependents:

“In the last 72 hours, brave Americans who serve our nation in uniform woke up to the news that Republicans in Congress are trying to ban healthcare for their transgender children,” said Rep. Mark Pocan, Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “For a party whose members constantly decry ‘big government,’ nothing is more hypocritical than hijacking the NDAA to override servicemembers’ decisions, in consultation with medical professionals and their children, about what medical care is best for their transgender kids. The Congressional Equality Caucus opposes passage of this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to vote no on it."


BACKGROUND
On Saturday, Republicans published updated text for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (NDAA). The bill includes a provision (Sec. 708) that would result in TRICARE no longer offering gender-affirming care to servicemembers’ transgender children under 18. The same treatments would still be allowed for cisgender children under 18.

Servicemembers deserve to be able to provide their transgender children with the healthcare necessary to promote their children’s health and wellbeing. Every major medical and mental health association in the U.S., representing more than 1.3 million U.S. doctors, supports providing this medically necessary, evidence-based care for transgender people. This includes the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Endocrine Society, among other organizations.