Senate Approves Defense Bill Blocking Health Care for Thousands of Trans Youth 

President Joe Biden is poised to sign a bipartisan bill this week that would restrict gender-affirming care for transgender children of military service members. In an 85-14 vote on Wednesday, the Democratic-controlled Senate approved the annual defense spending bill, which includes an anti-trans rider tacked on by Republican leadership. If the massive $895 billion National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, is enacted, it would be the first time in nearly three decades that the United States has codified an explicitly anti-LGBTQ+ policy into federal law. 

Eleven Democrats and three Republicans voted against the legislation.

Civil liberties groups warn that the bill, which bars military insurance from covering youth gender-affirming treatments, could deprive thousands of trans children of life-saving care. A 2022 study found that roughly 2,500 children sought gender-affirming care through TRICARE, the military’s insurer, in 2017.

“President Biden has the power to put a stop to this cruelty. He should make good on his promises to protect LGBTQ+ Americans, defend military servicemembers and their families, and ensure this country’s politics reflect the best of who we are,” Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson wrote in a statement. “President Biden must veto this bill.”

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Some Senate Democrats had hoped to strip the anti-transgender language from the bill and pass a “clean version.” On Monday, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., introduced an amendment to the NDAA that would have removed the controversial provision. The amendment’s co-sponsor, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., urged his colleagues to vote in favor of removing the anti-trans language during a Tuesday press conference.

“Trans rights are human rights. Health care is a human right. Today, we must defend both,” Markey said. “To every trans American, to every service member, their families, friends, and communities: I will not turn my back on you. I am with you. And together, we will keep fighting.”

The amendment was never brought forward for a vote. 

The brazen attack on trans children’s health care isn’t the only eyebrow-raising section of this year’s defense bill. In another provision, the NDAA bars the Pentagon from publicly citing casualty data from the Gaza Health Ministry, the only source consistently tracking the death toll in the region. The provision also prevents the Defense Department from publicly referencing any sources that rely on the Gaza Health Ministry’s data — including most human rights organizations and the United Nations — effectively erasing the full death toll in the region. 

On the Senate floor last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., argued that Congress shouldn’t pad defense contractors’ pockets with billions more in funding. “We do not need to spend almost a trillion dollars on the military while half a million Americans are homeless, children go hungry, and elderly people are unable to afford to heat their homes in the winter,” he said. 

Now, the bill rests on Biden’s desk. Advocates were hopeful that the president would come out against the anti-transgender rider based on his previous support for rules protecting trans students from discrimination. That opposition never materialized. Instead, Biden is expected to sign the NDAA with haste and codify the anti-trans policy into law.