Democrats call for removal of anti-LGBTQ provisions in annual defense bill

More than 150 House Democrats are calling for the removal of provisions in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that target LGBTQ rights, arguing in a letter sent Thursday to House and Senate Armed Services Committee leadership that such measures “threaten the recruitment, retention, and readiness of our Armed Forces.”

At least four measures embedded in the annual defense policy bill by hard-line conservatives threaten to roll back the rights of LGBTQ service members and dependents, Democrats and LGBTQ civil rights groups have argued. The bill, which narrowly passed the House in July, would prevent the Department of Defense from displaying LGBTQ Pride flags and funding drag shows, transgender health care and certain schoolbooks.

“These sections of the House-passed NDAA were constructed to score political points rather than support and invest in our most important operational advantage: our service members,” Democrats wrote in Thursday’s letter, led by Congressional Equality Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Reps. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chairwomen of the Transgender Equality Taskforce.

“If service members are concerned for their health care, their right to exist, or the well-being of their children and loved ones, they cannot focus on their jobs, thereby weakening military readiness and retention rates,” they wrote.

The House version of the NDAA would specifically prevent military service members and civilian Department of Defense employees from displaying “a flag other than an approved flag” in any department workspaces, common areas or public areas. A list of 10 approved flags does not include the LGBTQ Pride flag.

While the measure itself does not explicitly mention Pride flags, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who introduced the amendment, has said it is meant to restrict them. Norman in a statement following the NDAA’s passage in the House said the bill would prevent a “rainbow flag [from] flying alongside the American Flag at our military bases.”

The House-passed NDAA would also prohibit government funds from being used for “a drag show, drag queen story, or similar event,” effectively codifying a newly enforced Pentagon ban on drag performances, which House Republicans have argued are inherently sexual and inappropriate for young children.

At least six GOP-led states this year adopted laws restricting certain drag performances that take place in public or where they could be viewed by minors.

Under a measure introduced by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), the House version of the NDAA would also prohibit funds for the Department of Defense Education Activity — a federal school system — from being used to purchase or maintain library books that “espouse radical gender ideology.”

Democrats in Thursday’s letter said Boebert’s amendment threatens to erase “the existence of transgender people by banning books that mention gender identity.”

“Censoring books that are inclusive of transgender people sets a dangerous precedent that politicians can censor a range of school content based on politicians’ ideologies,” they wrote. “Schools should focus on creating supportive learning environments, not censoring content.”

The House-passed NDAA would also prevent TRICARE, the health care program for military service members, retirees and dependent family members, from covering the cost of gender-affirming health care, specifically hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgeries. 

A similar measure would bar the Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) from covering gender-affirming services for dependent children. It would further prohibit service members from being reassigned to a different duty station “for the purpose of providing a minor dependent child with access” to gender-affirming health care.

“Denying this access to health care would deter eligible and qualified people from joining the Armed Forces, damage retention efforts, and hurt our military readiness,” Democrats wrote in Thursday’s letter. “As our nation faces steep recruitment and retention challenges, attacking transgender people — who are more likely to serve in the U.S. military than cisgender people — is a grave mistake.”

The Democrat-controlled Senate passed its version of the NDAA, without the challenged provisions, in July. House and Senate leaders will now conference to come to a consensus on the final bill, which will need to pass both chambers before it is sent to President Biden.