House defense bill targets trans children's care
By: Sudiksha Kochi
USA Today
WASHINGTON - House Republicans passed an $895.2 billion defense policy bill on Wednesday [12/11/2024] that include a contentious provision to ban certain types of medical care for transgender children of military service members.
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The provision added to the national Defense Authorization Act prohibits TRICARE, the helaht care program for active-duty service members and their families, from covering medical interventions for gender dysphoria treatment that "could result in sterilization" to children under 18. TRICARE has about 9.5 million beneficiaries, according to the military health System.
..... House Speaker Mike Johnson R-Louisiana, said in a statement, last week [12/03/2024] the bill would "end the radical woke ideology being imposed on our military."
..... The bill also included bipartisan measures such as a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service troops and a 4.5% pay raise for all other members, as well as 4100 million in funding for historically Black college and military serving institutions. But it had other controversial proponents such as prohibiting funding to teach critical race theory in military schools.
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The bill passed 281-140. Two hundred Republicans and 81 Democrats voted yest while 124 Democrats and 16 Republicans oppose it.
..... Though the TRICARE provision will likely face tough hurdles in a Democrat-controlled Senate, House Republicans coming out of votes were confident the bill would pass the other chamber.
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"We shouldn't be doing that with taxpayer money in the, you know, via the DNDAA," said Representative Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, who voted in support of the bill. "They're not of age, they're not old enough to come to grips with the consequences of those decision, and it's just it's responsible, and it just shouldn't be happening anywhere in this country."
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Representative Mike Bost, R-Illinois, echoed Jacksons, saying, "They want to do that and they're adults, that's fine. there's all these list of things you're not supposed to do until you're 18," He said a big priority for Republicans in January [2025] will be to "step away from all this woke stuff."
..... However,, House Armed Services committee Chair Representative Mike Rogers, R-Alaska, told The Hill that Johnson did not talk with him about inserting the provisions in the bill, and added, "My preference would have been that we just let the president, on January 20, [2025] deal with these."
..... Representative Adam Smith D-Washington, a ranking member of the House Armed Service Committee, argued in a statement on Sunday [12/08/2024] that "blanket denying health care to people who clearly need it, just because of a biased notion against transgender people is wrong."
..... "I think they just targeted the trans community as the boogeman, the new boogeyman for them to attack and bully," said Representative Jamaal Bowman D-New York, who lost his reelection bid. He asked whether House Republicans . come January, [2025] are going to try to include anti-trans legislation into every single thing that they do."
..... Last month, [11/2024] Johnson announced a policy banning transgender people from using restrooms hat corresponded with their gender in parts of the capitol.
..... Contributing: Maureen Groppe, USA today.