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Rep. Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat, is calling on House Speaker Mike Johnson to eliminate a controversial provision from the upcoming defense bill that would restrict gender dysphoria treatments for transgender military dependents under 18, according to The Hill.
House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member @RepAdamSmith issued the following statement regarding the release of the text of the final negotiated language for the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (FY25 NDAA).
Read his statement and find a @HASCDemocrats… pic.twitter.com/1Y3DMuxZO7
— House Armed Services Democrats (@HASCDemocrats) December 8, 2024
“Blanketly denying health care to people who clearly need it, just because of a biased notion against transgender people, is wrong,” Smith said in a statement Sunday. “This provision injected a level of partisanship not traditionally seen in defense bills. Speaker Johnson is pandering to the most extreme elements of his party to ensure that he retains his speakership. In doing so, he has upended what had been a bipartisan process.”
The disputed measure in the National Defense Authorization Act would block Tricare coverage for gender dysphoria treatments that could potentially cause sterilization in minors.
Smith, who serves as the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee and participated in negotiating the bill, expressed uncertainty about his upcoming vote on the legislation.
THOUGHTS?? Dem calls to 'abandon' defense bill over restriction of transgender treatments for minors https://t.co/BNaGf49OMS pic.twitter.com/pfPOy1do5D
— WPDE ABC15 (@wpdeabc15) December 9, 2024
Speaking to Politico, Smith characterized the situation by saying, “It’s the Republicans taking advantage of a partisan wedge issue.”
“I urge the Speaker to abandon this current effort and let the House bring forward a bill — reflective of the traditional bipartisan process — that supports our troops and their families, invests in innovation and modernization, and doesn’t attack the transgender community,” Smith stated in a release.
