National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024
Floor Speech
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Ms. JACOBS. Madam Chair, this is another amendment that is fearmongering about China when Republicans are continuing to actually undermine our national security by restricting and banning abortion.
Our servicemembers volunteered to serve in our armed services. They didn't volunteer to give up their reproductive rights.
I am thankful that DOD has taken steps to support servicemembers and their dependents' reproductive freedom by covering the travel and transportation costs for abortion and fertility care in the post-Roe era.
Let's be clear: DOD's travel policy is consistent with the law. We shouldn't reverse this progress and take away our servicemembers' freedom when they have already sacrificed so much for us.
In the 1 year since the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to an abortion, 20 States have restricted or banned abortion. This decision has disproportionately burdened our military families, who don't often choose where they are stationed. They can't freely take off days from work. Many can't afford to travel thousands of miles and pay out of pocket to receive the care they need and deserve, all because of the current statutory ban on DOD providing abortion services, which I strongly oppose.
That is why DOD's travel policy has been so important. As one of the few women of reproductive age in Congress, I know how important access to abortion and fertility care is to our health, freedom, economic security, and empowerment.
Taking away these fundamental rights doesn't just hurt these individuals. It hurts our military readiness, recruitment and retention, and morale, putting our national security in jeopardy.
With many people having zero access to abortion services where they are stationed, our military's ability to adapt to evolving conflicts and challenges has been very compromised.
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Ms. JACOBS. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.
The ACTING Chair. The gentlewoman from California is recognized for 5 minutes.
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Ms. JACOBS. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment. Trans servicemembers have served and served successfully for years.
In fact, trans people are even more likely to serve in the U.S. military than cisgender people, so it is mind-boggling that we would want to deter and discriminate against a group of people who have proven their patriotism and deep commitment to our country.
All of us are well aware that we are facing steep military recruitment and retention challenges. This amendment will worsen this crisis by pushing transgender servicemembers out of the military. That is because gender-affirming care is necessary and medically backed.
Care that gives you the ability to be your true, authentic self is primary care, and it is not something that should be easily dismissed.
If our servicemembers constantly worry about their right to exist, their ability to serve our country is jeopardized, and it harms our readiness and ability to respond quickly and effectively to national security challenges.
I am not alone on this. Secretary Austin agrees that allowing people to serve as their authentic self is the right and the smart thing to do for our military operations.
That is why I urge my colleagues to do the right thing for our values and our readiness and oppose this harmful amendment.
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Ms. JACOBS. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Smith), the distinguished ranking member of the Armed Services Committee.
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Ms. JACOBS. Madam Chair, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.
The ACTING Chair. The gentlewoman from California has 2\3/4\ minutes remaining.
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Ms. JACOBS. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I thank Ranking Member Smith for his comments, and I will emphasize that transgender people are people.
They are much more than statistics. They are people serving our country. They are people who care and are patriotic.
They are more likely to harm themselves and suffer from mental health challenges due to the harmful rhetoric they hear from elected officials denying their right to exist.
My youngest sibling, my brother, is trans, and he is one of the most responsible people I know. I would be thrilled if he wanted to serve our country, and you should be, too.
Madam Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to my colleague from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding time.
I am on the floor again holding up the Constitution, which should not be eliminated for the fighting force of Americans who have been declared by nations around the world as the strongest, most powerful fighting force in the world.
Whatever my friend says on the other side of the aisle, I have no basis for his statistics. No one has undermined the force of the men and women.
Let me pay tribute to them. Equal protection of the law says basically a healthcare issue is a healthcare issue. Trans people have healthcare issues. Trans children have healthcare issues. It is an outrage that we should deny Americans who want to die on a battlefield the right to get TRICARE.
Black maternal mortality is more prone to African-American women. Should they be in the military and denied healthcare because they have a Black maternal mortality and are more apt to have babies that die? No. They want to die on the field, too. They want to be able to wear the uniform.
I have never been able to understand how you can deny people healthcare. It is healthcare. Let me say it again: It is healthcare.
For trans children, it is more your denial, your denunciation, your contempt, your hatred that drives them to do anything toward themselves.
It could be a heterosexual, and you condemn them, and they may be prone to suicide. This is not apt to those who happen to be trans.
Please, I beg of this floor, do not pass these amendments because the Constitution will be trampled on. Healthcare, Madam Chair, is healthcare.
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Ms. JACOBS. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to my colleague--
The ACTING Chair. The gentlewoman from California has 45 seconds remaining.
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Ms. JACOBS. Madam Chair, I yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney).
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Ms. JACOBS. Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
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Ms. JACOBS. Madam Chair, let's be clear: Every major medical association in the United States, every single major medical association in the United States representing more than 1.3 million United States doctors, has affirmed that gender-affirming care is safe and effective.
Healthcare decisions for children should be between the patient, the parents, and the healthcare provider, not the government, not some politician who has no idea what he is talking about. I wonder what you would do if your kid came to you, sure that they were in the wrong body.
Madam Chair, I have talked to parents. Many of them didn't think they believed in trans issues either. But it should be between a parent, their child, and their doctor what healthcare decisions get made.
By denying servicemembers the ability to provide medically necessary care for their children, including by relocating, this amendment will likely lead to servicemembers leaving the military and will weaken efforts to recruit other people who do or may have transgender family members.
Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this horrible amendment.
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