On Thursday 24 Republicans voted against an amendment to a House bill to remove funding from the military budget to pay for the transgender surgery and hormone treatment for those serving in the military. The bill to pay for transgender surgery was enacted during Obama administration. Those 24 Republican votes defeated the amendment. The amendment reads:
SEC. 704. PROHIBITION OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MEDICAL TREATMENT RELATED TO GENDER TRANSITION.
Funds available to the Department of Defense may not be used to provide medical treatment (other than mental health treatment) related to gender transition to a person entitled to medical care under chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code.
Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, representing Virginia’s 10th district, was the only Republican representative in Virginia to vote against the amendment. The 24 Congressmen and women who voted with Comstock:
Justin Amash (Michigan)
Jack Bergman (Michigan)
Mike Coffman (Colorado)
Barbara Comstock (Virginia)
Paul Cook (California)
Ryan Costello (Pennsylvania)
Carlos Curbelo (Florida)
Jeff Denham (California)
Charlie Dent (Pennsylvania)
John Faso (New York)
Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania)
Darrell Issa (California)
John Katko (New York)
Steve Knight (California)
Leonard Lance (New Jersey)
Frank LoBiondo (New Jersey)
Tom MacArthur (New Jersey)
Brian Mast (Florida)
Tom Reed (New York)
Dave Reichert (Washington)
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Florida)
Bill Shuster (Pennsylvania)
Elise Stefanik (New York)
Claudia Tenney (New York)
So the taxpayer remains on the hook to pay for gender reassignment for anyone in the military who decides they are in the wrong body. The full House vote on the amendment is here.
Johns Hopkins hospital stopped doing gender reassignment surgeries after decades when they came to the conclusion that those surgeries didn’t make people any happier than they were prior to the surgeries. A mental health issue cannot be fixed by a physical change. People who believe they are a different gender, other than one at birth, need help, they need mental health services, but they do not need surgery, and taxpayers should not be paying for this genital mutilation among our military personnel. Once the surgery is done, it cannot be undone.
Will some disturbed individuals enter the military to have this very costly surgery and hormone treatment paid for by the taxpayers?
I spoke with several elected Republicans in the 10th district earlier today about Comstock’s vote. They used the words, “shocked, appalled, disgusted, and deeply disappointed” by her vote.
Why did Republican Barbara Comstock vote to continue these surgeries for our military? I would suggest you ask her since no one else can fathom why she would do this.
More on the story here, here and here.
