Defense bill clears Congress – with ban on gender care for minors buried inside it

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Senate has passed a divisive new defense spending bill that directs $895bn towards the Pentagon for the coming year, despite Democratic objections to a provision buried within it that blocks the transgender children of servicemen and women from receiving health coverage to treat gender dysphoria. But while the NDAA includes such positive measures as pay rises for both junior and senior enlisted members and authorizes $33.5bn for new battleships, $17.5bn for military construction projects and $143bn for research, development and weapons testing, its anti-trans clause, reportedly added at the insistence of House Speaker Mike Johnson, caused disquiet. The provision blocks TRICARE, the US military’s healthcare plan for its members, from providing “medical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization” for children under 18. “It’s unfortunate that some of our colleagues decided to force this harmful provision in this National Defense Authorization Act, because otherwise, I would have been proud to support it.” Making a case for supporting the bill anyway, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said: “Everyone knows this NDAA is not perfect, but it still takes a strong stand against the Chinese Communist Party.” The NDAA includes pay rises for servicemembers and authorizes $33.5bn for for construction of new ships He also cited the bill authorizing a Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, bolstering nuclear modernization and Indo-Pacific sea-power and supporting technological innovation in the military as reasons to back it.