LGBTQ Pride Month

Floor Speech

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Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I thank my true friend from the State of Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), who chairs the LGBTQ-plus Equality Caucus, for his work.

I want to say that Pride is always a very special time of year. It is a time of protest, a time of celebration, a time that we remember the struggles, honor the trailblazers, and appreciate the progress that we have made in the fight toward equality.

Throughout our history, LGBTQ people have been denied their basic rights. To this day, LGBTQ Americans across the country still face discrimination in key areas of life, from housing to healthcare.

While the Supreme Court has ruled to expand nondiscrimination protections in employment and made marriage equality the law of the land, in 29 states LGBTQ people aren't fully protected from discrimination.

That is why we are working hard to get the Equality Act signed into law.

Discrimination in this country has also been enshrined into policies at every level, including in the military.

Despite this, thousands of brave LGBTQ Americans have still stepped up to serve our country in uniform. For decades, LGBTQ members of the U.S. military and veterans have faced discrimination stemming from official military policies, including Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the Trans Military Ban.

Before Don't Ask, Don't Tell became an official military policy, servicemembers who were LGBTQ had to hide their identities, and those who were suspected of being LGBTQ were targeted by horrendous and traumatizing so-called witch hunts, which stripped them of their dignity and mistreated them based on a suspicion that had nothing to do with their service.

It is estimated that approximately 114,000 servicemembers were discharged on the basis of their sexual orientation between World War II and 2011, while an estimated 870,000 LGBTQ veterans have been impacted by ``hostility, harassment, assaultive behavior, and law enforcement targeting'' by discriminatory military policies.

Many LGBTQ veterans who were discharged on discriminatory grounds are unable to access their VA benefits, and those still serving face inconsistent protections that make them vulnerable to harassment and put their careers at risk.

But the true extent of the harm by discriminatory anti-LGBTQ policies in the military and at the VA is not known or well understood. To remedy the harm that has been done, we must reckon with the truth of what happened and understand the disparate effects of discriminatory military policies on LGBTQ people.

That is why I have introduced the Commission to Study the Stigmatization, Criminalization, and Ongoing Exclusion and Inequity for LGBTQ Servicemembers and Veterans Act, otherwise known as the Commission on LGBTQ Servicemembers and Veterans Act.

This legislation would launch a comprehensive study on the effects of discriminatory military policies on affected servicemembers, their families, and their units to help America learn the full extent of the harm caused by these policies and the status of protections for LGBTQ servicemembers today.

There are currently 250,000 Active Duty LGBTQ servicemembers and more than 1.5 million LGBTQ veterans receiving healthcare from the VA. But there continues to be a pervasive lack of data collection on LGBTQ servicemembers and veteran populations and an absence of education for both members of the military and the general public about members of the LGBTQ community who serve in uniform. This legislation seeks to address that.

It is essential for the American people to hear stories of LGBTQ servicemembers and veterans to understand the stigmatization they endured while serving our country and to know that, despite this, they are still immensely proud of their service.

This month, I have been sharing powerful stories of LGBTQ veterans on my social media. Every video testimonial reveals stories of bravery and profound love for country. It ends with veterans sharing the same message: LGBTQ people want and deserve to serve, just like everyone else.

We have, of course, made a lot of progress as a country, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to make the military and VA more inclusive. It is my mission as co-chair of the Equality Caucus and chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs to ensure that we honor the service of every American who has served, regardless of their identity.

This past weekend, we saw action that steers us toward that goal. The Biden administration announced that the VA will begin the first steps to expand care to include gender confirmation surgery for transgender veterans. This is truly a first and incredibly significant step that the VA is taking, and I applaud the VA's decision. Veterans in need of gender confirmation surgery should not have to seek healthcare outside of the VA healthcare system or navigate complicated processes to get the care they need.

This announcement will be life-changing for many, and it is the result of years of hard work and advocacy on behalf of trans veterans and allies.

So in honor of Pride Month, we must keep up the momentum, honor all those who have served our country in uniform, and commit ourselves to creating a truly equal nation.

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