Veterans Affairs to phase out gender dysphoria medical treatments
"I mean no disrespect to anyone, but VA should not be focused on helping veterans attempt to change their sex. The vast majority of veterans and Americans agree, and that is why this is the right decision," said VA Secretary Doug Collins.
"All eligible veterans, including trans-identified veterans, will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they've earned under the law," Collins added. "But if veterans want to attempt to change their sex, they can do so on their own dime."
While the VA has never provided sex-change surgeries, it has offered cross-sex hormone therapy, voice training and gender-affirming prosthetics.
The VA said funding, allocated to any gender dysphoria medical treatments, would be redirected to help paralyzed veterans and amputees "regain their independence."
President Trump signed the "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government" executive order shortly after his inauguration on Jan. 20.
"It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female," the executive order states. "These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality."
In addition to phasing out treatments for gender dysphoria, the VA said bathrooms, locker rooms and patient rooms are now designated by male or female, or unisex for single-person spaces.
The Modern Military Association of America blasted Monday's announcement, calling the gender dysphoria rollback "a direct assault on the well-being of vulnerable LGBTQ+ veterans, jeopardizing their access to essential care."
"Combined with the administration's planned cut of 80,000 VA employees, these actions demonstrate a blatant disregard for the nation's commitment to those who have served," said Rachel Branaman, executive director of the Modern Military Association of America.
Currently, there are more than 134,000 transgender veterans in the United States, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality. Fewer than 9,000 of the VA department's 9.1 million veterans, enrolled in medical care services, are believed to be transgender.
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Washington Post
36 minutes ago
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Another winner from the new federal budget: Older Americans
C. Eugene Steuerle, a former Treasury official and co-founder of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, is the author of 'Abandoned: How Republicans and Democrats Deserted The Working Class, The Young, And The American Dream.' Glenn Kramon is a lecturer at Stanford Business School. As President Donald Trump and Congress passed the federal budget, the tax cuts that will benefit the wealthiest Americans and businesses received much attention. But there is another group of winners mentioned less often: older Americans. Federal spending is set to rise significantly as Medicare and Social Security grow unsustainably, along with rising interest costs that the new budget only increases.
