Recognizing the 10th Anniversary of Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Floor Speech
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Mr. PAPPAS. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding and for his leadership on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and for his longstanding commitment to fighting for those who have served all of us.
So today does mark the 10th anniversary of the end of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. It was a deeply flawed, deeply prejudiced policy of our government that prohibited LGBTQ individuals from serving openly in the Armed Forces.
The policy told LGBTQ individuals that they were not welcome to serve their country, that their government viewed them as second-class citizens.
It also forced many who swore an oath to give everything for their country, up to and including their lives, to hide who they were and to live in secret or to face the loss of a job, a life's calling, financial security, health, and happiness.
Americans who were ready, willing, and eager to serve their country were forced to leave the armed services for good, many receiving less- than-honorable discharges. It is estimated that over 13,000 servicemembers were discharged in the 17 years that Don't Ask, Don't Tell was enforced.
A decade after its repeal, Don't Ask, Don't Tell still casts a long, dark, and disgraceful shadow and haunts those who were targeted. We have much more work to do to correct this tremendous injustice endured by those who served and were discharged during Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
That is why I was proud to introduce the Securing the Rights our Veterans Earned Act, or SERVE Act, to help correct these injustices and guaranteeing VA benefits for LGBTQ-plus veterans forced out of service for being themselves. This includes veterans who were discharged under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, those issued so-called blue discharges during World War II, as well as those forced out under the Trump's administration discriminatory policy on transgender servicemembers.
I want to highlight one story of a courageous veteran, Landon Marchant. Landon Marchant is a transgender veteran of the Air Force who enlisted to serve their country and for the promise of a better life. But after just 22 months, they were dishonorably discharged.
As Landon writes: ``The impact of Don't Ask, Don't Tell did not end when I received my discharge paperwork, and it did not end when the ban was finally repealed. It has impacted my post-military life. I was discharged less than 2 months before reaching the 2-year minimum for full GI Bill eligibility, and I have had to fight for my disability benefits while having inconsistent employment.''
So it took nearly 10 years after their discharge to be awarded the VA benefits that Landon had earned, and still, this fight continues.
Stories like Landon's are heartbreaking. I thank them for having the courage to stand up and to speak out about this personal experience.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell isn't just about a policy on paper. It is about living, breathing people, like Landon and thousands more who lived with the stigma, the trauma, and the adverse effects.
I applaud the Department of Veterans Affairs for announcing that it will work to correct injustices like Landon's. And I urge my colleagues in this Chamber to support these efforts and others that will provide all LGBTQ-plus servicemembers and veterans with the full measure of equality, of care, and of respect that they have earned through their service.
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