OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026

Floor Speech

Date: Sept. 10, 2025
Location: Washington, DC

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Ms. SIMON. Mr. Chair, for the folks who are watching, for the transgender community, you are loved and respected for your resilience and for your breadth. Keep pushing.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in opposition to this amendment that would prohibit the Department of Defense from collecting data on gender identity.

Data is not just numbers. Data is a story and reflection of those lived realities of real people, and this amendment is to stop data collection. It is clear that it is an attempt to erase the existence of transgender servicemembers at the Department of Defense.

Without data collection, the Department of Defense cannot adequately address the challenges that lesbian, bisexual, and transgender servicemembers may face.

Transgender employees will have a difficult time filing equal employment opportunity complaints without accurate data. Employees will also have inconsistent records and incorrect gender markers in Department of Defense systems, making it harder to access health services.

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