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

Floor Speech

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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, Americans understand that trans people do exist and that transgender servicemembers have served our country with distinction and honor for almost a decade. They were able to do this openly.

Yet, this amendment seeks to erase the existence of transgender people, whether they are servicemembers or DOD employees, by prohibiting the Secretary of Defense from collecting information about gender identity on any form or survey.

Let me be clear: Trans people do exist, and their experiences matter.

Nondiscrimination and inclusion are core American values. This amendment is about exclusion and erasure.

Collecting data on the experiences of transgender people at the Department of Defense is critical to addressing the challenges the community faces.

Every person who steps up to serve our Nation in uniform, including trans people, should be treated with the utmost respect. These servicemembers have continuously shown that they are fit, qualified, and willing to serve.

This amendment would create real obstacles for transgender people by requiring DOD systems to list the wrong gender for transgender people. Discrepancies between these systems and trans people's legal documents will cause a host of issues, including complicating background checks.

This administration is already forcing transgender servicemembers out of the military just because of who they are. The Americans I know honor everyone who has the courage to serve. They do not support kicking people out of the military, people we have invested time and millions of dollars in training into, just to score political points.

Trump's trans military ban is cruel and shameful. Now, Republicans want to add insult to injury and try to erase trans servicemembers' existence with this amendment.

Enough is enough. I am proud to stand before this Chamber and support all of our servicemembers.

I will make it clear to every trans servicemember currently in the process of being forced out by this administration: My Democratic colleagues in Congress and I value your sacrifices and service to our Nation. We are, and will keep, fighting for you because you have put your life on the line for America. You deserve the same rights and treatment as every other servicemember.

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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Simon), my colleague.

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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Randall).

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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I do not understand why my colleagues across the aisle are so triggered, triggered by a piece of cloth. Yet, here we are for the third year in a row voting to ban the Pride flag from spaces at the Department of Defense.

Nearly half of the House Republicans' fiscal year 2026 appropriation bills include bans on the Pride flag as well. I don't know what they think this flag does. The Pride flag did not make me gay, and it will not make DOD employees gay either.

What displaying a Pride flag does do, however, is send an important signal to LGBTQI+ people that they belong. Our Department of Defense, what does it exist for but to defend America, to defend all Americans, to defend the dignity, rights, and freedom of all Americans?

What the flag does do is send an important signal that LGBTQI+ people belong. Displaying Pride flags is a way for servicemembers and DOD civilian employees to show that they are committed to creating and affirming an inclusive environment for LGBTQI+ people or a way to celebrate their own identity. It does not indicate to exclude anybody else for what they may believe in.

At a time when the LGBTQI+ community is under attack, displaying a Pride flag is especially important. It is particularly offensive that Republicans are seeking to ban this flag at DOD, given that one of the earliest Pride flags was created by a former U.S. military officer, Gilbert Baker.

Mr. Chairman, I believe the American people are fair and they support inclusion. I think they view amendments like this one, dictating to Federal employees and troops what flags they can have at their workstations, as both ridiculous and extreme government overreach. We should be focused on strengthening our military readiness, not censoring the LGBTQI+ community and our allies.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, let me just say that I don't understand why-- to acknowledge and to allow a flag to be displayed in a workstation or to be flown during Pride month in certain areas--the other side believes that LGBTQ+ people are such a threat to recognize their service in the military.

We are a country of inclusion. We are the land of the free and the home of the brave. That should include all of us. There is no reason we should think that the fact that we had a policy of inclusion and that we had Pride flags at the Department of Defense was the reason why we were falling short of our recruitment goals. There was something else going on there.

This is all crazy talk, and that is why I think more and more Americans think it is the Republican Party that has gone too far with its very extreme views about LGBTQIA+ people and defense.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

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