TRENTON – A resolution sponsored by Senate Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Troy Singleton that expresses opposition to President Donald Trump’s decision to prohibit individuals who are transgender from being able to serve in the military passed the Senate Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee today.
“President Trump’s decision does not make our military stronger or more effective,” said Senator Singleton (D-Burlington). “This is a wrong-headed decision that ignores facts. Allowing transgender individuals to serve has minimal effects on combat readiness or health care costs. The president is playing to the darkest recesses of human behavior. And by doing so, he is hurting the men and women on military bases.
“Whether someone is transgender has nothing to do with his or her commitment to serving our nation wearing the uniform of the United States. We should be doing everything in our power to ensure that our military reflects not only the diversity that is America, but also respects the equality of each individual, which is the core of the promise that is America.
In 2016, the RAND Corporation, commissioned by former Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, issued a report entitled, “Assessing the Implications of Allowing Transgender Personnel to Serve Openly.” The report stated “the health care needs of the transgender population, transgender service members’ potential health care utilization rates, and the costs associated with extending health care coverage for transition-related treatments. The report assessed the potential readiness implications of allowing transgender service members to serve openly; and reviewed the experiences of foreign militaries that permit transgender service members to serve openly.”
The study concluded that the impact on readiness and health care costs would be minimal.
The resolution, SR-77, passed out of committee by a vote of 5-0 and moves to the full Senate for further consideration.