Greg Murphy: “Today I rise to speak on the recent ruling by the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs to allow taxpayer dollars to be spent…”

“Today I rise to speak on the recent ruling by the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs to allow taxpayer dollars to be spent to provide sex reassignment surgeries. I have been a board certified urologist for 30 years, so I am quite knowledgeable about patients who suffer from gender dysphoria. Those who experience this mental and physical ambiguity may seek care that involves years of psychological and psychiatric evaluation counseling, years of hormonal manipulation, and then multiple cosmetic surgeries. The cost of these interventions may easily run into the hundreds and thousands of dollars. Recent numbers cited by the National Center for Transgender Equality stated there were an estimated 134,000 transgender veterans in our Nation. However, using the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders data from 2019, that calculated number appears to be far less. Regardless, the new Secretary has mandated that sex reassignment surgery be covered by the VA. Again, I am very empathetic to the challenges that these patients face, but as a surgeon and a Member of Congress, I must question the surgical priorities here. The VA is already understaffed and overburdened, and now requiring a competing array of treatments may lead to a delay in diagnosis for serious life-threatening disorders. It is an issue of resources and priorities.…”