Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I thank Mrs. Hartzler, my good friend, for offering this amendment. Mr. Chair, we are $20 trillion in debt. Taxpayers, by my figures, are projected to pay $3.7 billion over the next 10 years for sex reassignment surgery and hormone therapy for those in the military who wish to transition from one sex to another. The total cost includes the manpower lost while the individual transitions, which can take up to a year or longer, depending on complications. Sex reassignment patients also require specialized medicine following the procedure. And I find that interesting, in the face of the fact I just had a young gentleman come to my office who wants to serve, but he can't serve, because he has got a peanut allergy. Right? He can't go downrange, because we can't have the medicine downrange, and that doesn't cost the taxpayers anything, but we are going to spend $3.7 billion over the next 10 years on sex reassignment surgery as opposed to buying aircraft and body armor and the things that warfighters need to be successful in defending the Nation. It is really just a priority issue. With limited defense resources and the current state of our Armed Forces, we must prioritize increasing our strength and readiness.”