Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Speaker, I don't really have anything more to add than what I said in the opening statement, so I won't belabor the point. It is, in so many ways, a very good bill that was worked through the process. I regret that we have injected, again, that partisan wedge issue into it. It is a controversial topic, trying to figure out what medical treatment transgender youth or youth experiencing gender dysphoria should get, but I worry in some instances that there is a denial of the existence of the condition. It is an absolute fact that some minors experience gender dysphoria. Mr. Speaker, I guess the one thing I didn't say in my opening statement that is worth adding is, on TRICARE, there are about 1.8 million dependents. The estimates that I have gotten--and they are a little fuzzy because they won't give specifics for, I think, some obvious reasons--are that roughly 4,000 children are being treated out of that 1.8 million, and not all 4,000 of those children being treated are receiving the treatments that are being prohibited in this bill. Mr. Speaker, we are talking about a small number of young people, but we are restricting access to their healthcare based on our opinion, not based on the opinion of the U.S. medical community. That, I think, is a mistake. Again, I close on a positive note. I thank Chairman Rogers, HASC, the Armed Services Committee, and all the staff.…”