The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in a 281 140 vote. The annual military budget contains a provision banning gender-affirming care for military members with trans children; nonetheless, 81 Democratic representatives voted in favor of the NDAA.Republicans hijacked the $895.2 billion military bill by inserting a provision banning any medical treatment for gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization for those under 18 under the militarys health insurance plan, TriCare. The provision will prevent military members from getting safe, effective transitional care for their transgender children. Related Donald Trumps Secretary of Defense nominee thinks LGBTQ+ soldiers harm the military Pete Hegseth thinks the estimated 126,827 LGBTQ+ military service erode standards of the US military. House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said that Democratic congressional leadership didnt tell legislators how to vote on the bill, adding, theres a lot of positive and bipartisan provisions in the NDAA but also some troubling ones, CBS News reported. Stay connected to your community Connect with the issues and events that impact your community at home and beyond by subscribing to our newsletter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The Senate will now vote on the bill. If the Senates version remains identical to the Houses and passes in the upper congressional chamber, it will go to President Joe Bidens desk, where he may veto or sign it into law. In the past, Biden has promised to veto legislation that harms the LGBTQ+ community.If Biden signs the law, it would be the first federal statute restricting the LGBTQ+ community since the infamous Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy of the 1990s which heavily restricted LGBTQ+ peoples membership from serving in the military.Transgender activists criticized the bills passage. When a service member is forced to choose between continuing their military service or protecting the wellbeing of their child, it also undermines military readiness and endangers national security, Advocates for Trans Equalitys (A4TE) Director of Federal Policy, Olivia Hunt, said in a statement. Military families have enough to worry aboutthey should never have to fear that they cant get necessary healthcare for their children. Politicians who prioritize discriminatory agendas over the wellbeing of those who serve do a disservice to the very patriots they claim to honor, Hunt added. Healthcare decisions made between military families and their doctors should be respected, not politicized.Its unclear exactly what specific procedures the NDAA will ban.Puberty blockers dont affect fertility, hormone replacement therapy can, and not all gender-affirming surgeries (like mastectomies) affect fertility. Such surgeries are rarely conducted on children.House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) supported the bill, saying in a statement, This [NDAA] legislation includes House-passed provisions to restore our focus on military lethality and to end the radical woke ideology being imposed on our military by permanently banning transgender medical treatment for minors and countering antisemitism. However, before the vote, Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) released astatementurging Johnson to reconsider the bill.Blanketly denying health care to people who clearly need it, just because of a biased notion against transgender people, is wrong, Smith wrote. This provision injected a level of partisanship not traditionally seen in defense bills. Let the House bring forward a bill reflective of the traditional bipartisan process that supports our troops and their families, invests in innovation and modernization, and doesnt attack the transgender community.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.