Democratic Rep. Becca Balint — the first openly gay lawmaker to represent Vermont in Congress — on Monday introduced legislation to expand access to gender-affirming care for trans people across the country, by improving education and training to medical providers.
Balint introduced the Transgender Health Care Access Act on International Trans Day of Visibility, an unofficial holiday that was founded in 2009 by a Michigan social worker to celebrate trans life. The bill would direct the Health and Human Services Department to distribute grants to develop, implement and train providers in gender-affirming care, particularly in rural communities and indigenous communities served by the Indian Health Service. It would exclude funding for any form of conversion therapy.
The proposed legislation is a long shot as Republicans control both the House and the Senate. President Donald Trump attacked trans rights during his campaign, and has not let up upon returning to the White House. And HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a long history of peddling baseless conspiracies about transgender people, and his plans to restructure the department include gutting entire divisions focused on public health and HIV prevention.
But Balint said she is “not standing down” and that her bill, which has 30 co-sponsors, is an opportunity to show trans Americans that Democrats are sticking up for them.
“Rep. Balint thinks that Democrats need to be a force for equality and dignity especially in the face of the Republican majority’s attacks,” Sophie Pollock, a spokesperson for the lawmaker, wrote in a statement to HuffPost. “We have to stand up and be loud about where we stand even if this legislation is going to be rejected by Republicans. It’s so critical that queer and trans Americans see they have fighters in Congress.”
The Democratic Party as a whole has been scrutinized for how it has talked about — or stayed silent about — supporting transgender rights during the Trump administration.
Most notably, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) came under fire earlier this month when he invited Charlie Kirk, a close Trump ally and the head of Turning Point USA, onto his podcast. During their interview, Newsom agreed with Kirk when he suggested that Democrats were in the wrong for allowing trans girls and women to participate on female sports teams.
Since returning to office, Trump has signed executive orders threatening young trans people’s access to gender-affirming care, as well as their ability to participate in sports and use school bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. He has also tried to reinstate a ban on transgender service members in the military, and directed the State Department to stop requests to change sex markers on passports. Many of these executive actions are currently facing legal challenges from civil rights legal advocacy organizations.
Earlier this month, HHS and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services quietly proposed a rule to remove gender-affirming care from the list of essential services covered under the Affordable Care Act. If this rule passes Congress, it could jeopardize care for several hundred thousand trans people who rely on the ACA coverage.
Trans people already face significant barriers when it comes to accessing adequate medical care. Nearly half of transgender people in the U.S. — and 68% of trans people of color — have reported experiencing mistreatment by a medical provider, including refusal of care and verbal or physical abuse, according to a 2021 report from the Center from American Progress, a left-leaning think tank.
LGBTQ+ advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union; Advocates for Trans Equality; Equality California; and the Human Rights Campaign have applauded Balint’s efforts to expand access and improve the quality of gender-affirming health care for transgender patients.
“Lack of access to competent care and a shortage of well-trained providers are some of the most serious problems facing transgender people,” Chris Stoll, a senior attorney with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said in a statement. “The Transgender Health Care Access Act would greatly improve access to care, especially in the places where it is most needed.”