Amendments blocking funding for drag shows, gender-affirming care dropped from NDAA

A compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) negotiators in the House and Senate agreed on does not include a number of controversial amendments criticized as attacks against the LGBTQ community.

House Republicans, who passed the amendments in July, agreed to drop them from the annual defense policy bill, according to an updated draft released Thursday. The House-passed NDAA had sought to block the Defense Department (DOD) from funding drag shows and gender-affirming health care for transgender service members and dependents.

The legislation also sought to prohibit funding for the Department of Defense Education Activity — a federal school system — from being used to purchase or maintain library books with certain LGBTQ themes. The amendment, which Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) introduced, specifically targeted learning materials considered “pornographic” or that promoted “radical gender ideology.”

More than 150 House Democrats said Boebert’s amendment threatened to erase “the existence of transgender people by banning books that mention gender identity” in a September letter to House and Senate Armed Services Committee leadership  

The letter called for all provisions targeting LGBTQ people to be removed from the final NDAA, arguing that anti-LGBTQ amendments included in the House version “threaten the recruitment, retention, and readiness of our Armed Forces.” Congressional Equality Caucus Chairman Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Reps. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chairwomen of the Transgender Equality Taskforce, spearheaded the effort.

While most of the House’s most polarizing amendments appear to have been removed, Thursday’s compromise includes a provision prohibiting military service members and DOD employees from displaying “a flag other than an approved flag” in workspaces, common areas or public areas.

While the provision does not explicitly mention the LGBTQ Pride flag, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who introduced the original amendment, said in July that it is meant to restrict them.

Thursday’s proposed compromise still has several hurdles to clear before it can head to President Biden’s desk, including a final vote in the House, where it's likely to face opposition from hard-line conservatives.

“This was a total sell-out of conservative principles and a huge win for Democrats,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor (R-Ga.) said of the compromise on X, formerly Twitter. “Congratulations to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, you should all be excited to vote for this! I’m a HELL NO!”