The publication is reproduced in full below:
TAXPAYERS SHOULD NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR SEX REASSIGNMENT SURGERIES
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy) for 5 minutes.
Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, today I rise to speak on the recent ruling by the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs to allow taxpayer dollars to be spent to provide sex reassignment surgeries. I have been a board certified urologist for 30 years, so I am quite knowledgeable about patients who suffer from gender dysphoria. Those who experience this mental and physical ambiguity may seek care that involves years of psychological and psychiatric evaluation counseling, years of hormonal manipulation, and then multiple cosmetic surgeries. The cost of these interventions may easily run into the hundreds and thousands of dollars.
Recent numbers cited by the National Center for Transgender Equality stated there were an estimated 134,000 transgender veterans in our Nation. However, using the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders data from 2019, that calculated number appears to be far less. Regardless, the new Secretary has mandated that sex reassignment surgery be covered by the VA.
Again, I am very empathetic to the challenges that these patients face, but as a surgeon and a Member of Congress, I must question the surgical priorities here. The VA is already understaffed and overburdened, and now requiring a competing array of treatments may lead to a delay in diagnosis for serious life-threatening disorders. It is an issue of resources and priorities.
There is actually a much heated debate on whether this sex reassignment surgery is truly appropriate or beneficial. In fact, in 2016 the Obama administration came to the conclusion that it was not. In 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services revisited the question of whether sex reassignment surgery would be covered by Medicare plans. Despite receiving a request that its coverage be mandated, it refused. It refused to cover it on the grounds that we lack evidence that it truly benefits patients.
It is well documented that up to 40 percent of the transgender population will attempt suicide at some point. There is no clear evidence that this tragic statistic changes anything after having sex reassignment surgery. In fact, as recent as August of 2020 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, it states that comparing those with gender dysphoria who had sex change surgery with those who did not, that the results demonstrated no advantage of surgery in relation to subsequent mood or anxiety disorder-related healthcare visits or prescriptions or hospitalizations following suicide attempts in that comparison. I could go on with the medical statistics, but suffice it to say, there is no clear consensus regarding surgical intervention in this population.
Madam Speaker, I represent the sixth largest number of veterans in any congressional district in the country. These surgeries that are required require complex surgical intervention by highly trained surgical specialists that the VA does not have, nor has any prospect of employing in the future.
The Nation is already suffering a severe shortage of surgeons. The American College of Surgeons cites severe shortages of general surgeons, urologists, and plastic surgeons. Those that we have are needed to take care of cancer, bowel obstructions, and limb reconstructions following battlefield injuries, real life and death issues. They are not going to jump ship to be paid less in a bureaucratic Government-run healthcare system.
We already know the VA is short-staffed. They need mental health treatment individuals for PTSD and traumatic brain injury from injuries sustained by veterans in battle. We already have 17 veterans dying a day from service-connected psychiatric issues. They do not need to compete for resources with those who are suffering from issues that have nothing to do with being a member of the military.
We do not have enough psychiatrists or psychologists to deal with the trauma that our veterans have faced in their fight to keep this Nation free. Is it right to divert resources away from those who require years of therapy for nonservice-connected issues? The answer, I submit, is no.
Further, gender dysphoria requires years of hormonal transitioning, needless to say requiring medications for anxiety and depression. This increase of pharmaceutical needs will further strain the VA pharmacy system that is already overtaxed.
But now the Secretary in an effort to appease the far left wants to stress the system more. What are his priorities? Secretary Denis McDonough was supposed to fix the VA. So what is his first major action? Spending millions in diverting resources from our service-connected veterans for nonservice-connected issues. We are bankrupting this Nation chasing the far left progressive wish list.
Again, I will say, as a physician, I am very sympathetic to those that deal with gender dysphoria. I truly do. They face many challenges in life, but cosmetic surgical interventions on the backs of taxpayers is not the answer. Congressional duties are about setting priorities. I ask the Biden administration to reassess their priorities.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 112
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
House Representatives' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
Alerts Sign-up