[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 147 (Thursday, September 17, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4803-S4804]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 868--RECOGNIZING SEPTEMBER 20, 2026, AS ``NATIONAL
LGBTQ+ SERVICEMEMBERS AND VETERANS DAY''
Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker,
Mr. Coons, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Hirono,
Mr. Kaine, Mr. Markey, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Sanders, Mr.
Schatz, Mr. Schiff, Ms. Smith, Ms. Warren, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr.
Wyden) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs:
S. Res. 868
Whereas lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer
(referred to in this preamble as ``LGBTQ+'') servicemembers
and veterans have honorably served in the Armed Forces in
every war to which the United States was a party, beginning
with the Revolutionary War;
Whereas LGBTQ+ servicemembers and veterans have served in
the Armed Forces despite discriminatory policies based on who
they love or how they identify;
Whereas, on April 27, 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower
signed Executive Order 10450 (18 Fed. Reg. 2489; relating to
security requirements for Government employment), which
declared ``sexual perversion'' to be a security risk and
grounds for denying Federal employment;
Whereas Executive Order 10450, which was eventually
repealed by President Barack Obama in 2017, contributed to
the ``Lavender Scare'' of the 1950s by banning gay and
lesbian people from working in the Government, including in
the Armed Forces, and was similarly applied to transgender
people as early as 1960;
Whereas, beginning in 1963, Army medical standards
explicitly disqualified transgender people from serving in
the Army, and for 30 years, beginning in the mid-1980s,
Department of Defense regulations explicitly disqualified
transgender people from military service;
Whereas, in 1982, the Department of Defense implemented a
policy stating that ``homosexuality is incompatible with
military service'', and between 1980 and 1990, an average of
1,500 military servicemembers were discharged every year on
the basis of their sexual orientation;
Whereas, in 1993, as part of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (Public Law 103-160;
107 Stat. 1547), Congress enacted the ``Don't Ask, Don't
Tell'' policy, which declared that the presence of gay,
lesbian, and bisexual people in the Armed Forces was an
``unacceptable risk'' to morale, good order, discipline, and
unit cohesion, and required the Armed Forces to discharge
servicemembers who--
(1) engaged in, attempted to engage in, or solicited
``homosexual acts'';
(2) stated that they were homosexual or bisexual; or
(3) married or attempted to marry a same-sex partner;
Whereas the Department of Defense has acknowledged that
13,472 personnel were discharged from the Armed Forces under
the ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' policy, and an additional
19,365 personnel were discharged between 1980 and 1993 under
similar policies that targeted servicemembers based on sexual
orientation;
Whereas the White House estimates that more than 100,000
servicemembers have been discharged from the Armed Forces for
their sexual orientation or gender identity;
Whereas, on September 20, 2011, the ``Don't Ask, Don't
Tell'' policy was officially repealed, following President
Barack Obama's certification of the repeal on July 22, 2011,
as required by the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
(10 U.S.C. 654 note; Public Law 111-321);
Whereas, on June 30, 2016, the Department of Defense
announced an end to the ban on transgender servicemembers
across all components of the Department of Defense;
Whereas, on July 26, 2017, President Donald J. Trump
announced that transgender people would not be allowed to
serve in the military;
Whereas, on January 25, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden
signed Executive Order 14004 (86 Fed. Reg. 7471; relating to
enabling all qualified Americans to serve their country in
uniform), which repealed the 2017 ban on transgender military
servicemembers;
Whereas, on June 26, 2024, President Joseph R. Biden
pardoned veterans who had been convicted in military courts
for consensual sodomy between 1951 and 2013 under former
article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice;
Whereas, on January 27, 2025, President Donald J. Trump
signed Executive Order 14183 (90 Fed. Reg. 8757; relating to
prioritizing military excellence and readiness), which
reinstated the ban on transgender servicemembers and directed
the Department of Defense to stop respecting transgender
people's correct pronouns and to prohibit transgender people
from using facilities that align with their gender identity;
Whereas, on February 7, 2025, the Secretary of Defense
issued a memorandum halting all gender-affirming medical
procedures for servicemembers;
Whereas, on February 26, 2025, the Department of Defense
announced that transgender and nonbinary servicemembers are
``no longer eligible for military service'' and ``will be
processed for separation from military service'';
Whereas, on March 17, 2025, the Department of Veterans
Affairs announced that it will no longer offer gender-
affirming hormone therapy to veterans who were not already
receiving such care; and
Whereas challenges still exist for LGBTQ+ servicemembers
and veterans seeking equitable treatment in service and
access to benefits: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes September 20, 2026, as ``National LGBTQ+
Servicemembers and Veterans Day'';
[[Page S4804]]
(2) celebrates the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and queer (referred to in this resolution as
``LGBTQ+'') servicemembers and veterans who have served in
the Armed Forces;
(3) regrets the harm done to LGBTQ+ servicemembers and
veterans under the ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' policy and
earlier policies, bans on transgender servicemembers, and
other policies that discriminate based on sexual orientation
and gender identity;
(4) recognizes how ``other than honorable'' and
``dishonorable'' discharges given to LGBTQ+ servicemembers on
the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity--
(A) prematurely terminated the careers of LGBTQ+
servicemembers in the Armed Forces;
(B) subjected LGBTQ+ servicemembers to the trauma of
investigations and criminal charges;
(C) unfairly denied LGBTQ+ servicemembers the honor
associated with military service;
(D) deprived LGBTQ+ servicemembers of benefits those
servicemembers have earned and deserve as veterans; and
(E) continue to cause LGBTQ+ servicemembers dignitary harm;
(5) urges the Department of Veterans Affairs and the
Department of Defense--
(A) to implement policy changes that restore justice and
right wrongs caused by past and present government-sponsored
discrimination, including by ending the transgender military
ban; and
(B) to conduct further outreach to LGBTQ+ servicemember and
veteran communities to ensure that those discharged based on
their sexual orientation and gender identity can receive
their benefits; and
(6) urges the Department of Veterans Affairs and the
Department of Defense to restore and expand access to the
full range of health care needed by transgender veterans and
servicemembers and their families, including gender-affirming
care, and ensure that such care is delivered in a non-
discriminatory and culturally competent manner.
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