HouseH.Res. 1572119th Congress
Encouraging the recognition of a "National LGBTQ+ Servicemembers and Veterans Day".
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1572 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1572
Encouraging the recognition of a ``National LGBTQ+ Servicemembers and
Veterans Day''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 21, 2026
Ms. Randall submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Encouraging the recognition of a ``National LGBTQ+ Servicemembers and
Veterans Day''.
Whereas September 20, 2026, is widely recognized as ``National LGBTQ+
Servicemembers and Veterans Day'';
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Whereas Executive Order 10450, which was eventually repealed by President Barack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 Armed Forces;
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 servicemembers of the Armed Forces;
Whereas, on June 26, 2024, President Joseph R. Biden pardoned veterans who had
been convicted in courts martial 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 House of Representatives--
(1) encourages Americans to recognize a ``National LGBTQ+
Servicemembers and Veterans Day'';
(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 Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the
Secretary 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 Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the
Secretary 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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