REPORT: Congressional Democrats, After Beating Back Unprecedented Onslaught of Anti-LGBTQ+ Attacks in FY24 Budget, Face Next Wave

WASHINGTON - As the U.S. House of Representatives returned to the nation's Capitol today with an eye on necessary government funding legislation that must be passed by December 20, the Human Rights Campaign is out with a new report shining a light on the latest attempts by MAGA Republicans to hijack must-pass federal appropriations bills with anti-LGBTQ+ riders. In 2023 - a similar push largely failed as 51 of 52 anti-LGBTQ+ riders were ultimately stripped out of the appropriations bills.

"The purpose of the annual appropriations bills is to fund the essential work of our government, to meet the needs of people all across the country, in all walks of life," said David Stacy, Human Rights Campaign Vice President of Government Affairs. "House Republicans have now spent the past two years attempting to poison these must-pass bills with anti-LGBTQ+ riders that would weaponize the federal government against our community. But pro-equality leaders in Congress have stood tall. Last fiscal year, pro-equality lawmakers defeated nearly every one of these anti-LGBTQ+ riders, making clear that they will not tolerate the targeting of LGBTQ+ people. This moment calls for that leadership again. Facing a new wave of anti-LGBTQ+ riders, pro-equality members of Congress must defeat these harmful provisions and send a message to the American people that hate has no place in the working of keeping the government running."

In all, 55 anti-LGBTQ+ riders have been attached to 12 must-pass FY25 federal appropriations bills - riders that attempt to weaponize the government's spending power against the country's LGBTQ+ population, that would make it increasingly difficult for members of our community to participate as full members of society.The anti-LGBTQ+ proposals target key areas of life, including bans on medically necessary gender-affirming care, licenses to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people in health care and business, bans on pride flags, and restrictions on drag performances. Riders also seek to prevent the enforcement of federal non-discrimination protections, including blocking executive orders and agency regulations designed to protect LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination in areas such as education, healthcare, and employment.

However, previous attempts to hijack federal spending bills with anti-LGBTQ+ attacks have failed. Due to the work of HRC and its congressional partners, both the National Defense Authorization Act, passed last December, and the final version of a $1.59 trillion funding package, passed in March, cleared chamber floors with more than 50 anti-LGBTQ+ riders defeated. And in contrast to the MAGA-led House, the Senate, currently held by a pro-equality majority, proposed proactive policies to safeguard American freedoms. In addition to considering legislation that would expand voting rights and protections for access to IVF and contraception, the upper chamber also sought to secure the fundamental right to abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson decision.

Anti-LGBTQ+ attacks by House Republicans are wildly out of touch with the values of the American people. Polling conducted after last Tuesday's election shows that 60% of voters support a federal law that would make it illegal to deny services to LGBTQ+ people and would ban discrimination in employment and housing, including 57% of the non-college voters that played an outsized role in Trump's election. An even stronger 73% majority (60% among Republicans) argue the government should not interfere with the health care transgender people receive.

HRC's full report, "Appropriations Under Attack: Ongoing Anti-LGBTQ+ Extremism In The 118th Congress", can be found here.

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

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