Protect Our Rights from Appropriations Riders

I’m writing to urge you to vote no on any appropriations bills that include anti-transgender riders—and to stand firm in protecting the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ Americans. The current slate of riders being pushed in the Labor-HHS, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Financial Services bills would do devastating harm. These provisions would: • Ban the use of federal funding by hospitals for gender-affirming care at any age. This will set the stage for the Trump administration to cut off federal funding for unrelated purposes to coerce hospitals to stop providing care completely. They've already tried to do this with care for minors without a federal law. • Strip Medicaid, Medicare and federal employee coverage for transgender Americans who need gender-affirming care. • Prohibit transgender surgeries for all ages in federally owned, leased, or used facilities. • Force transgender women into men’s prisons, endangering their safety and dignity. • Ban Pride flags and remove protections for LGBTQ+ foster youth. These are not budgetary measures—they are ideological attacks. They would erase protections, endanger lives, and weaponize federal funding to coerce institutions into abandoning care. For many, access to HRT and affirming care is not optional—it’s life-saving. I understand the pressure to avoid a government shutdown. But civil rights should never be traded away for political expediency. The anti-trans provisions in the NDAA were a painful blow. Please don’t let that happen again. And let’s be clear: if this tactic succeeds, it won’t stop here. The same strategy—threatening unrelated federal funding to punish facilities that offer essential care—could be used to target abortion access, contraceptive services, and other critical health protections. This is a slippery slope toward dismantling bodily autonomy under the guise of budgetary control. I ask you to: • Refuse to support any bill that includes anti-trans riders. • Use your voice and vote to protect LGBTQ+ Americans. • Push for clean funding bills that uphold dignity and equality. This is a defining moment. Please show us that our lives and rights matter.