('Inngreaa at the Huiteh gvtatw Washington, E01 ZUEIE August 29, 2017 President Donald J. Trump The White House 1600 Ave, NW Washington, DC 20500 Mr. President: We urge you to reconsider your ban on trans gender individuals serving in our country?s military. There is no place for discrimination in our Armed Forces or indeed anywhere else in American society. Enforcing your ban could mean discharging active duty soldiers, sailors, Marines, and members of the Air Force who are serving honorably.1 It also would mean barring other patriotic Americans from serving in the future. Both actions are detrimental to our national security, ill?advised, and contrary to the values upon which our nation was built. There are thousands of active-duty transgender servicemembers.2 Contrary to your rhetoric, their service has not caused ?disruption? or ?burdened? the military. Rather, their sacri?ces have made our nation safer and stronger. Transgender servicemembers wear the same uniform and complete the same missions as their cisgender peers. In combat, their lives are in equal peril. They serve with equal distinction; they are equally deserving of our gratitude and respect. Implicitly, your ban denies the value of transgender servicemembers, and it questions the professionalism of those who serve beside them. Our Armed Forces have grown more equal and more inclusive over time, often in the face of strident opposition. In 1948, when President Truman moved to racially integrate the military, voices were raised in protest. They were raised again in 2010, when Congress at last repealed ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell.? At every turn, those voices have been proven wrong. Again and again, members of excluded groups have shown that they can serve with distinction; again and again, the military has proved that it can be a respectful home for all. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has said the Department of Defense should ?measure each policy decision against one critical standard: will the decision affect the readiness and lethality of the force??3 Based on that standard, we see no rational basis to prevent transgender Americans from serving. A 2016 study conducted at the request of the Department of Defense by the RAND Corporation a nonpartisan, nonpro?t military think tank founded by the US. Air Force suggested that allowing transgender individuals to serve openly would have ?no signi?cant impact on unit cohesion or operational readiness.?4 Meanwhile, your ban would be highly disruptive and have an adverse effect: it would shrink the pool of available recruits and deny our military access to the skills, expertise, and experience of quali?ed servicemembers. There is also no evidence to support your claim about the ?tremendous medical costs? associated with transgender servicemembers. The same RAND Corporation study suggests that if trans gender individuals were of?cially allowed to 1 RB9909.pdf 2 1 7/ 07/ 2 6/us/politics/trump-trans 3 4 PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER serve openly, the annual cost of resultant gender transition-related medical costs would likely not exceed $8.4 million.5 This is less than one-hundredth of one percent of the military?s nearly $50 billion health care budget. Or, for comparison, roughly equal to the cost to taxpayers of four of your weekend trips to Mar-a?Lago resort.6 We have strong concerns about the process by which your ban was created. We are troubled by your apparent refusal to appropriately consult with relevant advisors, experts, or military leaders. News reports have characterized your ban as a ?snap decision?7 that ?caught [the Pentagon] off guard.?8 Decisions that touch on national security demand careful consideration and responsible debate; anything less endangers the American people. Finally, we are deeply concerned about the clear unconstitutionality of your ban. As existing case law makes clear, the government cannot discriminate against transgender people on the basis of their status or sex and the military is not exempt from constitutional requirements. It is not clear to us that your administration has reckoned with these realities. We urge you again to join us in honoring all those who protect our nation; to fully respect the rights of the citizens you serve; and to reconsider the ill-advised and indefensible policy that you have moved to implement. Sincerely, . A. Donald McEachin P. Ke?nnedy, Pramila ayapa Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Con ess Sten . oyer Dem Whip 5 Ibid 6 1 7/03/ 1 term=.8c6a2eed6 1 55 7 8 Mark DeSa 1 Alan Lowenthal MZber of Congress Member of Congress Eric Swalwell ?hn Yarmutl? Member of Congress ?ember of Congress Donald M. Payn?rr? Salud Carbajal Member of Congress Member of Congress Alma S. Adams Member of Congress Daniel T. Kildee Ted W. Lieu Member of Congress Member of Congress . naG. Eshoo Fr nk Pallone, Jr Member of Congress Member of Congress uben J. Kihuen acky Rosen Member of Congress Member of Congress Colleen Hanabusa Charlie Crist Member of Congress Member of Congress arm/RM? amie Raskin es P. McGovern] ember of Congress mber of Congress Sun?me Bonamici ?R?oLKh??nna Member of Congress Member of Congress muley Member of Congress Sean Patrick Maloney Matthew Cartwright Member of Congress Member of Congress avid N. Cici ine Lois Frankel . 7? Member of Congress Member of Congress I Dwi Evans . arl Blumenauer Member of Congress Member of Congress NW k, ?Ni?w Debbie Wasserman Schultz Donald S. Beyer,'Jr. Member of Congress Member of Congress 3. Scott Peters Lisa Blunt Rochester Member of Congress Member of Congress 4 Robert C. "BoMy" Scott Member of Congress Pete Aguilar :5 Member of Congress Mem of Congress Nanette Diaz Barragan Member of Congress Seth Moulton Member of Congress Marc Pocan Member of Congress QM Susan A. Davis Member of Congress nalny mbGomez Member of Congress Ste??bani?e M?urphy Member of Congress [/sz9 race eng (iambXOf Congress 84/40 Beto O?Rourke Member of Congress Ja Huffman I ber of Congress Ka rine M. Clark Membe of Congress Ami Bera Member of Congress Bradley S. Schneider Member of Congress W?mrw Mark Takano Member of Congress Tony C?rdenas Member of Congress Marc A. Veasey a Member of Congress Donald Norcross Member of Congress an argas ember of Congress Adriano Espaillat Member of Congress mm Niki Tsongas a Member of Congress Kathleen M. Rice Member of Congress ?rm. ce F. Napolitano I nber of Congress Ra?l M. Mam Member ?of Congress QM Smilax? Carol Shea-Porter Member of Congress Bonnie Watson Coleman Member of Congress John K. Delaney Member of Congress ?ame. QQ ett D. Clarke Mem er of Congress a es Langhin mber of Congress 9.14/9 David E. Price Member of Congress QM: W?f Diana DeGette Member of Congress Peter-A. DeFazio Member of Congress 5AM All/w? Eleanor Holmes Norton Member of Congress 31% Brad Sherman Member of Congress Gregor . ec Member of Co?gres ?HJnr?. Johnson Jr. Mem of Congress Lucille Roybal?Alla Member of Congrs er ld Nadler mber of Congress Rick Larsen . Member of Congress Andr? Carson Member of Congress M72 Chellie Pingree Member of Congress awwze Sheila Jackson Lee Member of Congress? rald E. Connolly Member of Congress [Ewen Moore Member of Congress Memb of Congress Betty McCollu'm Memb: of Congr Adam Smith - Barbara Lee ember of Con ess Member of Congress te hen F. dia M. V?l?zq? /Member of Congre ember of Congr Peter Welch Carolfn B. Malone! Member of Congress Member of Congress 9 0" 5% A7. . Doris O. Matsui Tim Wa Member of Congress Member of Congress Al Green Member of Congress Hf"; . ?u R. Keating Alcee L. Hastings Me er of Congress Member of Congress s? E. Serrano a ice D. Schakowsky ember of Congress ember of Congress Bill Pascrell, Jr. Member of Congress Steve Cohen Member of Congress Member of Congress Wig]. Lacy Clay 1 7 Member of Congress 0 11 P. Sarbanes ember of Congress Theodore E. Deutch Member of Congress ??me Brian Higgins Member of Congress WAW Paul Tonko Member of Congress Adam B. Member of Congress Luis V. Guti?rrez 7 Member of COW Judyv Chu Member of Congress ?dc uza . ne Member of Congress Frederica S. Member of Congress Mike Quigley Member of Congress EML Eliot L. Engel Member of Congress Dina Titus Member of Congress Louise M. laughter Member of Congress .45? Ji yPaF etta bero FCongress 039W Al Lawson Member of Con/gress Bill Foster Member of Congress We EM Debbie Dingell Member of Congress ?1?qu. GaWarL Tulsi Gabbard Member of Congress Bennie G. Thompson Member of Congress Sander M. Member of . Cummings of Congress #104? Kathy Cas?tor Member of Congress 2W Karen Bass Member of Congress Marcia L. Fudge Member of Congress gm 6771 Brendan F. Boyle Member of Congress new Denny Heck Member of Congress 10 Conyers, Jr. Ja Polis er of Congr cey E. laskett Member of Congress Joe Courtney Member of Congress 2. edric L. Richmond Member of Congress Norma J. Torres Member of Congress 11 Anthony G. Brown Member of Congress