Bill Details
View committees (1)
View cosponsors (9)
- Rep. Escobar, Veronica [D-Texas-16]
- Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-Alabama-7]
- Rep. Horsford, Steven [D-Nevada-4]
- Rep. Tokuda, Jill N. [D-Hawaii-2]
- Rep. McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-Virginia-4]
- Rep. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-District of Columbia]
- Rep. Sherrill, Mikie [D-New Jersey-11]
- Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-California-36]
- Rep. Veasey, Marc A. [D-Texas-33]
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would add a clear anti-discrimination rule for the Armed Forces. It says service members and applicants should be judged on merit, fitness, ability, and job performance, not on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation. The bill is meant to make military service fairer and more consistent, and it would prevent the Department of Defense from using discriminatory treatment or rules when deciding who can serve, advance, or be evaluated.
- It would forbid discrimination in the Department of Defense based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
- Any service requirement or qualification would have to be tied only to real military needs, including general standards for service and the needs of a specific military job.
- The bill gives broad definitions for “gender identity” and “sex,” including sex stereotypes, pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions, and sex characteristics such as intersex traits.
- The bill also includes findings about the long history of women, Black Americans, Native Americans, and LGBTQIA+ Americans serving in the military, and says the Armed Forces should be free from discrimination.
Official Summaries
Equal and Uniform Treatment in the Military Act or the EQUITY Act
This bill prohibits discrimination within the Department of Defense (DOD) against individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
A qualification established or applied related to eligibility for service in any of the Armed Forces must only consider (1) the ability of an individual to meet the general occupational standards for service, and (2) the particular military occupational specialty.
On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, declaring that the United States recognizes two sexes (male and female) and these sexes are not changeable.
On January 27, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness, expressing that the policy for troop readiness is inconsistent with gender dysphoria or the use of pronouns that inaccurately reflect an individual’s biological sex. Further, the order directs DOD to update specific guidance documents related to medical standards for military service to reflect the purpose and policy of the order.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1543 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1543
To amend title 10, United States Code, to prohibit discrimination in
the Armed Forces.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 24, 2025
Ms. Strickland (for herself, Ms. Escobar, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Horsford, Ms.
Tokuda, Ms. McClellan, Ms. Norton, Ms. Sherrill, Mr. Lieu, and Mr.
Veasey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 10, United States Code, to prohibit discrimination in
the Armed Forces.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Equal and Uniform Treatment in the
Military Act'' or the ``EQUITY Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Women, Black, Native American, and LGBTQIA+ Americans
have served in the Armed Forces since the Revolutionary War.
(2) In 1948, 16 years before the enactment of the Civil
Rights Act (Public Law 88-352; 78 Stat. 241), which desegrated
civilian spaces, President Truman issued Executive Order 9981,
which allowed Black members of the Armed Forces to serve side-
by-side with white members.
(3) In 1948, President Truman signed the Women's Armed
Services Integration Act (Public Law 80-625; 62 Stat. 356) into
law, officially allowing women to serve as full, permanent
members of each Armed Force.
(4) In 1967, President Johnson signed into law Public Law
90-130, which authorized the promotion of women to the ranks of
general and flag officers.
(5) In 1972, women were allowed to command units that
included men.
(6) In 1982, the Department of Defense Instruction 1332.14,
``Enlisted Administrative Separations'', banned homosexual
individuals from serving in the Armed Forces.
(7) In 1993, President Clinton signed into law the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (Public Law 103-
16), which enacted section 654 of title 10, United States Code,
``Policy concerning homosexuality in the armed forces'',
commonly known as ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell''.
(8) In 2011, President Obama signed into law the ``Don't
Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010'', allowing homosexual
members to openly serve in the Armed Forces.
(9) In 2015, the last remaining policy restrictions on
women serving in direct combat roles were removed.
(10) In 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 13988,
which rescinded the policy that prohibited transgender
individuals from serving in the Armed Forces.
(11) In 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14183,
falsely stating that people who are transgender ``cannot
satisfy the rigorous standards necessary for military service''
and that their identity ``conflicts with a soldier's commitment
to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in
one's personal life.''
(12) It should be the policy of the United States that
every member of the Armed Forces has the right to serve,
advance, and be evaluated based on only individual merit,
fitness, capability, and performance, in an environment free of
discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin,
religion, sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
SEC. 3. NONDISCRIMINATION IN THE ARMED FORCES.
Chapter 49 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting
after section 974 the following new section:
``Sec. 975. Prohibition on discrimination
``(a) Prohibition.--(1) Subject to paragraph (2), discrimination
within the Department of Defense against an individual on the basis of
race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual
orientation, is prohibited.
``(2) A qualification established or applied regarding eligibility
for service in an armed force shall take into account only the ability
of an individual to meet--
``(A) general occupational standards for military service;
and
``(B) the particular military occupational specialty.
``(b) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `gender identity' means the gender-related
identity, appearance, mannerisms, or other gender-related
characteristics of an individual, regardless of the
individual's designated sex at birth.
``(2) The term `sex' includes--
``(A) a sex stereotype;
``(B) pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical
condition; and
``(C) sex characteristics, including intersex
traits.
``(3) The term `sex stereotype' includes--
``(A) stereotypical notions of masculinity or
femininity;
``(B) an expectation of how an individual
represents or communicates their gender to others
through behavior, clothing, hairstyle, activity, voice,
mannerism, or body characteristic;
``(C) the expectation that an individual will
consistently identify with only one gender; and
``(D) an expectation regarding the appropriateness
of a role for a certain sex.''.
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