Lawmakers are asking the Department of Veterans Affairs to reject a proposal from the Veterans Affairs Center in Washington to establish a gender reassignment surgery clinic, according to a letter obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

However, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Puget Sound, Washington, applied to the Veterans Administration for more than $1.5 million to establish a “comprehensive gender-affirming surgery center,” an amount apparently paid to VA taxpayers. The hope was that the medical procedure would soon be covered by a health care system funded by the United States. Documents obtained by the DCNF through a public records request reveal that the company was forging artificial body parts for U.S. military veterans. In a letter sent Friday, Republican lawmakers said that while a rule allowing the VA to fund large-scale gender reassignment procedures remains stalled on the secretary's desk, the VA has no access to taxpayer funds. accused of planning to expand transgender procedures.

“This request is an insult to American taxpayers, especially our nation's veterans,” the lawmakers said in a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Dennis McDonough.

“These procedures are not a health care priority for America's veterans,” they said. Republican Reps. Jim Banks of Indiana, Mary Miller of Illinois, Marjorie Taylor-Greene of Georgia, Glenn Grossman of Wisconsin, Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, Greg Steube of Florida, and Texas Troy Neals of Texas, Pat Fallon of Texas, Brian Babin of Texas, and William Timmons of South Carolina signed the letter.

Lawmakers gave McDonough a March 1 deadline to respond to whether the agency approved the VA Puget Sound Center proposal and to submit data on annual costs for so-called “gender-affirming care.” (Related: Group sues federal government, asking taxpayers to pay for transgender veterans' transition)

The Department of Veterans Affairs previously told DCNF that no VA center currently operates a gender surgery clinic. The Department of Veterans Affairs has not yet approved such a surgical procedure.

The Veterans Affairs Medical Center's Gender Reassignment Surgery Center in Puget Sound will receive $642,562 in 2023 and $642,562 by 2027, according to a proposed proposal submitted to the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) National Surgical Office. It is estimated to cost more than $1.5 million. (NSO) showed.

“Taxpayers should be forced to pay $102,000 for a laser hair removal machine at a time when veterans across this country are struggling to find proper care for chronic pain, anxiety, and depression. “However, VA Puget Sound injects gender ideology into its clinical operations, blinding it to the clear needs of veterans,” the lawmakers said in the letter.

The Puget Sound VA facility, like many other clinics under the Veterans Health Administration, currently offers hormone therapy, hysterectomies, orchidectomies, equipment to create the appearance of the opposite sex, and private doctors. We offer a wide range of transgender treatment, including referrals to In the case of major sex reassignment surgery.

But the VA facility said it is committed to expanding options for LGBTQ+ veterans. According to the proposal, the surgical clinic would serve an estimated 12,000 veterans with a confirmed diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

“Seattle is a sanctuary city for LGBTQ+ refugees from across the United States,” the proposal states. “Our facility is committed to continuing and expanding these medically necessary life-saving services.”

Expanded treatments include vaginoplasty, which surgically constructs a false vagina in men, and phalloplasty or meniscalplasty, which surgically constructs a false penis in women. Cosmetic surgery, especially phalloplasty, carries a significant risk of painful complications and may require long-term treatment.

“For decades, the VA Puget Sound in Seattle, Washington, has provided a variety of harmful treatments and procedures to gender dysphoric patients, including hormone therapy, therapy, hysterectomies, orchiectomies, and prosthetics. ,” the lawmakers said in a letter to McDonough. “Nonetheless, the facility aims to expand these operations and is reportedly spending more than $1.5 million on the genital mutilation center by 2027. This is often a risky merger. funding cosmetic surgery that causes disease.

“Unfortunately, these procedural failures are being portrayed by some drafters as an opportunity to seek additional resources rather than a reason to halt dangerous procedures,” they wrote. They called the center's plans “heartbreaking.”

A veteran facility in Seattle, Washington, is asking for more than $1.5 million to expand “gender-affirming care” as veterans sleep on the streets.

They want people's tax dollars to pay for the left's radical sexual mutilation agenda.

Absolutely not.

— Congressman Troy E. Nehls (@RepTroyNehls) January 30, 2024

The proposal also includes $102,000 for advanced permanent hair removal equipment, an annual salary of more than $330,000 for plastic surgeons, and thousands of additional pieces of equipment from 2023 to 2027 to establish gender clinics. demanded.

It is unclear whether VHA will accept this proposal. A spokesperson previously told DCNF that no VA facility operates a single-sex surgery clinic.

“No VA facility, including VA Puget Sound, does not have or is developing a comprehensive gender-affirming care surgery center,” VA spokesperson Terrence Hayes told DCNF. Told. “Although the rulemaking process regarding gender reassignment surgery in the VA is still ongoing, the VA continues to provide all other types of gender reassignment care to veterans.”

According to the document, VHA told VA Puget Sound that funding would be available in fiscal year 2023 (ending Sept. 30) to specifically support existing transgender treatment programs.

McDonough is a strong proponent of large-scale sex reassignment surgery. according to Go to the VA website.

“VA Puget Sound injects gender ideology into its clinical operations, blinding it to the clear needs of veterans,” the lawmakers' letter said.

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