Nadler Statement on Proposed HHS Rule Allowing Discrimination Against LGBTQ Families

Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) released the following statement on the Trump Administration's proposed rule allowing Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) grant recipients to continue getting taxpayer funding even if they discriminate against LGBTQ families:

"Under this proposed rule, the Trump Administration would allow programs receiving Department of Health and Human Services grants to discriminate against LGBTQ people, as well as, in many cases, religious minorities and women. It is unconscionable that the Trump Administration would allow discrimination with taxpayer funds in critical areas, including foster care, adoption agencies, homelessness services, and HIV prevention programs. Yet we have already seen the impact of this Administration's defense of discrimination. Earlier this year, HHS granted South Carolina a waiver of federal non-discrimination laws in child welfare services. Following this request, a same-sex couple was denied the opportunity to become foster care parents because they didn't meet the federally-funded agency's religious criteria. This same agency had previously turned away a Jewish woman from being a mentor to foster kids because she wasn't Christian. These are not isolated incidents; surveys of the LGBTQ community show that discrimination against them is rampant.

"In May, I was proud to report the Equality Act out of the House Judiciary Committee and shepherd its passage through the full House of Representatives in order to explicitly prohibit LGBTQ discrimination, as well as sex discrimination, in federally funded programs and in other key areas of life. The majority of the American public supports LGBTQ non-discrimination protections, and it is time for Majority Leader McConnell to bring this bill up for a vote in the Senate to respond to the Administration's continued attacks on LGBTQ people, women, and religious minorities."