Text of US HB 7238 (2026)

I 119TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7238 To establish the Commission on Equity and Reconciliation in the Uniformed Services. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 23, 2026 Mr. TAKANO (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PETERS, Mr. POCAN, Ms. SIMON, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Mr. MCGARVEY, Mr. GARCIA of California, Ms. RANDALL, Mr. LIEU, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. CASE, Ms. TITUS, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Ms. MCBRIDE, Ms. BONAMICI, and Ms. BALINT) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Com- mittee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the Commission on Equity and Reconciliation in the Uniformed Services. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commission on Equity 4 and Reconciliation in the Uniformed Services Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Jan 30, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7238.IH H7238 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7238 IH SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND DUTIES. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Com- 2 mission on Equity and Reconciliation in the Uniformed 3 Services (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 4 (b) DUTIES.—The Commission shall perform the fol- 5 lowing duties: 6 (1) Identify and compile a corpus of docu- 7 mentation on the policing of sexual orientation and 8 gender identity in the uniformed services, from the 9 beginning of World War II and onward. Such docu- 10 mentation shall include the following: 11 (A) Facts related to the history of policies 12 regarding LGBTQ+ sexual orientation and 13 gender identity in the uniformed services. 14 (B) The effects of such policies on eligi- 15 bility for, and access to, benefits under laws ad- 16 ministered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 17 on servicemembers who were discharged due to 18 sexual orientation or gender identity. 19 (2) Hold public hearings in such cities of the 20 United States as it finds appropriate, and do com- 21 munity outreach and other public relations efforts in 22 order to advertise such hearings and the opportunity 23 to give testimony. 24 (3) Gather testimonies, written and oral, from 25 LGBTQ+ servicemembers and veterans about their 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Jan 30, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7238.IH H7238 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7238 IH experiences, both anonymously and with names 1 given. 2 (4) Examine the impacts that discriminatory 3 policy and corresponding actions taken by the uni- 4 formed services had on the physical and mental 5 wellbeing of servicemembers. 6 (5) Examine lasting impacts (including psycho- 7 logical, financial, and professional) that policies of 8 the uniformed services have had on veterans and 9 servicemembers who were discharged due to their 10 sexual orientation and/or gender identity. 11 (6) Examine how discriminatory practices con- 12 tributed to suicidality and homelessness among 13 LGBTQ+ veterans. 14 (7) Examine the disparate impact that policies 15 targeting sexual and gender minorities has had on 16 minority groups in the uniformed services, especially 17 racial minorities and women. 18 (8) Examine the impacts that policing of sexual 19 and gender minorities has had on individuals who do 20 not identify as LGBTQ+ but were nevertheless tar- 21 geted due to perceived sexual orientation or gender 22 identity. 23 (9) Examine the impacts that discriminatory 24 policies related to sexual orientation and gender 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Jan 30, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7238.IH H7238 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7238 IH identity have had on the dependents of 1 servicemembers and veterans. 2 (10) Examine the immediate and long-term im- 3 pacts that the denial, on the bases of policies and di- 4 rectives of the Department of Defense and of the 5 Department of Veteran Affairs, of medically nec- 6 essary health care, including denial of treatments for 7 gender dysphoria, has had on servicemembers and 8 veterans. 9 (11) Examine and quantify the impacts that 10 discriminatory policies and directives of the Depart- 11 ment of Defense related to sexual orientation and 12 gender identity have on force readiness, including 13 the cost of retraining and replacing individuals sepa- 14 rated from the Armed Forces for reasons related to 15 their real or perceived sexual orientation and/or gen- 16 der identity. 17 (12) Collect information on the effects of 18 changes to individuals’ demographic data (including 19 gender markers)— 20 (A) in databases and systems of the De- 21 partment of Defense and the Department of 22 Veterans Affairs (including the Defense Enroll- 23 ment Eligibility Reporting System); 24 (B) without the consent of the individuals. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Jan 30, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7238.IH H7238 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7238 IH (13) Collect information on— 1 (A) the discharge and reentry codes under 2 which individuals were separated from the uni- 3 formed services on the basis of the individual’s 4 real or perceived sexual orientation or gender 5 identity; and 6 (B) the effect that such codes had on the 7 access of servicemembers and veterans to em- 8 ployment and other benefits. 9 (14) Recommend appropriate ways to educate 10 the American public about institutionalized and gov- 11 ernment-sanctioned discrimination. 12 (15) Recommend appropriate remedies to ad- 13 dress the findings of the Commission, including— 14 (A) how the Federal Government may offer 15 an apology for enforcing discrimination that led 16 to psychological, emotional, and physical harm 17 to servicemembers and their families; 18 (B) how the Secretary of Defense may 19 seek to properly compensate separated 20 servicemembers— 21 (i) for lost time, professional opportu- 22 nities, access to benefits, and other im- 23 pacts; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Jan 30, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7238.IH H7238 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7238 IH (ii) with compensation including back 1 pay, reinstatement, benefits reinstatement, 2 or other opportunities; 3 (C) how the Secretary of Defense and the 4 Secretary of Veterans Affairs can restore gen- 5 der affirming services and care to 6 servicemembers, veterans, and other bene- 7 ficiaries; 8 (D) how discharge upgrades and amend- 9 ments of military records may be streamlined 10 through the Boards for Correction of Military 11 Records, including improving the transparency 12 and accessibility of records by the members of 13 the Armed Forces to whom they pertain; 14 (E) how the service of LGBTQ+ individ- 15 uals in the uniformed services may be made 16 more visible in materials distributed by the Sec- 17 retary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans 18 Affairs; 19 (F) how diversity and inclusion policies of 20 the Department of Defense may be revised, in- 21 cluding how resources may be committed to di- 22 versity training; 23 (G) how healthcare and other benefits, fur- 24 nished by such Secretaries to members of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Jan 30, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7238.IH H7238 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7238 IH uniformed services and veterans, will commit 1 more resources to meeting the needs of 2 LGBTQ+ patients, including improved data 3 collection on LGBTQ+ patients, mental health 4 counseling, and other medical necessities; and 5 (H) how the Federal Government may ex- 6 amine the issue of burial rights denied to mem- 7 bers of the uniformed services and veterans who 8 were prematurely discharged due to the dis- 9 criminatory policies against such members and 10 such veterans. 11 (16) The Commission shall submit a written re- 12 port of its findings to Congress not later than one 13 year after the date of the first meeting of the Com- 14 mission. 15 SEC. 3. MEMBERSHIP. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—There shall be 15 members of the 17 Commission, who shall be appointed not later than 30 18 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and as 19 follows: 20 (1) One member appointed by the Chair of the 21 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep- 22 resentatives. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Jan 30, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7238.IH H7238 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7238 IH (2) One member appointed by the Ranking 1 Member of the Committee on Armed Services of the 2 House of Representatives. 3 (3) One member appointed by the Chair of the 4 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 5 Representatives. 6 (4) One member appointed by the Ranking 7 Member of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 8 the House of Representatives. 9 (5) One member appointed by the Chair of the 10 Committee on Armed Services of the Senate. 11 (6) One member appointed by the Ranking 12 Member of the Committee on Armed Services of the 13 Senate. 14 (7) One member appointed by the Chair of the 15 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate. 16 (8) One member appointed by the Ranking 17 Member of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 18 the Senate. 19 (9) Two members appointed by the Secretary of 20 Defense. 21 (10) Two members appointed by the Secretary 22 of Veterans Affairs. 23 (11) One member appointed by the Secretary of 24 Homeland Security. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Jan 30, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7238.IH H7238 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7238 IH (12) One member appointed by the Secretary of 1 Commerce, for the purpose of representing the Na- 2 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 3 (13) One member appointed by the Secretary of 4 Health and Human Services, for the purpose of rep- 5 resenting the Public Health Service. 6 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—All members of the Commis- 7 sion shall be persons who are exceptionally qualified to 8 serve on the Commission by virtue of their education, 9 training, activism, or experience, particularly in the fields 10 of advocating for LGBTQ+ members of the uniformed 11 services. 12 (c) TERMS.—The term of office for members shall be 13 for the life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Commis- 14 sion shall not affect the powers of the Commission and 15 shall be filled in the same manner in which the original 16 appointment was made. 17 (d) FIRST MEETING.—The President shall call the 18 first meeting of the Commission not later than 30 days 19 after the later of the following: 20 (1) The date of the enactment of this Act. 21 (2) The date of the enactment of an Act that 22 makes appropriations to carry out this Act. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Jan 30, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7238.IH H7238 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7238 IH (e) QUORUM.—Eight members of the Commission 1 shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number may hold 2 hearings. 3 (f) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—The Commission shall 4 elect a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. 5 The term of office for each shall be for the life of the 6 Commission. 7 (g) COMPENSATION.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Com- 9 mission may be compensated at a rate not to exceed 10 the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay 11 in effect for a position at level IV of the Executive 12 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 13 States Code, for each day during which that member 14 is engaged in the actual performance of the duties 15 of the Commission. 16 (2) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of the 17 Commission who is a full-time officer or employee of 18 the United States or a Member of Congress shall re- 19 ceive no additional pay, allowances, or benefits by 20 reason of the member’s service to the Commission. 21 (3) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member shall 22 receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 23 subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Jan 30, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7238.IH H7238 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7238 IH under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 1 States Code. 2 SEC. 4. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 3 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 4 may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this 5 Act, hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and 6 at such places in the United States, and request the at- 7 tendance and testimony of such witnesses and the produc- 8 tion of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, 9 papers, and documents, as the Commission considers ap- 10 propriate. The Commission may invoke the aid of an ap- 11 propriate United States district court to require, by sub- 12 poena or otherwise, such attendance, testimony, or pro- 13 duction. 14 (b) POWERS OF SUBCOMMITTEES AND MEMBERS.— 15 Any subcommittee or member of the Commission may, if 16 authorized by the Commission, take any action which the 17 Commission is authorized to take under this section. 18 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 19 may acquire directly from the head of any department, 20 agency, or instrumentality of the executive branch of the 21 Federal Government, available information which the 22 Commission considers useful in the discharge of its duties. 23 All departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the ex- 24 ecutive branch of the Government shall cooperate with the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Jan 30, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7238.IH H7238 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7238 IH Commission with respect to such information and shall 1 furnish all information requested by the Commission to 2 the extent permitted by law. 3 SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 4 (a) STAFF.—The Commission may, without regard to 5 the civil service laws and regulations, appoint and fix the 6 compensation of such personnel as the Commission con- 7 siders appropriate. 8 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE 9 LAWS.—The personnel of the Commission may be ap- 10 pointed without regard to the provisions of title, United 11 States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 12 service, and without regard to the provisions of chapter 13 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title, relating 14 to classification and General Schedule pay rates, except 15 that the rate of basic pay of any employee of the Commis- 16 sion may not exceed the rate of basic pay established for 17 a position at level V of the Executive Schedule under sec- 18 tion 5316 of such title. 19 (c) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission 20 may procure the services of experts and consultants in ac- 21 cordance with the provisions of section 3109(b) of title 5, 22 United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to 23 exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Jan 30, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7238.IH H7238 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 7238 IH established for a position at level V of the Executive 1 Schedule under section 5316 of such title. 2 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—The 3 Commission may enter into agreements with the Adminis- 4 trator of General Services for procurement of financial 5 and administrative services necessary for the discharge of 6 the duties of the Commission. Payment for such services 7 shall be made by reimbursement from funds of the Com- 8 mission in such amounts as may be agreed upon by the 9 Chairman of the Commission and the Administrator. 10 (e) CONTRACTS.—The Commission may— 11 (1) procure supplies, services, and property by 12 contract in accordance with applicable laws and reg- 13 ulations and to the extent or in such amounts as are 14 provided in appropriations Acts; and 15 (2) enter into contracts with departments, 16 agencies, and instrumentalities of the Federal Gov- 17 ernment, State agencies, and private firms, institu- 18 tions, and agencies, for the conduct of research or 19 surveys, the preparation of reports, and other activi- 20 ties necessary for the discharge of the duties of the 21 Commission, to the extent or in such amounts as are 22 provided in appropriations Acts. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Jan 30, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7238.IH H7238 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 7238 IH SEC. 6. TERMINATION. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, and all the au- 2 thorities of this title, shall terminate 90 days after the 3 date on which the final report is submitted under section 4 2. 5 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES BEFORE TERMI- 6 NATION.—The Commission may use the 90-day period re- 7 ferred to in subsection (a) for the purpose of concluding 8 its activities, including providing testimony to committees 9 of Congress concerning its reports and disseminating the 10 final report. 11 SEC. 7. FUNDING. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro- 13 priated such sums as necessary to carry out this Act. 14 (b) DURATION.—Amounts made available to the 15 Commission under subsection (a) shall remain available 16 until the termination of the Commission. 17 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 18 In this Act: 19 (1) The term ‘‘servicemember’’ has the meaning 20 given such term in section 101 of the 21 Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 3911). 22 (2) The term ‘‘uniformed services’’ has the 23 meaning given such term in section 101 of title 10, 24 United States Code. 25 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 Jan 30, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7238.IH H7238 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS