NASHVILLE (BP) — The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) is applauding a Dec. 18 Senate vote passing the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes several noteworthy wins for Southern Baptists.

Among these wins is the cessation of government funding for “gender transitions” for children of service members.

This is the first time federal law has limited taxpayer-funded “gender transitions” in any capacity.

Hannah Daniel, ERLC public policy director, praised the passing of the authorization for the inclusion of several Southern Baptist priorities.

“After months of advocacy on these issues, the ERLC is pleased to see this year’s National Defense Authorization Act include some significant victories for life and God’s design for gender,” Daniel said.

“For the first time ever in federal law, there is a codification against the use of taxpayer funding for ‘gender transition’ interventions. Additionally, lawmakers rejected attempts to mandate the participation of women in the selective service and dramatically expand taxpayer funding for the unregulated IVF industry. These consequential victories lay an important foundation for additional progress to be made in the new Congress and with the new administration.”

The authorization passed the Senate by a vote of 85-14, with 11 no votes coming from Democrats. It passed the House of Representatives on Dec. 11 with a vote of 281 to 140.

Passed annually by Congress, the NDAA authorizes the Department of Defense to operate and utilize its budget for the fiscal year. This year’s NDAA authorized $895 billion and is around 1,800 pages.

The bill typically influences policies and other administrative matters such as the operations of military bases, the procurement of weapons and training requirements for the members of the military.

The two versions of the NDAA resulting from the House and Senate typically vary on how federal funding can be used. As a result, Congress undergoes negotiations to agree on a compromise bill that can pass both chambers. This provides a unique opportunity for advocacy groups, such as the ERLC, to voice concerns or support for provisions they would like to be included in the final NDAA.

The ERLC did just that in August by sending a letter urging Congress to consider several Southern Baptist priorities amid ongoing negotiations for the final version of the NDAA.

The letter advocated for four main Southern Baptist values to be included in the NDAA:

• Supporting pro-life and conscience protections, including ceasing to fund abortion-related lodging and travel.
• Not including an expansion of taxpayer-funded, unregulated assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) including in vitro fertilization (IVF).
• Ceasing government funding for “gender transitions” under the TRICARE insurance program (the uniformed services health care program for active duty service members).
• Opposing the inclusion of women in the draft.

In addition to their letter, ERLC staff conducted numerous meetings and briefings with members of Congress and their staff to educate them on these areas of concern and encourage them to include helpful policy changes in the final bill.

A top concern of the ERLC was the use of federal funding to cover “gender transition” procedures and medications, such as puberty blockers.

“Gender transitions” or so-called gender affirming care has become highly discussed in the wake of this month’s oral arguments in the Supreme Court case United States v. Skrmetti. The Court will rule on the constitutionality of a Tennessee law banning such gender transition procedures for children.

Under the current administration, the Defense Department spends roughly $136 billion annually on health care for employees and military personnel, and extends such coverage to include surgical procedures and prescriptions for “gender transitioning.”

Furthermore, the ERLC explained that recent statistical estimates from the Defense Department show that approximately 562 children received “gender transition” prescriptions and counsel from January 2023 to March 2024 under this program.

ERLC was pleased to see the prohibition of gender transitions and several other of their priorities in the final bill package including:

• No taxpayer-funded expansion of ARTs. (The original version of both the House and Senate bills included an unprecedented expansion of taxpayer-funded ARTs including IVF for service members and their dependents, without any pro-life guardrails or limitations on who could use such services. This language was removed in the final version.)
• Prohibiting taxpayer-funded “gender transitions” for children.
• Retaining existing selective service policies, which do not require women to register for the draft.

Additionally, the ERLC continues to advocate for language that would end taxpayer-funding of abortion-related travel and lodging.

The NDAA now heads to President Biden’s desk for his signature. The ERLC expects Biden to sign the legislation next week.

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Timothy Cockes is a writer in Nashville.)