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Article snippet: The Rules Committee has voted in favor of sending an amendment to the House floor that would prohibit Pentagon funding from being used for medical care related to gender transition. The committee’s decision sets up a Thursday fight on the House floor over transgender rights in the military and, possibly, more broadly. The amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was filed by Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.). It would make it so “funds available to the Department of Defense may not be used to provide medical treatment (other than mental health treatment) related to gender transition to a person entitled to medical care.” Transgender troops currently in the military have been able to serve openly since last year. The policy also allows them to receive any treatment deemed medically necessary, including surgery and hormone therapy. The Rules Committee late Wednesday voted 2-8 on party lines against an effort from Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) to block Hartler’s amendment from coming to the House floor. “What Ms. Hartzler is trying to do would reduce military readiness,” said Polis, co-chair of Congress' LGBT Equality Caucus. “It would have a negative impact on morale, a negative impact on retention and move us away from the merit-based system which we now have, where we have one set of rules applied to everybody.” Hartzler did not come to the Rules Committee on Wednesday to argue for her amendment. But she previously spoke about medical costs and her oppos... Link to the full article to read more