With President Trump’s recent military transgender ban causing widespread liberal outrage, it is imperative to examine the real fiscal cost of trans enlistment into the armed forces. According to the Washington Free Beacon, over the next 10 years, tax- funded transgender surgeries would cost $1.3 billion.
It is astounding how many put the “social justice” agenda before the burden of this nation’s hardworking taxpayers as well as the functional needs of the military. Each transgender surgery cost approximately $132,000. That expense multiplied by the .7% of the U.S military population that identifies as transgender, and would potentially need gender identity related medical treatment, generates a hefty financial cost.
Congresswomen Vicky Hartzler is a strong opponent of taxpayer funded sex changes, who provided detailed calculations showing the estimated number of services members seeking gender reassignment surgeries.
Via the Washington Free Beacon:
The 2014 Williams Institute study found there were 15,500 transgender individuals actively serving, or 0.7 percent of the military population. By adjusting the figure for the enlistment numbers of 2,130,000, there are currently 14,910 transgender service members.
Thirty percent will likely seek surgeries, or 4,473 transgender troops. The average cost per surgery is $132,000, which is a combination of the average cost of male to female ($140,450) and female to male ($124,400) surgeries.
The cost to taxpayers for these surgeries would be $590 million, and $770 million with a 3 percent inflation rate by 2027.
Hartzler’s office calculated the additional costs of surgeries for new transgender recruits every year.
There are 178,000 new military members per year, and assuming 0.7 percent are transgender, 1,246 new transgender service members each year. Assuming 30 percent get surgeries, there would be an additional 374 surgical transitions per year, or 3,740 over 10 years. Those surgeries would cost $493 million, and with 3 percent inflation a total of $579 million by 2027.
The costs of active duty transgender surgeries and those of new recruits over a 10-year period total $1.349 billion.
According to the National transgender Discrimination Survey, 30% of transgender individuals say they want to have various sex reassignment operations in the future. It is silly to think that service members would be excluded in the implication of this statistic.
Continued commentary from Congresswomen Vicky Hartzler:
“Our military is the most effective, efficient, and well-funded fighting force in the world, and as the president notes, we cannot burden our armed forces with the tremendous costs and disruptions that transgenders in the military would entail,” she said. “With the challenges we are facing across the globe, we are asking the American people to invest their hard-earned money in national defense.”
“Each dollar needs to be spent to address threats facing our nation,” “The costs incurred by funding transgender surgeries and the required additional care it demands should not be the focus of our military resources.”
The Gateway Pundit previously reported on the Left’s backlash to President Trump’s decision to exclude trans people from the U.S military:
Liberals Freak Out After Transgenders Banned From Serving In The U.S. Military
‘F*CK YOU TRUMP’: Celebrities Melt Down Over Military Ban on Transgenders
