President Joe Biden’s State Department said one of its goals is to “assess resources for gender dysphoria and gender transition care at posts for employees and their dependents” as part of a broader effort to “make overseas service more inclusive.”
According to the department’s recently released Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Strategic Plan, one of the State Department’s strategies to make service more “inclusive” is working to “increase support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) employees and family members.”
That effort includes assessing “resources for gender dysphoria and gender transition care at posts for employees and their dependents,” the plan states.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) told the Washington Free Beacon that Biden’s State Department “doesn’t represent” American values.
“The State Department might not just be paying for their employee’s kids to receive these damaging surgeries, they’re penalizing foreign service officers who disagree and pressuring countries to perform these procedures on children,” said Banks. “Americans are pro-family, pro-country and pro-God. I hope foreigners understand that Joe Biden’s State Department doesn’t represent our values.”
Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) echoed Bank’s remarks, arguing that the Biden administration’s “policies exploit and harm children to promote his political agenda.”
“These experimental and irreversible treatments on children shouldn’t be tolerated, let alone promoted,” he added.
Gina Abercrombie-Winstanly, the department’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, said that the plan can serve as an example of how DEIA efforts can be implemented throughout the federal government.
“I believe the Department of State can be a leader in demonstrating how DEIA can be advanced across the federal government. This is the first time in my four decades as a diplomat I have seen this level of Department-wide momentum united to ensure equity for all. This kind of alignment is rare. And we must act on this historic opportunity,” Abercrombie-Winstanly said in a statement.
