Notably, your Guidance states that the Department cannot ‘require a legal change of name or gender marker, medical certification, or other documentation.
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, along with Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) and several others sent a letter to the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra about new guidance from HHS that compels speech, targets the ability of federal employees to practice their faith, and endangers women.
In the letter, the senators wrote,
“We write out of deep concern over Guidance you issued entitled ‘Gender Identity Non-Discrimination and Inclusion Policy for Employees and Applicants.’…"According to the Guidance, failure to use the preferred names and pronouns an individual asks to be addressed with ‘contribute[s] to an unlawful hostile work environment.’ Notably, your Guidance states that the Department cannot ‘require a legal change of name or gender marker, medical certification, or other documentation.’
"In other words, anyone can change their names and pronouns and compel coworkers to use that name or pronoun, or face disciplinary action.
“Perhaps more egregious than the Guidance’s position on compelled speech related to pronoun usage is the policy on bathroom, locker room, and lactation room usage.
"According to the Guidance, HHS will ‘ensure there are no barriers to equally accessing restrooms, locker rooms, lactation rooms, or other personal care spaces.’… Including lactation rooms in this same Guidance is blatantly offensive—males cannot breastfeed their children, and claiming to be female does not change that reality.
"The only reason for including this in the Guidance is to continue to push a radical agenda in every facet of the federal workplace.”
Sens. Cruz and Lankford were joined in signing the letter by:
- Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.)
- Mike Lee (R-Utah)
- Jim Risch (R-Idaho), and
- Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)
- Read the full letter here.
