HR 1543 119th Congress House Armed Forces and National Security Employment discrimination and employee rights Military personnel and dependents Racial and ethnic relations Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination

EQUITY Act

Introduced: February 24, 2025 Introduced by: Strickland, Marilyn Democratic · Washington See on congress.gov

Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Feb 24, 2025

Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

Feb 24, 2025

Introduced in House

Ask about this bill AI · grounded in the bill text

Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.

AI answers can be imperfect; always confirm against the full bill text.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Equal and Uniform Treatment in the Military Act or the EQUITY Act

This bill prohibits discrimination within the Department of Defense (DOD) against individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

A qualification established or applied related to eligibility for service in any of the Armed Forces must only consider (1) the ability of an individual to meet the general occupational standards for service, and (2) the particular military occupational specialty.

On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, declaring that the United States recognizes two sexes (male and female) and these sexes are not changeable.

On January 27, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness, expressing that the policy for troop readiness is inconsistent with gender dysphoria or the use of pronouns that inaccurately reflect an individual’s biological sex. Further, the order directs DOD to update specific guidance documents related to medical standards for military service to reflect the purpose and policy of the order.

What's happening now February 24, 2025

Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

Bill text 1 version