National
Senate panel omits bullying bills from education reform
Franken, Casey pledge to bring up measures on floor
Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) (Blade photo by Michael Key)
A Senate committee left out pro-LGBT anti-bullying measures from education reform as the sponsors of the legislation pledged to offer these bills as amendments on the floor.
The Senate Health, Education, Education & Pensions Committee late Thursday reported out a massive education bill known as Elementary & Secondary Education Act reauthorization by a bipartisan vote of 15-7.
But the Democratic-controllled panel didn’t vote on pro-LGBT bills that advocates were seeking to have included as part of the larger legislation — the Student Non-Discrimination Act, or SNDA, and the Safe Schools Improvement Act, or SSIA.
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), the sponsor of SNDA, and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), the sponsor of SSIA, both offered their bills as amendments during the markup, but withdrew them before a vote could be held.
During the markup, Franken delivered a speech in which he said he feels “very, very strongly” about SNDA as he pledged to bring up the measure as an amendment on the floor.
Franken said recent stories about gay youths committing suicide after they had been bullied in school demonstrates the need for passing SNDA. One such youth, Justin Aaberg, a gay 15-year old who committed suicide last year, resided in Franken’s state of Minnesota.
“We are faced with a group of students that is facing pervasive discrimination,” Franken said. “They are being viciously harassed and bullied. They are staying home from school. They are dropping out of school. They are literally killing themselves, and our schools aren’t doing enough to stop it. And yet again, these students have nothing they can do about it. There is no law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in schools.”
April Mellody, a Casey spokesperson, said Casey also introduced his bill as an amendment, but then “made the difficult decision” to withdraw the measure because it feared it would sink the education bill as a whole.
“Pennsylvania teachers, principals, and parents have been asking for a new law to replace No Child Left Behind since he arrived in the Senate and he felt he could not jeopardize the bipartisan committee vote to pass ESEA out of committee,” Mellody said.
Mellody added Casey “is committed to addressing the bullying epidemic” and intends to offer his bill as an amendment again when the full Senate considers the larger education legislation.
Justine Sessions, a Senate HELP committee spokesperson, said committee Chair Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) indicated he hopes the full Senate will take up the education reform bill during the next work period. The Senate is out of session next week for recess.
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, chided the committee for not including the pro-LGBT measures as part of the education bill before it went to the Senate floor.
“We are disappointed that the committee did not adopt anti-LGBT bullying amendments that enjoyed bipartisan, majority support,” Solmonese said. “This major reauthorization bill was the best opportunity the Senate will have in this Congress to address the problem of bullying faced by LGBT students. It is imperative that the committee revisit this issue and acknowledge the consequences bullying has on the youth in our community.”
Both Franken and Casey would have more difficulty having successful votes for their legislation on the floor than they would in committee.
Each of the 12 Democrats on the Senate HELP Committee co-sponsor SNDA, which would easily have given the measure the necessary votes for inclusion as part of education reform during the panel markup.
Only 11 members of the committee co-sponsor of SSIA, which is one vote short necessary for passage. Ten Democrats are co-sponsors in addition to Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), an original co-sponsors. However, the two of the Democrats who aren’t co-sponsors — Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) — would likely have voted for the measure should it have come up in committee, giving the amendment the necessary support for passage.
If Franken and Casey were to offer SNDA and SSIA on the Senate floor, they would likely need 60 votes to overcome a Senate filibuster.
The number of co-sponsors for the legislation aren’t anywhere near 60 and neither bill enjoys significant Republican support. SNDA has 34 co-sponsors — all Democrats. SSIA has 32 co-sponsors and Kirk is the only Republican supporter.
An LGBT advocate earlier this week speaking anonymously identified Harkin as the “obstacle” to including SNDA and SSIA as part of education reform during the markup and said he wanted a clean bill that could easily pass committee.
Harkin is a co-sponsor of both SNDA and SSIA. A Harkin spokesperson responded to the charge by saying the senator has “long supported efforts to ensure that all children feel safe and secure in our schools.”
Additionally, President Obama has yet to endorse either SSIA or SNDA. The White House has said it supports the goals of the legislation, but hasn’t offered explicit support for the bills.
Watch the video of Franken’s remarks before the committee on SNDA here:
A Wider Bridge on Friday announced it will shut down at the end of the month.
The group that “mobilizes the LGBTQ community to fight antisemitism and support Israel and its LGBTQ community” in a letter to supporters said financial challenges prompted the decision.
“After 15 years of building bridges between LGBTQ communities in North America and Israel, A Wider Bridge has made the difficult decision to wind down operations as of Dec. 31, 2025,” it reads.
“This decision comes after challenging financial realities despite our best efforts to secure sustainable funding. We deeply appreciate our supporters and partners who made this work possible.”
Arthur Slepian founded A Wider Bridge in 2010.
The organization in 2016 organized a reception at the National LGBTQ Task Force’s Creating Change Conference in Chicago that was to have featured to Israeli activists. More than 200 people who protested against A Wider Bridge forced the event’s cancellation.
A Wider Bridge in 2024 urged the Capital Pride Alliance and other Pride organizers to ensure Jewish people can safely participate in their events in response to an increase in antisemitic attacks after Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported authorities in Vermont late last year charged Ethan Felson, who was A Wider Bridge’s then-executive director, with lewd and lascivious conduct after alleged sexual misconduct against a museum employee. Rabbi Denise Eger succeeded Felson as A Wider Bridge’s interim executive director.
A Wider Bridge in June honored U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) at its Pride event that took place at the Capital Jewish Museum in D.C. The event took place 15 days after a gunman killed two Israeli Embassy employees — Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim — as they were leaving an event at the museum.
“Though we are winding down, this is not a time to back down. We recognize the deep importance of our mission and work amid attacks on Jewish people and LGBTQ people – and LGBTQ Jews at the intersection,” said A Wider Bridge in its letter. “Our board members remain committed to showing up in their individual capacities to represent queer Jews across diverse spaces — and we know our partners and supporters will continue to do the same.”
Editor’s note: Washington Blade International News Editor Michael K. Lavers traveled to Israel and Palestine with A Wider Bridge in 2016.
The White House
‘Trump Rx’ plan includes sharp cuts to HIV drug prices
President made announcement on Friday
President Donald Trump met with leaders from some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies at the White House on Friday to announce his new “Trump Rx” plan and outline efforts to reduce medication costs for Americans.
During the roughly 47-minute meeting in the Roosevelt Room, Trump detailed his administration’s efforts to cut prescription drug prices and make medications more affordable for U.S. patients.
“Starting next year, American drug prices will come down fast, furious, and will soon be among the lowest in the developed world,” Trump said during the meeting. “For decades, Americans have been forced to pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs by far … We will get the lowest price of anyone in the world.”
Trump signed an executive order in May directing his administration “to do everything in its power to slash prescription drug prices for Americans while getting other countries to pay more.”
“This represents the greatest victory for patient affordability in the history of American health care, by far, and every single American will benefit,” he added.
Several pharmaceutical executives stood behind the president during the announcement, including Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan, Genentech CEO Ashley Magargee, Boehringer Ingelheim (USA) CEO Jean-Michel Boers, Gilead Sciences CEO Dan O’Day, Bristol Myers Squibb General Counsel Cari Gallman, GSK CEO Emma Walmsley, Merck CEO Robert Davis, and Amgen Executive Vice President Peter Griffith.
Also in attendance were Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary.
Under the Trump Rx plan, the administration outlined a series of proposed drug price changes across multiple companies and therapeutic areas. Among them were reductions for Amgen’s cholesterol-lowering drug repatha from $573 to $239; Bristol Myers Squibb’s HIV medication reyataz from $1,449 to $217; Boehringer Ingelheim’s type 2 diabetes medication jentadueto from $525 to $55; Genentech’s flu medication xofluza from $168 to $50; and Gilead Sciences’ hepatitis C medication epclusa from $24,920 to $2,425.
Additional reductions included several GSK inhalers — such as the asthma inhaler advair diskus 500/50, from $265 to $89 — Merck’s diabetes medication januvia from $330 to $100, Novartis’ multiple sclerosis medication mayzent from $9,987 to $1,137, and Sanofi’s blood thinner plavix from $756 to $16. Sanofi insulin products would also be capped at $35 per month’s supply.
These prices, however, would only be available to patients who purchase medications directly through TrumpRx. According to the program’s website, TrumpRx “connects patients directly with the best prices, increasing transparency, and cutting out costly third-party markups.”
Kennedy spoke after Trump, thanking the president for efforts to lower pharmaceutical costs in the U.S., where evidence has shown that drug prices — including both brand-name and generic medications — are nearly 2.78 times higher than prices in comparable countries. According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, roughly half of every dollar spent on brand-name drugs goes to entities that play no role in their research, development, or manufacturing.
“This is affordability in action,” Kennedy said. “We are reversing that trend and making sure that Americans can afford to get the life-saving solutions.”
Gilead CEO Dan O’Day also spoke about how the restructuring of drug costs under TrumpRx, combined with emerging technologies, could help reduce HIV transmission — a virus that, if untreated, can progress to AIDS. The LGBTQ community remains disproportionately affected by HIV.
“Thank you, Mr. President — you and the administration,” O’Day said. “I think this objective of achieving the commitment to affordability and future innovation is extraordinary … We just recently launched a new medicine that’s only given twice a year to prevent HIV, and we’re working with Secretary Kennedy and his entire team, as well as the State Department, as a part of your strategy to support ending the epidemic during your term.
“I’ve never been more optimistic about the innovation that exists across these companies and the impact this could have on America’s health and economy,” he added.
Trump interjected, asking, “And that’s working well with HIV?”
“Yes,” O’Day replied.
“It’s a big event,” Trump said.
“It literally prevents HIV almost 100 percent given twice a year,” O’Day responded.
A similar anti-HIV medication is currently prescribed more than injectable form mentioned by O’Day. PrEP, is a medication regimen proven to significantly reduce HIV infection rates for people at high risk. Without insurance, brand-name Truvada can cost roughly $2,000 per month, while a generic version costs about $60 per month.
Even when medication prices are reduced, PrEP access carries additional costs, including clinic and laboratory fees, office visits, required HIV and sexually transmitted infection testing, adherence services and counseling, and outreach to potentially eligible patients and providers.
According to a 2022 study, the annual total cost per person for PrEP — including medication and required clinical and laboratory monitoring — is approximately $12,000 to $13,000 per year.
The TrumpRx federal platform website is now live at TrumpRx.gov, but the program is not slated to begin offering reduced drug prices until January.
The White House
EXCLUSIVE: Democracy Forward files FOIA lawsuit after HHS deadnames Rachel Levine
Trans former assistant health secretary’s name changed on official portrait
Democracy Forward, a national legal organization that works to advance democracy and social progress through litigation, policy and public education, and regulatory engagement, filed a lawsuit Friday in federal court seeking to compel the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to release information related to the alteration of former Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Rachel Levine’s official portrait caption.
The lawsuit comes in response to the slow pace of HHS’s handling of multiple Freedom of Information Act requests — requests that federal law requires agencies to respond to within 20 working days. While responses can take longer due to backlogs, high request volumes, or the need for extensive searches or consultations, Democracy Forward says HHS has failed to provide any substantive response.
Democracy Forward’s four unanswered FOIA requests, and the subsequent lawsuit against HHS, come days after someone in the Trump-Vance administration changed Levine’s official portrait in the Hubert H. Humphrey Building to display her deadname — the name she used before transitioning and has not used since 2011.
According to Democracy Forward, HHS “refused to release any records related to its morally wrong and offensive effort to alter former Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel Levine’s official portrait caption.” Levine was the highest-ranking openly transgender government official in U.S. history and served as assistant secretary for health and as an admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps from 2021 to 2025.
Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman spoke about the need to hold the Trump-Vance administration accountable for every official action, especially those that harm some of the most targeted Americans, including trans people.
“The question every American should be asking remains: what is the Trump-Vance administration hiding? For an administration that touts its anti-transgender animus and behavior so publicly, its stonewalling and silence when it comes to the people’s right to see public records about who was behind this decision is deafening,” Perryman said.
“The government’s obligation of transparency doesn’t disappear because the information sought relates to a trailblazing former federal official who is transgender. It’s not complicated — the public is entitled to know who is making decisions — especially decisions that seek to alter facts and reality, erase the identity of a person, and affect the nation’s commitment to civil rights and human dignity.”
“HHS’s refusal to respond to these lawful requests raises more serious concerns about transparency and accountability,” Perryman added. “The public has every right to demand answers — to know who is behind this hateful act — and we are going to court to get them.”
The lawsuit also raises questions about whether the alteration violated federal accuracy and privacy requirements governing Levine’s name, and whether the agency improperly classified the change as an “excepted activity” during a lapse in appropriations. By failing to make any determination or produce any records, Democracy Forward argues, HHS has violated its obligations under federal law.
The case, Democracy Forward Foundation v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The legal team includes Anisha Hindocha, Daniel McGrath, and Robin Thurston.
The Washington Blade reached out to HHS, but has not received any comment.
The lawsuit and four FOIA requests are below:
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