News
Fed’l benefits issues linger post-DOMA for gay couples
Questions remain on Social Security, taxes, veterans benefits and family leave
Federal benefit issues for gay couples continue to linger after the Supreme Court ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key).
Following the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, the extent to which many federal benefits — taxes, Social Security, veterans benefits and family leave — will flow to married same-sex couples remains in question.
The Obama administration has extended certain benefits to married same-sex couples regardless of whether they live in the United States, but other benefits are still in limbo because of law, regulation or policy that determines whether a couple should be considered legally married.
Here’s a breakdown of these benefit categories and where they stand in terms of what’s obstructing their flow to married same-sex couples and what LGBT advocates see as the way forward:
1. SOCIAL SECURITY
Last week, the Social Security Administration announced for the first time it was starting to process retirement claims for married same-sex couples who apply for them in aftermath of the court decision on DOMA. But the extension of these benefits is limited.
On Friday, the agency published guidance indicating these benefits will flow to same-sex married couples living in states that recognize their unions, but couples that apply for these benefits in non-marriage equality states for the time being will have their requests placed on hold.
“Bill (the claimant) and Bob (the NH) marry in MA after MA recognizes same-sex marriage, but are domiciled Texas (TX),” the guidance says. “Bill files for husband’s benefits on Bob’s record. They meet all other factors of entitlement. Hold the claim.”
William “BJ” Jarrett, a Social Security spokesperson, confirmed on Monday the agency is processing some Social Security retirement spouse claims when the individual was married in a state that permits same-sex marriage and lives in a marriage-equality state at the time of application — or while the claim is pending a final determination. Still, he acknowledged other retirement claims are on hold.
“For all other claims, including Social Security survivors benefits, we continue to work with the Department of Justice on the development and implementation of policy and processing instructions,” Jarrett said. “We do, however, encourage individuals who believe they may be eligible for Social Security benefits to apply now to protect against the loss of any potential benefits.”
The reasoning for placing these claims on holds is statutory. Social Security law looks to the state of residence when a couple applies for benefits to determine if they’re married instead of looking to the place of celebration.
Even so, LGBT advocates say it’s possible for the Obama administration to interpret the Supreme Court ruling against DOMA in a broad way that allows them to offer Social Security benefits to a greater number of couples.
Michael Cole-Schwartz, a Human Rights Campaign spokesperson, indicated that no final decision has been with the assessment of these benefits as he encouraged the Obama administration to expand the benefits to additional couples.
“We are glad to see some couples getting benefits and that the door is still open for those couples living in non-marriage equality states,” Cole-Schwartz said. “We urge them to take the broadest interpretation to ensure the maximum numbers of same sex couples have access to benefits.”
Susan Sommer, a senior counsel at Lambda Legal, said her organization also believes gay couples in civil unions or domestic partnerships should also be eligible for Social Security benefits.
“We think that the laws reads for sure to includes those people who live in those states that have a civil union or domestic partnership, but waiting to hear from the Obama administration for confirmation on that point,” Sommer said.
But a statutory change may be necessary. In that event, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) has introduced Social Security Equality Act, which would enable gay couples to receive Social Security no matter where they live — even if their union isn’t a marriage, but a civil union or a domestic partnership.
“It is time for our government to stop telling gay and lesbian couples that they are second class citizens,” Sanchez said last week in a statement. “Same-sex couples pay into Social Security over the course of their working lives just like other Americans. They should receive the full benefits they have earned.”
2. TAXES
Another question is whether legally married same-sex couples throughout the country will be eligible for tax benefits — such as the exemption from the estate tax, the ability to jointly file and exemption from taxes on employer-provided spousal health benefits — in the wake of the DOMA decision. These couples are currently not receiving benefits if they live in states that haven’t legalized marriage equality.
That means if DOMA-lawsuit plaintiff Edith Windsor had moved to a non-marriage equality state like Alabama with Thea Spyer after marrying in Canada, she wouldn’t have been eligible for exemption from the estate tax as a result of her own lawsuit.
But what’s different about these benefits is that neither law nor regulation keeps these benefits from flowing to married same-sex couples that live in marriage equality states. It’s simply the policy of the Internal Revenue Service to look to the state of residence as opposed to the state of celebration in determining whether a couple is married.
Lambda’s Sommer pointed out that only policy is keeping the IRS from allowing these couples in non-marriage equality states to receive tax benefits entitled to other married couples.
“We are aware of no statute or even a regulation that prescribes a choice of law rule for determining the marital status for tax purposes,” Sommer said. “There’s no legal impediment to having the administration follow a place of celebration standard. It could so in addition to, say a place of domicile standard, which has been articulated in some tax court rulings, but still, in some circumstances, as a place of celebration rule.”
An IRS spokesperson referred to the statement currently on the agency’s website posted at the time of the Supreme Court in response to inquiry on whether IRS would implement tax benefits for married same-sex couples on the nationwide basis, regardless of their states of residence.
“We are reviewing the important June 26 Supreme Court decision on the Defense of Marriage Act,” the statement says. “We will be working with the Department of Treasury and Department of Justice, and we will move swiftly to provide revised guidance in the near future.”
3. VETERANS BENEFITS
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced on the day the U.S. Supreme Court struck down DOMA that the Pentagon would comply the law to implement benefits for service members with same-sex spouses. But the question of whether veterans will be included as part of the package remains to be seen.
In U.S. Code, the Pentagon was previously unable to provide gay troops spousals benefits under Titles 10 and 32, which govern rights for service members, because of the Defense of Marriage Act. Now that the Supreme Court has struck down Section 3 of DOMA, those benefits should begin to flow.
However, the benefits under Title 38, which governs benefits for veterans, define spouse independently of DOMA in opposite-sex terms. Some of the benefits allocated under this law are disability benefits, survivor benefits and joint burial at a veteran’s cemetery. It’s unclear whether these benefits will begin to flow along with these other benefits because of the wording within the law.
Multiple media outlets are reporting that the Pentagon intends to have the benefits issue wrapped up by Aug. 31 along with the extension of benefits that were available under DOMA, such as military IDs, that were announced in February. Additionally, the U.S. Justice Department is required to file in McLaughlin v. Hagel, an ongoing DOMA lawsuit, to provide a status report by Sept. 9 on benefits afforded to gay troops addressing the Title 38 issue. An informed source told the Washington Blade the issue may be resolved as soon as this week.
Alex Nicholson, who’s gay and legislative director for Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America, said his organization has spoken about the issue with the administration and believes it has a “justifiable mandate” to afford these benefits to the legal spouses gay veterans.
“It’s not surprising that they’re taking their time to figure this out and do it right, but I think the mandate from the Supreme Court was clear enough that they could definitely move a little faster,” Nicholson said.
Lambda’s Sommer said the issue for gay veterans isn’t so much Title 38 because Title 1 of the U.S. Code should allow for a gender-neutral construction of this law. Still, she said other portions of the law related to veterans benefits could impact gay veterans seeking claims.
“In the veterans benefits area, there is also a statute kind of like what’s seen in the Social Security context that looks to the place of domicile at the time of celebration or when the right to the benefit has accrued,” Sommer said. “We’ll have to await guidance for how the administration will treat veterans who resided at the time of their marriage, and continue to live, in states that don’t respect their marriages.”
Lt. Cmdr. Nathan Christensen, a Pentagon spokesperson, said the Defense Department is working on the issue, but unable to provide additional information.
“The Department of Defense is working alongside the Department of Justice to implement the Court’s decision as quickly as possible,” Christensen said. “At this time no decisions have been made.”
In a statement provided to the Blade, the Department of Veterans Affairs similarly said the department was working to implement the benefits without providing anything conclusive on the extent to which they would flow.
“Our commitment to our Veterans and their families will continue to be our focus as we work to comply with recent Supreme Court decisions,” the statement says. “We are working closely with the Department of Justice to review relevant statutes and policies to implement any necessary changes to Federal benefits and obligations swiftly and smoothly in order to deliver the best services to all our nation’s Veterans.”
Here a change in the law may be required as well. The Charlie Morgan Act, introduced by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), would enable spousal benefits to flow to gay veterans. It was reported out of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs just prior to August recess.
4. FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE
Yet another issue that related to family leave still persists a few days after the Labor Department issued guidance stating the Family & Medical Leave Act will apply to married same-sex couples in the wake of the Supreme Court decision against DOMA: Will the change apply to married same-sex couples in non-marriage equality states?
On Friday, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez issued guidance to department staff notifying them the Wage & Hour Division made the change as the result of the work with the Justice Department and calling the Supreme Court ruling against DOMA “a historic step toward equality for all American families.”
“As part of this process, the Department of Labor updated several guidance documents today to remove references to DOMA and to affirm the availability of spousal leave based on same-sex marriages under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA),” Perez said. “This is one of many steps the Department will be taking over the coming months to implement the Supreme Court’s decision.”
The Family & Medical Leave Act entitles employees to take unpaid, job-protected leave for family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Eligible employees are entitled to 12 work weeks of leave in a year-long period for the birth of a child or to care for spouse and up to 26 work weeks of leave to care for a service member with a serious injury.
But under current policy, this post-DOMA application of the Family & Medical Leave Act won’t apply to married same-sex couples if they place of residence doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage. A Labor Department official said the Wage & Hour Division’s Family & Medical Leave Act regulations define “spouse” for purposes of marriage as recognized under the state law where an employee resides. All that would be required for to change this policy is a change in regulation.
Tico Almeida, president of Freedom to Work, called on the Labor Department to update the regulations so same-sex marriages are recognized by the state of celebration for family and medical leave purposes.
“The couple that lives in Alabama, flies to New York City for the weekend to get married and returns to Alabama deserves to have the same FMLA rights as the gay and lesbian couples that live in New York City,” Almeida said. “We want a 50-state solution, and that means recognizing same-sex marriages by the state of celebration, even though current FMLA regulations recognize marriage by the state of residency.”
National
Lawmakers warn of HIV crisis as federal support collapses
NMAC hosted Capitol Hill event on Wednesday
NMAC, formerly known as the National Minority AIDS Council, a nonprofit organization that works for health equity and racial justice to end the HIV epidemic, held its 6th annual Hill Champions reception on Wednesday in the Rayburn House Office Building to honor federal legislators who have worked to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and around the world.
Currently there are an estimated 40.8 million people worldwide living with HIV, with about 1.2 million people in the U.S. with the disease. While there is no cure, there are highly effective treatments that can control the virus and allow people to live long, healthy lives called antiretroviral therapy that can reduce the amount of virus in the body to an undetectable level, which also prevents the spread of HIV to others.
This year, NMAC’s reception featured a slew of current policymakers who use their national platforms to push for expanding HIV funding in Congress. This year’s honorees were three congresswomen who are active voices for HIV/AIDS on the House floor: U.S. Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), and Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.).
The awards presented to the representatives are named after three congressional icons who have dedicated their lives to ensuring the voices of the most marginalized are heard, seen, and helped.
Crockett received the John Lewis Good Trouble Award, Jacobs received the Barbara Lee Courage in HIV/Advocacy Award, and Ramirez received the Elijah Cummings Award for Minority Health Equity.
NMAC CEO Harold J. Phillips, the former director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy under President Joe Biden, was one of the first to speak at the event. He congratulated the honorees, highlighted work accomplished this past year in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and outlined what lies ahead as the current president continues to slash funding for public health initiatives worldwide.
“Tonight, we gather to celebrate what’s possible when courage meets commitment, when leaders refuse to let politics stand in the way of saving lives, we’re in a critical moment. Political uncertainty threatens the very programs that have transformed HIV into a manageable condition, but a crisis creates an opportunity for collective action,” Phillips said. “For more than 40 years, the HIV movement has thrived because of bipartisan leadership, leaders who understood that public health transcends party lines. Now more than ever, we need advocates on the hill.”
He continued, spotlighting actions taken by the honorees for the HIV movement during a time when some of the highest officials in government refuse to acknowledge it.
“What unites these champions is their understanding that HIV advocacy is not political — it is moral. They show us what it looks like when leaders treat public health as a responsibility, not a bargaining chip.”
Jacobs and Ramirez attended in person, while Crockett, who was unable to be there, sent a video.
In her speech after receiving the Barbara Lee Courage in HIV/Advocacy Award, Jacobs emphasized that the policies and initiatives put forward through the HIV Caucus and public health organizations in the U.S. have global impact — particularly regarding PEPFAR. Jacobs has been a consistent champion for people living with HIV, military service rights, and protecting the U.S. Agency for International Development.
“PEPFAR has saved over 25 million lives, but cuts are already causing catastrophic setbacks,” Rep. Jacobs said, explaining that even with progress made due to PEPFAR funding, places like Malawi reaching the 95-95-95 goal (95 percent of all people with HIV knew their status, 95 percent of those diagnosed were on lifesaving antiretrovirals, and 95 percent of those on medication were unable to transmit HIV) will continue to suffer. “In Malawi, where services for LGBTQ people, sex workers, young women, and other marginalized groups have been eliminated, it’s no longer a question of if transmission rates will rise — but when. We cannot leave communities behind or allow preventable deaths because of political decisions made in Washington.”
“I know that people of color, immigrants and trans people, have all been let down by our mainstream approach to HIV prevention and everything, I see seven barriers they face in accessing health care, the stigma surrounding disease and the lack of awareness from people in power,” the San Diego congresswoman said. “I want to say to those in that community, I will not let you fall through the cracks. I will not let you become another statistic, and I will keep working to make sure your voice is heard and that you can live a full and healthy life.”
Crockett, who addressed the crowd via video, emphasized her award’s namesake, explaining that the “good trouble” she gets into on the House floor and in committees can be deemed too much even by those in her own party, but that she remains committed to making HIV treatment accessible to all, regardless of background.
“To receive an award named after John Lewis is an honor all on its own. It means being bold, speaking up when others are scared to and standing firm when the truth makes people uncomfortable. And y’all know me — I don’t mind stirring a little trouble, especially when I am stirring trouble that is good trouble — but I never do it alone. I do it with the strength of the communities I represent. I do it with the stories of the folks who feel unheard. I do it for the people who depend on someone in those halls of Congress to fight for them. So this award isn’t just mine. It belongs to every advocate pushing for access to health care, every person navigating their own health journey, every organizer who refuses to give up.”
She continued, without directly calling out the White House, making allusions to pushing back against the recent emergence of budget cuts.
“I promise to keep fighting for funding, for research, for resources ,and for every community that needs a champion, because getting into good trouble isn’t just a phrase, it’s a calling, a calling we all share in this room,” Crockett said. “Thank you again for this honor, and thank you for your leadership, your fight and your refusal to back down. Now, let’s keep getting into that good trouble.”
Ramirez, who represents a part of Chicago, was previously in the Illinois House of Representatives, where she co-sponsored legislation to allow minors to access HIV and STI testing, prevention, and treatment without parental consent. She was also a chief co-sponsor in securing $10 million in state funding for this initiative in Illinois, and was the House chief co-sponsor for the “disrupting disparities for LGBTQ+ older adults and older adults living with HIV” initiative.
“I am clear more than ever that a commitment to ending the HIV and AIDS epidemic must continue to be our priority, and we must demonstrate that priority not through words, my friends, but through action — fighting for and protecting our neighbors, living with HIV or AIDS, including our LGBTQI plus neighbors,” Ramirez said. “It means showing up, telling our stories, celebrating each other and fighting side by side for that collective liberation, which only makes me more grateful for the people in this room.”
She also used the platform to criticize how some of Trump-Vance administration’s cuts to healthcare coverage funding were directed at underserved communities within the U.S. — namely undocumented immigrants like her parents.
“I want you to know that as members of Congress, we cannot go through day to day as business as usual, today is the time to demand that our siblings living with HIV and AIDS, no matter their sexual orientation, no matter their gender expression, no matter their zip code, their background or their citizenship status, that they get everything that they deserve, every Damn thing, so that they can live a healthy and thriving life.”
While the event was intended to celebrate the accomplishments of legislators, advocates, and supporters of the fight against HIV/AIDS, the tone of the night was noticeably more charged following the Trump-Vance administration’s refusal to acknowledge World AIDS Day — and the reported directive instructing federal employees not to comment about it on any channels, including social media and traditional media.
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) made a surprise appearance, celebrating the three legislators while emphasizing the critical importance of supporting HIV/AIDS research now that the White House has refused to acknowledge it.
“It’s really important this year, because this is the first time in a very long time that we have had World AIDS Day when the president of the United States has said, we can’t really talk about it and we certainly should not observe it for two days. On Sunday and Monday in San Francisco, we did exactly that. We talked about it, and we observed it, and here we are talking about it here, because, as Congressman Crockett said, and we all know, we’re here to fight for funding. We’re fighting for research, prevention, and all of that, but we’re also here to fight against discrimination and stigma anybody wants to attach to this, and that starts with you in the White House,” Pelosi said. “We have a fight on our hands, because this isn’t over.. [to] make sure that any discussion of HIV ends up in the dust bin of history, an ancient malady when our children, grandchildren all grow up. ‘What was that?’ It was something that doesn’t exist anymore because of the goodness of others, because of the National Minority AIDS Council.”
Maxine Waters slams Trump
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) also made an appearance and delivered an unfiltered, passionate speech praising NMAC’s efforts and calling out Trump for ending funding for HIV/AIDS worldwide while simultaneously accepting donations to rebuild the White House as he sees fit.
“I want to tell you when they asked, how was I doing when I came in, really, I was thinking about the president of the United States and what’s going on now, it’s so troubling. And I find myself not sleeping as well as I normally sleep. I find myself trying to believe that what I see is happening is absolutely happening,” Waters said. “Many of our people with HIV and AIDS are homeless, and they’re not being taken care of, and they’re going to die with the cuts that are being made. Unfortunately, we just got to say it.”
She continued, calling out Trump’s lack of focus on domestic issues like HIV/AIDS that directly impact American citizens, instead prioritizing issues unrelated to the public’s welfare.
“The fact that the president of the United States is killing people in international waters in Venezuela, not knowing whether or not they’re drug dealers or not, not caring, and I think about two people, two men hanging on the side of the boat who had escaped the bomb that hit, and they said, kill him, and they shot him down and killed it’s hard to live with this. It’s hard to understand how all of this is happening. And so Trump refused to commemorate World AIDS Day, and his State Department instructed employees and grantees to refrain from publicly promoting World AIDS Day through any communication channels, including social media, media engagements, speeches or other public facing messaging let’s just be an honorary Why would he be focused on us celebrating or working with World AIDS Day and helping people to understand that HIV and AIDS is still a big problem in this country, and we have to spend money. We have to do what it takes in order to provide the medicine and the health care that they need. Why would he just be against that? He’s already cutting the funds. But just go even further and say and don’t even promote World AIDS Day. It’s bothersome. Trump halted funds for PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which was created under the leadership of former Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the co-founder of the Congressional HIV AIDS Caucus.”
“There’s a very rich man that paid attention to what was going on with HIV and AIDS, and that was Bill Gates. And I’d like to quote him and what he said. ‘We’re already seeing the tragic impact of reductions in aid, and we know the number of date deaths will continue to rise.’ Here in the United States, where Nancy and I just talked about the creation of Minority AIDS Initiative to address AIDS disparities, and where the initiative has grown from 156 million when we first started in 1999 to more than 400 million per year. Today, Donald Trump is waging an all out war on people living with HIV. Trump’s budget proposal completely eliminated HIV prevention funding at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and he slashed the funds from Ryan White AIDS care and HIV research. We cannot allow, we cannot allow these devastating cuts to be implemented, and so we’re doing everything that we possibly can to fight Donald Trump on all of these issues. I want you to know that this attack on many of our friends who happened to come from other countries is just outrageous, and what he said about Somalia today just cannot be understood or accepted. And so for all of the nice people in the room, get mad, get angry. Do a little cursing. Tell people what you think about it, because if you’re too nice, nobody believes you. You got to kick a little butt. You got to make sure that they understand we’re in this fight and we’re not going to go away. I know he’s the president of the United States, but he shouldn’t be. He’s the president of the United States with a cabinet that knows nothing and cares nothing about anybody. I dare anybody to talk about minorities and want to know whether or not we’re qualified. Hell, they have the most unqualified people that you’ve ever witnessed in your life, anytime, anyplace, anywhere. We want to get rid of all of them dealing with this public policy, doing everything that we can, educating people. Don’t forget, you got to get them to vote.”
She spoke for 17 minutes, touching on many current events but repeatedly returning to the point that the president is supposed to represent the people — not his own interests.
“I came here to talk about AIDS, but I wasn’t going to let you go without talking about some other stuff too. And I’m going to leave you with saying, not only are we concerned and we’re upset about the kind of cuts that are made, whether we’re talking about health care, we’re talking about AIDS in particular, whether we’re talking about Section Eight, whether we’re talking about food stamps, this crazy man is destroying the White House — bulldozes the East Wing. Why would he do that? And why would he spend over $300 million to do that while he’s cutting all of these programs? Well, he’ll say it’s being donated. Well, get it donated to AIDS. You know what I’m saying. Why are you getting it donated? And then, last of all, which pisses me off, you. Definitely, and I just think it’s crazy and outrageous. He wants to take the John F. Kennedy Center and name it after Melania. What the hell?”
In a moment when federal silence grows louder, the advocates in that room offered a counterpoint — a reminder that community, courage, and persistence still drive the fight to end HIV.
Maine
Maine governor opens LGBTQ+ Victory Institute’s D.C. conference
Janet Mills successfully challenged White House’s anti-trans athlete executive order
Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Thursday opened the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute’s annual International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference in D.C.
Mills noted her February confrontation with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office over his executive order that bans transgender athletes from participating in school sports teams consistent with their gender identity.
Maine sued the Trump-Vance administration after it withheld federal funds to the state’s Department of Education. A federal judge ordered the White House to unfreeze the money.
“I speak as someone who, yeah, stood up to the president of the United States, to his face, when Donald Trump demanded that Maine violate our own laws to discriminate against transgender youth,” said Mills. “I told him I’d see him court. And guess what? We did see him in court and we won.”
Mills in October announced she is challenging incumbent U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico’s largest LGBTQ organization struggling amid federal funding cuts
Waves Ahead lost two grants from Justice Department, HUD
A loss of federal funds has forced Puerto Rico’s largest LGBTQ organization to scale back its work on the island.
Waves Ahead earlier this year lost upwards of $200,000 for a restorative justice program that the Justice Department funded through a three-year grant.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has also rescinded a $170,000 annual grant that Waves Ahead used to sustain Soraya’s House, a transitional housing program for LGBTQ people in Cabo Rojo, a municipality in Puerto Rico’s southwest coast. Puerto Rico’s Women’s Advocate Office, known by the acronym OPM, earlier this year also denied Waves Ahead’s application to receive more funding for its work to combat anti-LGBTQ violence.
OPM distributes STOP (Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors) Violence Against Women Formula Program funds it receives from the Justice Department to grant recipients in Puerto Rico.
Waves Ahead Executive Director Wilfred Labiosa during an interview with El Nuevo Día, a Puerto Rican newspaper, last month said his organization between October 2023 and January 2025 received more than $110,000 from OPM. (The Trump-Vance administration took office on Jan. 20. Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer González Colón, a Republican who supports President Donald Trump, took office on Jan. 2.)
Labiosa during an interview with the Washington Blade said Waves Ahead has lost 60 percent of its total budget.
The cuts have forced Waves Ahead to close its community center in Loíza, a municipality that is roughly 20 miles east of San Juan, the Puerto Rican capital. Waves Ahead has also had to curtail its restorative justice program that it operates with the Puerto Rico Cultural Center in Chicago.
Community centers continue to operate in San Juan, Cabo Rojo, Maunabo, and Isabela.
“People were really gaining a lot of skills. People were really involved,” Labiosa told the Blade.
“That was just pulled like a big band-aid right off the skin,” he said, referring to when he learned the Justice Department had rescinded the grant.
Waves Ahead Executive Director Wilfred Labiosa and volunteers bring food, water and other relief supplies to Iluminada, an 86-year-old resident of Vieques, Puerto Rico, on Jan. 31, 2018. Hurricane Maria a few months earlier devastated the U.S. commonwealth. (Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
Labiosa told the Blade the White House’s anti-LGBTQ policies and stance against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs likely contributed to the loss of federal funds.
He noted Waves Ahead lost its HUD funding, even though it was “on the list.”
“People here in Puerto Rico started to receive all the award letters, and all of a sudden we didn’t receive ours,” said Labiosa.
He told the Blade that Waves Ahead is one of two HUD grant recipients in Puerto Rico with LGBTQ-specific language in their profile, but “it is the only organization that has its mission and programming focused on LGBT homeless and people who needed transitional housing.”
“When we approached HUD and approached the local agent of HUD here … they all said, oh, we’re not sure what happened,” said Labiosa. “We tried to meet with everybody involved, but HUD never gave us a phone call. They just sent us an email saying you didn’t answer this question. The question was answered. It was something pitiful.”
Neither HUD nor the Justice Department have responded to the Blade’s request for comment.
Waves Ahead, meanwhile, has turned to the Puerto Rican diaspora in the mainland U.S. and private foundations for support. Labiosa noted local organizations and businesses have also given Waves Ahead money.
Waves Ahead on Giving Tuesday raised $2,778.
“We continue hands on and moving forward,” said Labiosa.
Lawmakers warn of HIV crisis as federal support collapses
Maine governor opens LGBTQ+ Victory Institute’s D.C. conference
Puerto Rico’s largest LGBTQ organization struggling amid federal funding cuts
Meet Mr. Christmas
My federal worker husband is depressed and I don’t know how to help
‘Lavender Scare 2.0’: inside the White House’s campaign against LGBTQ federal employees
HIV/AIDS activists block intersection near White House
Holiday movie season off to a ‘Wicked’ good start
Activists praise Mayor Bowser’s impact on city, LGBTQ community
Tokyo court upholds Japan’s same-sex marriage ban
-
The White House1 day ago‘Lavender Scare 2.0’: inside the White House’s campaign against LGBTQ federal employees
-
District of Columbia3 days ago
HIV/AIDS activists block intersection near White House
-
Movies4 days ago
Holiday movie season off to a ‘Wicked’ good start
-
District of Columbia1 day ago
Activists praise Mayor Bowser’s impact on city, LGBTQ community
