I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4960 

To establish a Commission to address the pervasive, and targeted epidemic 

of fatal violence, economic discrimination, and other factors 

disproportionally impacting members of the transgender community, and 

to make recommendations to Congress on appropriate remedies. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Ms. JACKSON LEE (for herself, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 

VEASEY, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, 

Mr. RASKIN, Ms. BALINT, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. PRESSLEY, and Ms. MENG) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish a Commission to address the pervasive, and 

targeted epidemic of fatal violence, economic discrimination, and other factors disproportionally impacting members of the transgender community, and to make recommendations to Congress on appropriate remedies. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Chyna Gibson Stop 

3 the Transgender Murder Epidemic Act of 2023’’ or the 

4 ‘‘Chyna Gibson STME Act of 2023’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) One of the most underreported trends in 

8 the LGBTIQA+ community is the alarming rate at 

9 which members of the gender-nonconforming, gen10 der-expansive community, and especially transgender 

11 women of color, are murdered. 

12 (2) Fatal violence disproportionately affects 

13 transgender women of color, and the intersections of 

14 racism, sexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, 

15 and unchecked access to guns conspire to deprive 

16 them of employment, housing, health care, and other 

17 necessities, making them more vulnerable to a cul18 ture of violence. 

19 (3) The Human Rights Campaign reports since 

20 2013, over 200 transgender and gender-expansive 

21 individuals have been killed in the United States. 

22 (4) In 2016, it is estimated that, while the over23 all murder rate for the United States was 1 in 

24 19,000 per year, the murder rate for Black 

25 transgender women was 1 in 2,600, more than 7 

26 times as high as that of the general population. 


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1 (5) In 2018, according to the Human Rights 

2 Campaign, 26 transgender people suffered violent 

3 deaths in the United States, a majority of them were 

4 Black transgender women. 

5 (6) In 2019, at least 25 transgender or gender 

6 nonconforming people fatally shot or killed by other 

7 violent means. 

8 (7) In 2020, at least 37 trans and gender non9 conforming people were victims of fatal violence. 

10 (8) This epidemic of targeted and pervasive 

11 murder disproportionately impacts transgender 

12 women of color, who comprise approximately 4 in 5 

13 of all antitransgender homicides and those numbers 

14 do not account for unreported and misreported mur15 ders or transgender people who have unexpectedly 

16 died under suspicious circumstances, but whose 

17 deaths have not been determined to be homicide, re18 ports the Human Rights Campaign. 

19 (9) Transgender people are a demographic with 

20 an elevated risk of becoming victims of violence and 

21 discrimination, in fact, it is estimated that trans 

22 women are 4.3 times more likely to become homicide 

23 victims than all women, reports the Human Rights 

24 Campaign. 


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1 (10) Many transgender women turn to the dan2 gerous underground economy of sex work because it 

3 has historically been a place where transgender 

4 women have been able to make a living and find ac5 ceptance in a community of peers. 

6 (11) The National Center for Transgender 

7 Equality reports that more than 1 in 4 transgender 

8 people have faced a bias-driven assault, and rates 

9 are higher for trans women and transgender people 

10 of color. 

11 (12) When transgender students are left unpro12 tected from discrimination at all levels of education, 

13 it promotes a negative impact on their overall well14 being, future economic stability, and employment op15 portunities. 

16 (13) Members of the Transgender community 

17 face considerable financial burdens: common health 

18 care practices for trans people, such as hormone re19 placement therapy and gender-affirming surgery, are 

20 costly, and according to the American Journal of 

21 Psychiatry, undergoing gender-affirming surgery 

22 often leads to long term mental health benefits, but 

23 procedures can cost up to $75,000. 

24 (14) When a transgender person dies, the police 

25 reports of their deaths often are inaccurate, 


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1 misgendering them or using incorrect pronouns, 

2 making it difficult for communities to be informed of 

3 a trans woman’s death and delay or impede the 

4 gathering of accurate data on deaths. 

5 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

6 It is the sense of Congress that— 

7 (1) there should be a commitment to combating 

8 factors that lead to the murder of gender-noncon9 forming, gender-expansive, and transgender women 

10 of color in the United States; 

11 (2) there should be a dissemination of cul12 turally-relevant resources that support transgender 

13 people and their families and increase awareness of 

14 the unique myriad of issues the transgender commu15 nity fact; 

16 (3) the nation should condemn the violent, tar17 geted, and senseless documented murders of the over 

18 200 gender-nonconforming, gender-expansive, and 

19 transgender individuals in the United States since 

20 2013; and 

21 (4) there should be celebration that even in the 

22 face of this physical danger, hatred, and discrimina23 tion, gender-nonconforming, gender-expansive, and 

24 transgender Americans live courageously and over25 come unjust barriers in all corners of our country. 


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1 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT AND DUTIES. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—To establish a Commission to 

3 study and develop proposals to combat the epidemic of the 

4 murdering of gender-nonconforming, gender-expansive, 

5 and transgender women of color. 

6 (b) DUTIES.—The Commission’s documentation and 

7 examination shall include the facts related to the fol8 lowing: 

9 (1) Researching issues gender-nonconforming, 

10 gender-expansive, and transgender women of color 

11 face, such as— 

12 (A) limited access to and avoidance of 

13 health care due to stigma and past negative ex14 periences with providers, prioritization of gen15 der-related health care, and concerns about ad16 verse interactions between antiretroviral medi17 cations and hormone therapy; 

18 (B) the extensive degrading, debasing, and 

19 denial of humanity; 

20 (C) forms of discrimination in the public 

21 and private sectors against gender-noncon22 forming, gender-expansive, and transgender 

23 women of color that underlie many of the HIV, 

24 and poverty-related risk factors frequently re25 ported in this population; 


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1 (D) the Federal and State laws that dis2 criminate against the rights of transgender peo3 ple; 

4 (E) stigma surrounding early trans-iden5 tity, which is often rooted in inaccurate beliefs 

6 and politically-motivated attacks on transgender 

7 identities, this stigma erects barriers in vir8 tually every facet of life, denying transgender 

9 people the equal opportunity to succeed and be 

10 accepted; 

11 (F) the treatment of gender-noncon12 forming, gender-expansive, and transgender 

13 women of color in the United States, including 

14 the deprivation of their freedom, exploitation of 

15 their labor, and destruction of their culture; 

16 (G) exorbitant levels of familial rejection, 

17 often from an early age, this rejection takes a 

18 devastating toll on individuals often causing iso19 lation from physical and emotional resources 

20 that are essential to their well-being, in con21 trast, research shows that familial acceptance is 

22 a protective factor for transgender young people 

23 and can contribute to lower rates of depression, 

24 anxiety, substance use, HIV acquisition, and 

25 suicide attempts; 


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1 (H) elevated rates of unemployment four 

2 times that of the United States general popu3 lation, which is due, in part, to limited access 

4 to workplaces that are affirming and inclusive, 

5 transgender and gender-expansive people are 

6 put at greater risk for poverty, homelessness, 

7 and involvement with criminalized work; 

8 (I) sex-segregated prisons where many 

9 transwomen do not have access to trans-com10 petent health care, and are usually housed with 

11 male inmates, which can lead to violence, sexual 

12 assault, and harassment while incarcerated, di13 rectly increasing their HIV risk; 

14 (J) employment and housing discrimina15 tion that leads directly to the need to engage in 

16 survival sex work for many who are denied op17 portunities for education, job training, and 

18 basic social services because of their 

19 transgender status, which correlates with in20 creased exposure to fatal violence; 

21 (K) the intersections of racism, sexism, 

22 homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and un23 checked access to firearms compound to create 

24 a culture of violence that disproportionately im25 pacts communities of color; 


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1 (L) immigration detainees and aid workers 

2 have given disturbing reports of individuals 

3 being held under inhumane conditions that 

4 threaten their physical safety; and 

5 (M) misgendering by local police state6 ments and media reports, which can delay 

7 awareness of deadly incidents. 

8 (2) Recommending appropriate ways to educate 

9 the public of the Commission’s findings. 

10 (3) Recommending appropriate remedies in con11 sideration of the Commission’s findings on the mat12 ters described in paragraph (1). In making such rec13 ommendations, the Commission shall address among 

14 other issues, the following questions: 

15 (A) How such recommendations comport 

16 with international standards of remedy for 

17 wrongs and injuries caused by the State, that 

18 include special measures, as understood by var19 ious relevant international protocols, laws, and 

20 findings. 

21 (B) How Federal laws and policies that 

22 continue to disproportionately and negatively 

23 affect gender-nonconforming, gender-expansive, 

24 and transgender women of color as a group, 


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1 and those that perpetuate the lingering effects, 

2 materially and psychosocial, can be eliminated. 

3 (C) How the injuries resulting from mat4 ters described in paragraph (1) can be reversed 

5 and provide appropriate policies, programs, 

6 projects, and recommendations for the purpose 

7 of reversing the injuries. 

8 (D) How, in consideration of the Commis9 sion’s findings, any other forms of rehabilita10 tion or restitution to gender-nonconforming, 

11 gender-expansive, and transgender women of 

12 color are warranted and what the form and 

13 scope of those measures should take. 

14 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP. 

15 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission 

16 shall be composed of 13 members, who shall be appointed, 

17 within 90 days after the date of enactment of this Actt, 

18 as follows: 

19 (1) All members shall be appointed by the 

20 President. 

21 (2) 10 members shall be appointed from an 

22 LGBTIQA+ community advisory board, of which 5 

23 shall be reserved for representatives from African 

24 American trans-community and predominantly Afri25 can American transgender service organizations that 


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1 have historically championed the cause of 

2 transgender human rights. 

3 (b) ORGANIZATION.— 

4 (1) QUALIFICATIONS.—All members of the 

5 Commission shall be persons who are specially quali6 fied to serve on the Commission by virtue of their 

7 education, training, activism, or experience, particu8 larly in the field of Transgender studies and human 

9 rights. 

10 (2) TERMS.—The term of office for members 

11 shall be for 2.5 years or half of the life of each Com12 mission. A vacancy in the Commission shall not af13 fect the powers of the Commission and shall be filled 

14 in the same manner in which the original appoint15 ment was made. 

16 (3) FIRST MEETING.—The President shall call 

17 the first meeting of the Commission within 120 days 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act or within 

19 30 days after the date on which legislation is en20 acted making appropriations to carry out this Act, 

21 whichever date is later. 

22 (4) QUORUM.—Seven members of the Commis23 sion shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number 

24 may hold hearings. 


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1 (5) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—The Commission 

2 shall elect a Chair and Vice-Chair from among its 

3 members. The term of office of each shall be for the 

4 life of the Commission. 

5 (6) COMPENSATION.—Except as provided in 

6 paragraph (7), each member of the Commission 

7 shall receive compensation at the daily equivalent of 

8 the annual rate of basic pay payable for GS–18 of 

9 the General Schedule under section 5332 of title 5, 

10 United States Code, for each day, including travel 

11 time, during which he or she is engaged in the ac12 tual performance of duties vested in the Commis13 sion. 

14 (7) NO ADDITIONAL PAY.—A member of the 

15 Commission who is a full-time officer or employee of 

16 the United States or a Member of Congress shall re17 ceive no additional pay, allowances, or benefits by 

18 reason of his or her service to the Commission. 

19 (8) REIMBURSEMENT.—All members of the 

20 Commission shall be reimbursed for travel, subsist21 ence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them 

22 in the performance of their duties to the extent au23 thorized by chapter 57 of title 5, United States 

24 Code. 


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1 SEC. 6. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION. 

2 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 

3 may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this 

4 Act, hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and 

5 at such places in the United States, and request the at6 tendance and testimony of such witnesses and the produc7 tion of such books, records, correspondence, memoranda, 

8 papers, and documents, as the Commission considers ap9 propriate. The Commission may invoke the aid of an ap10 propriate United States district court to require, by sub11 poena or otherwise, such attendance, testimony, or pro12 duction. 

13 (b) POWERS OF SUBCOMMITTEES AND MEMBERS.— 

14 Any subcommittee or member of the Commission may, if 

15 authorized by the Commission, take any action which the 

16 Commission is authorized to take by this section. 

17 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 

18 may acquire directly from the head of any department, 

19 agency, or instrumentality of the executive branch of the 

20 Government, available information which the Commission 

21 considers useful in the discharge of its duties. All depart22 ments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the executive 

23 branch of the Government shall cooperate with the Com24 mission with respect to such information and shall furnish 

25 all information requested by the Commission to the extent 

26 permitted by law. 


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1 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

2 (a) STAFF.—The Commission may appoint and fix 

3 the compensation of such personnel as the Commission 

4 considers appropriate. 

5 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CIVIL SERVICE

6 LAWS.—The staff of the Commission may be appointed 

7 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States 

8 Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, 

9 and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and 

10 subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classi11 fication and General Schedule pay rates, except that the 

12 compensation of any employee of the Commission may not 

13 exceed a rate equal to the annual rate of basic pay payable 

14 for GS–18 of the General Schedule under section 5332 

15 of title 5, United States Code. 

16 (c) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission 

17 may procure the services of experts and consultants in ac18 cordance with the provisions of section 3109(b) of title 5, 

19 United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to 

20 exceed the daily equivalent of the highest rate payable 

21 under section 5332 of such title. 

22 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—The 

23 Commission may enter into agreements with the Adminis24 trator of General Services for procurement of financial 

25 and administrative services necessary for the discharge of 

26 the duties of the Commission. Payment for such services 


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1 shall be made by reimbursement from funds of the Com2 mission in such amounts as may be agreed upon by the 

3 Chairman of the Commission and the Administrator. 

4 (e) CONTRACTS.—The Commission may— 

5 (1) procure supplies, services, and property by 

6 contract in accordance with applicable laws and reg7 ulations and to the extent or in such amounts as are 

8 provided in appropriation acts; and 

9 (2) enter into contracts with departments, 

10 agencies, and instrumentalities of the Federal Gov11 ernment, State agencies, and private firms, institu12 tions, and agencies, for the conduct of research or 

13 surveys, the preparation of reports, and other activi14 ties necessary for the discharge of the duties of the 

15 Commission, to the extent or in such amounts as are 

16 provided in appropriation acts. 

17 SEC. 8. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

18 The Commission shall submit a written report of its 

19 findings and recommendations to the Congress not later 

20 than the date which is 18 months after the date of the 

21 first meeting of the Commission held pursuant to section 

22 3. 

23 SEC. 9. TERMINATION. 

24 The Commission shall submit a written report of its 

25 findings and recommendations to the Congress not later 


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1 than the date which is one year after the date of the first 

2 meeting of the Commission held pursuant to section 3 and 

3 terminate 90 days after the date on which the Commission 

4 submits its report to the Congress under section 3. 

5 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 To carry out the provisions of this Act, there are au7 thorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 per year, for a 

8 period not to exceed 5 years. 

Æ 


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