WASHINGTON – House Democrats blasted the Pentagon policy on Wednesday that bans most transgender troops from serving, charging that barring them would damage military readiness by cashiering seasoned troops.

Rep. Jackie Speier, chairman of the House Armed Service Committee's personnel panel, branded the Pentagon policy as "bogus." The Pentagon has been seeking to overturn a 2016 policy that allowed transgender troops to serve openly and receive treatment.

"Despite living in a nation where many discriminate against you, you made a choice that fewer and fewer Americans make: you joined the military and risked your lives and your family’s well-being for our safety," Speier told active duty transgender troops who testified Wednesday. "And how has the administration thanked you? By treating you like a liability, not an asset. By maliciously jeopardizing your careers and trivializing your sacrifice."

Data first reported by USA TODAY show that the Pentagon has provided about $8 million in medical and psychological treatment to more than 1,500 transgender troops since July 1, 2016. At that time, the previous ban on service from transgender troops was lifted. The Pentagon annually spends about $50 billion on health care.

In July 2017, Trump tweeted that he wanted to ban the service of transgender troops. The policy has been modified to prohibit the service of most transgender individuals.

The policy is being challenged in federal court and its implementation is delayed, but the Supreme Court last month has allowed it to go into effect.

James Stewart, the Pentagon's top official for personnel policy, testified that former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis began developing the policy a month prior to Trump's tweet and stressed that it was not a ban on transgender individuals. The new policy, however, does not allow special accommodation for gender dysphoria, Stewart said.

The Pentagon is reviewing health and other records of 228 people with a history of gender dysphoria who have applied for entry in the armed services, Stewart said. If they meet standards for service, the transgender individuals will be allowed to join. Since 2018, the Pentagon has accepted applications from 12 transgender troops, Stewart said.

Gender dysphoria is a condition recognized by medicine resulting from the conflict between physical gender and gender identity. The American Medical Association and other major organizations have stated that gender dysphoria should not disqualify troops from serving.

Vice Adm. Raquel Bono, director of the Defense Health Agency, said the military's experience treating troops with gender dysphoria suggests that there are problems not recognized by the major medical organizations. They require more visits to mental health professionals and have suicidal thoughts more often than other troops.

Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, pressed Stewart to explain how the policy is not discriminatory. Stewart replied that the policy is aimed at the condition of gender dysphoria, not individuals.

Pentagon policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity so it does not have a definitive figure on the number of transgender troops serving, Stewart said.

The nonpartisan RAND Corp. conducted a Pentagon-funded study in 2016 and found that there likely are fewer than 10,000 transgender troops among the more than 1 million active-duty troops. RAND determined that the cost of treatment for transgender troops and their effect on readiness to fight were negligible.

Five active duty transgender troops appeared before the House Armed Services Committee, testifying about their deployments to Afghanistan and climbing the ranks.

Army Staff Sgt. Patricia King, an infantry soldier for 19 years, deployed three times to Afghanistan and was awarded the Bronze Star. She transitioned to a woman in 2015. Soldiers do not care about that, having only two real concerns, she said. “Can you do your job and accomplish your mission?”

Navy Lt. Cdr. Blake Dremann, who began transitioning to a man in 2013, said the procedures took three weeks over three years, he said. The transition had "zero impact on any deployments," Dremann said.