Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, a bill that will actually do the opposite and make sports more dangerous for women and girls.

In fact, this bill will empower child predators, putting students across the country at increased risk. This is a one-size-fits-all bill that would apply equally to every sport, from K-12 schools to colleges.

Currently, schools, parents, and communities manage youth sports leagues and write rules about who can participate in different sports at different levels. Many State schools and athletic associations across the country have allowed equal participation for transgender athletes for years, and it is working just fine.

This legislation would revoke all Federal funding from schools that include transgender students on girls' and women's sports teams. This is damaging and discriminatory to transgender students who benefit, as all students do, from participating in school sports, and it is also damaging to the entire school that is threatened because Federal funding benefits all students.

I remind my colleauges to keep in mind that as of last month, of the approximately 510,000 athletes who play at the NCAA level, 10 are transgender--not 10,000, 10 out of 510,000.

Transgender students, like all students, deserve the same opportunity as their peers to learn teamwork, find belonging, and grow into well- rounded adults through sports.

Childhood and adolescence are important times for growth and development, and sports help students form healthy habits and develop strong social and emotional skills. Sports provide meaningful opportunities for kids to feel confident in themselves and learn valuable life lessons about teamwork, leadership, and communication. Teams provide a place for kids to make friends and build relationships.

Yet, my colleagues across the aisle want to take these opportunities away from certain children. That is discriminatory, and it is wrong. My colleagues are apparently so afraid of people who are different than them that they have manufactured false and dangerous presumptions based on outdated stereotypes about transgendered people, especially transgender women and girls.

Additionally, there is no way this so-called protection bill could be enforced without opening the door to harassment and privacy violations. It opens the door to inspection, not protection, of women and girls in sports. Will students have to undergo exams to prove they are a girl?

We are already seeing examples of harassment and questioning of girls who may not conform to stereotypical feminine roles. Will they be subject to demands for medical tests and private information? That is intrusive, offensive, and unacceptable, especially from a party of limited government.

I want to be very clear: There are real problems harming women and girls in sports, but transgender students are not why. Today, we should be working to solve the real pervasive problems in athletics that deter women and girls from participating, including sexual harassment and assault, lack of equal resources, and pay inequality.

We should be working on those issues and also on the issues that improve the lives of the people we represent back home, like increasing access to affordable healthcare and housing, lowering costs for everyday Americans, and fighting the climate crisis.

Instead, here we are again. We have seen this time and time again: Republicans fearmonger about the trans community to divert attention from the fact that they have no real solutions to help everyday Americans with the pressing problems they face.

We must not discriminate against kids because of who they are. Transgender youth already face high hurdles. Research shows that this type of discriminatory policy is associated with declines in mental health and higher suicide risk among already LGBTQI+ youth. We don't need adults in Congress making things worse.

As Republican Governor Spencer Cox from Utah said in his veto statement of a similar bill: ``When in doubt, however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy, and compassion.'' So should we all.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as trans student and successful athlete Rebekah said: ``I know what it is like to have my gender questioned. . . . It is invasive and embarrassing. I wouldn't want anyone else to have to go through that,'' and, ``It is awful. Legislators are bullying kids.''

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano).

Mr. Speaker, just a reminder that this bill applies to every student of every age in every sport the same way. As Flynn, a successful trans athlete, said: ``The next time you see a story about trans athletes, think of the children behind the story who are just trying to play a game with their peers.''

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Clark), the Democrat whip.

Mr. Speaker, in light of the comment that the gentleman from Michigan, who is managing the time on the other side of the aisle, made about birth certificates, I want to remind my colleagues that in the discussion on a similar bill, we had a conversation about how out of the millions of birth certificates in this country, there are a considerable number of children who are born either intersex or with ambiguous genitalia.

How does the gentleman plan to enforce this bill? Because he is saying birth certificates but those aren't necessarily reliable.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg) for the purpose of a colloquy.

Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Ansari).

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining on both sides.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Kelly).

Mr. Speaker, just another reminder that this bill is a blanket ban that treats every age student in every sport the same.

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Quigley).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Ocasio-Cortez).

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Landsman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Jacobs).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Salinas).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Dexter).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Randall).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Vermont (Ms. Balint).

Mr. Speaker, may I please inquire as to the time remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hoyle).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury).

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Frost).

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter led by the National Women's Law Center and the Women's Sports Foundation from 33 national and 34 State and local women's and girls' rights organizations to voice our vehement opposition to H.R. 28.

January 13, 2025.

Dear Member of Congress, The National Women's Law Center

and Women's Sports Foundation, joined by the undersigned

women's and girls' rights organizations, write to voice our

vehement opposition to H.R. 28 and S. 9, ``The Protection of

Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025.'' As organizations

deeply committed to fulfilling the promise of Title IX of the

Education Amendments of 1972 of equal educational opportunity

for all women and girls, including in school sports, we have

advocated for gender equity in schools for decades. Far from

promoting sex equality in sports, H.R. 28 and S. 9 are

discriminatory attempts to cause harm to and exclude

transgender, intersex, and nonbinary students from school

sports and would not promote fairness or safety in school

sports for women and girls. We thus urge you to reject this

effort to enshrine sex discrimination and oppose H.R. 28 and

Mr. Speaker, I also include in the Record a letter from Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, which reads in part:

``On behalf of the 1.8 million members of the AFT, I write to urge you to oppose H.R. 28, the so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, and to reject its attacks on our students.''

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, Congress has the power and the responsibility to make a real difference for Americans. Yet, we are starting this Congress with a bill that dangerously picks on an extremely small number of children and young adults but putting all children and young adults at risk. These attacks are fueled by discrimination and not facts.

A poll from 2022 found that two-thirds of LGBTQI+ youth report that recent debates about State laws restricting the rights of transgender people have negatively affected their mental health. Today, my colleagues are furthering this hate. America already has a youth mental health crisis, and my colleagues are exacerbating it by promoting these hateful policies, and that is unacceptable.

Let's talk about ways to champion opportunities in sports for all women and girls. We celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX 2 years ago, which protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities.

Under Title IX, we have seen a considerable increase in the number of female students participating in sports, but college women still have nearly 60,000 fewer athletic opportunities than men, and high school girls have about 1 million fewer opportunities to play sports than high school boys.

Do my colleagues only care about women's sports when it benefits partisan talking points? Apparently so because preventing transgender women and girls, who make up only a tiny fraction of a percent of college athletes, from participating in sports seems to be more important to my colleagues than starting this 119th Congress with legislation that would protect female athletes from assault or harassment.

Mr. Speaker, we should focus our work on promoting policies that make sports safe, accessible, and fair for everyone. This bill does not do that.

I emphasize that my colleagues still have not explained how enforcement is going to happen without serious and risky invasions of privacy and the inquiry of intensely personal information.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to show some compassion, show some humanity, and please reject this partisan bill that will harm our Nation's youth.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the second letter I referenced during general debate on H.R. 28, a letter led by the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights with signatories from 117 national and 289 regional, state, and local civil rights organizations rejecting ``the so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, because it would harm women and girls and undermine civil rights for all students.''

The Leadership Conference,

January 13, 2025.

Oppose H.R. 28 to Protect Civil Rights

Dear Member of Congress, On behalf of The Leadership

Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by

its diverse membership of more than 240 national

organizations to promote and protect the civil and human

rights of all persons in the United States, and the 414

undersigned organizations, we call for the full inclusion,

protection, and celebration of transgender, nonbinary, and

intersex youth, including access

to extracurricular activities such as athletics, and to

school facilities, safe and inclusive school environments,

and accurate and inclusive curriculum. We reject H.R. 28, the

so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of

2025, because it would harm women and girls and undermine

civil rights for all students.

This discriminatory proposal seeks to exclude transgender,

nonbinary, and intersex people from athletics programs in

schools. Although the authors of the legislation represent

themselves as serving the interests of cisgender girls and

women, this legislation does not address the longstanding

barriers all girls and women have faced in their pursuit of

athletics. Instead of providing for equal facilities,

equipment, and travel, or any other strategy that women

athletes have been pushing for for decades, the bill

cynically veils an attack on transgender people as a question

of athletics policy.

Youth sports often play a significant role in children's

lives and development, helping them to develop critical life

skills like communication, teamwork, and leadership. Sports

spaces are imperative for all young people, no matter their

gender. Transgender, nonbinary, and intersex youth want to

participate in team sports for the same reasons as their

cisgender peers: to be part of a team, learn sportsmanship,

and challenge themselves. School athletics are very often the

centerpiece of communities across the country, and denying

transgender, nonbinary, and intersex youth the chance to

participate only serves to deny them an opportunity to be

part of that community, further isolating and stigmatizing

these youth.

The civil and human rights community is no stranger to the

proffering of a bigoted agenda as if it were about equal

opportunity. We know about wolves in sheep's clothing. We

know that when affirmative action policies created to level

the playing field in higher education admissions are attacked

by opponents of voting rights (as was true in the Students

for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard College/University of

North Carolina cases), that their agenda is not about the

rights of people of color. We know that when companies profit

from poverty wages for disabled people, especially in

segregated work sites (as is the case for sheltered workshops

that pay subminimum wages to disabled workers), that their

agenda is not about independence and self-determination for

workers. And we know that when opponents of Title IX,

including those who have sought for decades to weaken its

protections and undermine its enforcement, now present

themselves as the law's champions, that their agenda is not

about the rights of women and girls.

Targeting and excluding transgender, nonbinary, and

intersex students from participation in school programming,

including athletics programs, alongside their cisgender peers

is harmful to all students and undermines the learning

environment for everyone. If schools mark some students

effectively as outcasts, they foster an environment where no

student is included and safe. H.R. 28's vague language and

intrusive focus on scrutiny of students' bodies will

effectively exclude cisgender girls and women with intersex

variations from participation, will invite scrutiny and

harassment of any other student perceived by anyone as not

conforming to sex stereotypes, and will likely be

disproportionately used to target all girls and women of

color. We support the full inclusion and protection of

transgender, nonbinary, and intersex youth.

We are fortunate that transgender, nonbinary, and intersex

people are present in our community, and we fully embrace

them as members of our community. As organizations that care

deeply about ending sex-based discrimination and ensuring

equal educational opportunities, we support laws and policies

that protect transgender people from discrimination,

including full and equal participation in sports, access to

gender-affirming care, access to school facilities, and

access to inclusive curriculum. We firmly believe that an

attack on transgender youth is an attack on civil rights.

We ask all members of Congress to strongly oppose H.R. 28

and to reject attacks on transgender, nonbinary, and intersex

youth; to commit themselves to meaningfully advancing

policies that support equal opportunity; and to reassure all

students in the nation's classrooms that they will have the

chance to learn, grow, and thrive. If you have any questions,

please reach out to Liz King, senior program director at The

Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, at

king@civilrights.org.

Sincerely,

National (121)

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights;

Advocates for Trans Equality, Advocates for Youth, AFT;

American Association of University Women (AAUW), American

Atheists; American Civil Liberties Union; American Federation

of State; County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); American

Humanist Association; Amnesty International USA; Autistic

Women & Nonbinary Network; Bayard Rustin Center for Social

Justice; Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; Bend the Arc:

Jewish Action; CenterLink: The Community of LGBTQ Centers;

Chrysalis; Clearinghouse on Women's Issues; COLAGE;

Collective Power for Reproductive Justice; Council for Global

Equality; EdTrust; Education Law Center; Educators for

Excellence; Elevated Access; Empowering Pacific Islander

Communities; Equal Justice Society; Equal Rights Advocates;

Equality Federation; Equity Forward.

Family Equality, Feminist Majority Foundation, FORGE, Inc.,

Gender Justice League, GLAAD, GLMA: Health Professionals

Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality, GLSEN, HAIR HAS NO GENDER NFP,

Human Rights Campaign, Human Rights First, Ibis Reproductive

Health, Impact Fund, Indivisible, interACT: Advocates for

Intersex Youth, Interfaith Alliance, Japanese American

Citizens League, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Justice

and Joy National Collaborative, Keshet, Labor Council for

Latin American Advancement, Lambda Legal, LatinoJustice

PRLDEF, Lavender Rights Project, Liberation is Lit, LPAC,

Matthew Shepard Foundation, Movement Advancement Project,

MPact Global, NAACP, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Nathaniel R.

Jones Foundation, National Asian Pacific American Bar

Association (NAPABA), National Association of Social Workers,

National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Council of

Jewish Women, National Disability Rights Network (NDRN),

National Education Association, National Hispanic Media

Coalition, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, National

LGBTQ+ Bar Association, National LGBTQI+ Cancer Network,

National Network of Abortion Funds, National Organization for

Women.

National Partnership for Women & Families, National Urban

League, National Women's Law Center, Nclusion Plus, NETWORK

Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Our Schools USA, Out in

Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics, Inc.,

Patchwork Transgender Peer Services, People For the American

Way, PFLAG National, Planned Parenthood Federation of

America, Point of Pride, Popular Democracy, Positive Women's

Network-USA, Pride At Work, AFL-CIO, Public Justice,

Reproaction, Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL

Pro-Choice America), Safe Schools Action Network, Sam &

Devorah Foundation for Trans Youth, Service Employees

International Union (SEIU), SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change,

Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF),

State Innovation Exchange (SiX) Action, Tbuddy, The Advocacy

Institute, The Advocates for Human Rights, The Autistic

People of Color Fund, The Global Trans Equity Project, The

Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United), The

TransLatin@ Coalition, Trans in Color, Transathlete,

Transcending Adolescence, TransFamily Support Services,

Transgender Law Center, TransParent, T'ruah: The Rabbinic

Call for Human Rights, UFCW OUTreach, Union for Reform

Judaism, United Church of Christ, URGE: Unite for

Reproductive & Gender Equity, Voices for Progress, Voters of

Tomorrow, Western States Center, Whitman-Walker Institute,

Youth MOVE National, Youth Seen, YWCA USA.

regional/state/local (294)

African American Office of Gay Concerns, Aces NYC,

Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance, Advocates for

Children of New York, AJL Community Health, Alliance For Full

Acceptance SC, American Federation of Teachers--Oregon,

Arkansas Black Gay Men's Forum, Association of Latinos/as/xs

Motivating Action, Azalea Coffee Bar, Bans Off Miami, Basic

Rights Oregon, Battle Born Progress, Bolingbrook Pride,

Brenham PFLAG, Brooklyn Community Pride Center, CA LGBTQ

Health and Human Services Network, CalPride, CAMP Rehoboth,

Campaign for Southern Equality, Carolina Abortion Fund, Casa

Freehold, Cascade AIDS Project, Central Coast Coalition for

Inclusive Schools, Charlotte Trans Health, Chattanooga Trans

Liberation Collective, Chicago Teachers Union LGBTQ+

Committee, Chicago Therapy Collective, City of West

Hollywood, Courage California, Crescent Care, Deerfield IL

Chapter of PFLAG, Delmarva Pride Center, Denver Health and

Hospital Authority, Detroit Area Youth Uniting Michigan

(DAYUM), Disability Law Center, Disability Rights California,

Disability Rights Oregon.

East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, Eastern PA Trans Equity

Project, Education Law Center Pennsylvania, entre hermanos,

Envision: You, Equality California, Equality Community

Center, Equality Florida, Equality Illinois, Equality Maine,

Equality Michigan, Equality New Mexico, Equality NY--Buffalo

Chapter, Equality Ohio, Equality South Dakota, Equality

Texas, Equitas Health, Fair Wisconsin, Fairness Campaign,

Family Forward Oregon, Famous Adventures Summer Camp, Fenway

Health, FL National Organization for Women, Florida Council

of Churches, Four Corners Rainbow Youth Center, Freedom

Oklahoma, Garden State Equality, Gender Alchemy, Gender

Justice, Gender Justice LA, GenderNexus, Georgia Equality,

GLSEN Arizona, GLYS Western New York Inc., GRACE/End Child

Poverty California, Grand Rapids Trans Foundation, GSAFE,

Harriet Hancock Center Foundation, Hawai`i `Ohana Support

Network, Health Equity Alliance for LGBTQ+ New Mexicans,

Howard Brown Health, Hugh Lane Wellness Foundation, Hyacinth

Foundation.

Illinois Migrant Council, Inland Empire Prism Collective,

Inland Oasis, Jewish Community Relations Council of Broward

County, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater

Phoenix, Just Us at Oasis Center, Kol Ami, Latino Equality

Alliance, Latino Network, Lavender Phoenix, Levine Center To

End Hate/Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester, LGBT Center

of Raleigh, LGBT Center of SE Wisconsin, LGBT Community

Network, LGBTQ Center OC, LGBTQ Community Center of the

Desert, LGBTQ+ Center Lake County, LGBTQ+ Community Center of

Darke County, LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic, Northwestern Pritzker

School of Law, Life is Work, Los Angeles LGBT Center,

Louisiana Trans Advocates, Louisville Youth Group, Loving

Beyond Understanding, Lyon Martin Community Health, LYRIC,

Mabel Wadsworth Center, MaineTransNet, Make it Better for

Youth, Make the Road Nevada, Mama Bears Playgroup,

Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, MassEquality,

Metro Trans Umbrella Group, Michigan Alliance for Special

Education, Michigan Education Justice Coalition, Michigan

Student Power Alliance, Monica Roberts Resource Center,

Montgomery Pride United/ Bayard Rustin Community Center,

Muncie OUTreach LGBTQ+ Center.

Naper Pride, Nevada Chapter of the National Organization

for Women, New Alternatives For Homeless LGBT Youth, New

Haven Pride Center, New Jersey Safe Schools Coalition, New

Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, Next Up Action

Fund, North County LGBTQ Resource Center, North Dakota Human

Rights Coalition, North Shore Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth

(NAGLY), NoVA Prism Center, Oasis Legal Services, Office of

Strategic Partnerships, California Department of Health Care

Services, One Colorado, one-n-ten, OUT Maine, OutCenter

Southwest Michigan, OutFront Minnesota, OUTMemphis,

OutNebraska, OutReach LGBTQ+ Community Center, PAVE, Peoria

Proud, PFLAG Aiken (South Carolina), PFLAG Akron, PFLAG

Angleton- Lake Jackson, PFLAG Athens Area, Georgia, PFLAG

Cape Cod, PFLAG Chicago Metro, PFLAG Clayton-Concord, PFLAG

Collingswood, PFLAG Columbus, Ohio, PFLAG Council of Northern

Illinois, PFLAG Danville/ Central Susquehanna Valley, PFLAG

DanvilleKY, PFLAG Dayton, PFLAG Decatur, PFLAG Deerfield IL,

PFLAG Delaware, PFLAG Detroit, PFLAG DuPage, PFLAG

Edwardsville, PFLAG Flat Rock/Hendersonville, NC.

PFLAG Fort Collins / Northern Colorado, PFLAG Fort Wayne,

PFLAG Fort Worth, PFLAG Frederick, PFLAG Geneva/Tri-Cities,

PFLAG Grayslake/Round Lake, PFLAG Greater Boston, PFLAG

Greater St. Louis, PFLAG GREENSBURG, PFLAG Hartford, PFLAG

Homewood-Flossmoor, PFLAG HuntsvilleTX, PFLAG Illinois, PFLAG

Ithaca-Cortland, PFLAG Lafayette/Tippecanoe County Indiana,

PFLAG Lamorinda, PFLAG Los Angeles, PFLAG Madison WI, PFLAG

meto chapter, PFLAG NYC, PFLAG O'ahu, PFLAG Oakland-East Bay,

PFLAG Peoria, PFLAG Plymouth-Canton, PFLAG Port Charlotte

Chapter, PFLAG Sacramento, PFLAG Salisbury, PFLAG San Diego

County, PFLAG San Francisco, PFLAG San Jose/Peninsula, PFLAG

Sandy Springs, PFLAG Seattle, PFLAG Sonoma County, PFLAG

Southern Maryland, PFLAG Springfield/SWMO, PFLAG Tinley Park,

PFLAG Tri-Valley, PFLAG Valparaiso, PFLAG West Chester/

Chester County, PFLAG Youngstown, Philadelphia Asian and

Queer, Pride Action Tank/AIDS Foundation Chicago, Pride at

Work--Hawai'i.

Pride Center of Terre Haute Inc., Pride Community Center,

Inc (Bryan/College Station, Texas), Pride in Action, Southern

IL, Pride Lafayette (Indiana), Princess Janae Place, PRISM

FL, Prism United, Pro-Choice North Carolina, PROMO Missouri,

Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago, QT Summer

Camp, Queer City Therapy, Queer Keys, Queer Trans Black

Indigenous People of Color Agency, Queermunity Collaborative,

Rabbi Joseph H. Gumbiner Community Action Project at Tucson

Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center, Rad Family, a project of

North Jersey Pride, Rainbow Collective of WNY, Rainbow

Families Bay Area Community Group, Rainbow Labs, Rainbow

Pride Youth Alliance, Reproductive Justice Action Collective,

Resource Center, Rising Voices, Rochester Rainbow Union,

Rockland County Pride Center, Rocky Mountain Equality, Rogue

Action Center, Sacramento LGBT Community Center, Salisbury

Pride, San Joaquin Delta College, San Joaquin Pride Center,

INC., Save Our Sisters United, Serving at-risk families

everywhere, Inc., Sexual Assault Services Organization,

Silver State Equality-Nevada, Sioux Falls Pride, SMYAL,

SOJOURN: Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and

Sexual Diversity, Solano Pride Center, Somos Familia Valle,

Soul 2 Soul Sisters, South Carolina Equality.

Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, Southwest Women's Law

Center, Spencer Pride, Inc., St. Stephen's Episcopal Church,

Support FHPS Action, TaskForce Prevention and Community

Services, Tennessee Equality Project, The Center Project, The

Cherry Fund, The DC LGBTQ+ Community Center, The GLO Center,

The Human Rights Alliance, The Lavender Room, The LGBTQ

Center of Southern Nevada, The LIAM Foundation, The LOFT

LGBTQ+ Community Center, The Mahogany Project, The Pinta

Pride Project and Buffalo Grove Pride, The Pride Center at

Equality Park, The San Diego LGBT Community Center, The

Sports Bra, The Transformation Project South Dakota, Towards

an Anti-Racist North Kingstown (TANK), TRACTION, Trans

Maryland, Trans-E-Motion, Transformative Justice Law Project

of Illinois, Transgender Michigan, Transgender Resource

Center of New Mexico, Transgender Resource, Advocacy and

Network Service, TransOhio, T-time Transgender Support,

Uniting Pride of Champaign County, Upstate NY Black & Latino

Pride, Inc., Viet Rainbow of Orange County, Waves Ahead Corp,

We Are Family, Wild West Access Fund of Nevada, WNY Man Made

Men, Women's Rights and Empowerment Network, Youth Leadership

Institute, Youth Outlook, Youth OUTright, Zebra Youth.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the customary 30 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, Republicans are bringing up a rule for two bills that will be debated on the floor this week. I look forward to that debate.

I feel compelled to focus on this majority's screwed-up priorities which now include handing a get-out-of-free card to KKK members, Proud Boys, and other criminals who violently beat cops within an inch of their lives on January 6, 2021.

I thought this election was about lowering costs. What the hell happened? I thought it was about securing the border. I thought it was about making sure that our communities are safe, not whatever the hell these pardons are. These pardons are sick. They are offensive. They are un-American.

I don't ever want to hear about law and order from the Republican side again, Mr. Speaker, when Republicans are letting criminals back on the streets, criminals who beat cops and tried to overthrow our government.

There were 1,500 criminals, including over 600, who were charged with violently assaulting police officers. I am here to talk about that on the floor because I think it is disgusting. I think it is a disgrace.

The people Trump let out broke through windows, beat up cops, and desecrated this beautiful symbol of our country, a building, by the way, that terrorists tried to destroy on September 11, 2001. They couldn't get here because they were stopped by the courageous people onboard flight 93.

The crowd that Donald Trump sent here breached the building, and they attacked it in a way that had never been done. It was a horrible, awful thing that happened that day.

I was in this Chamber. I was in this room. I was in your chair, Mr. Speaker. I took over for Speaker Pelosi when she was evacuated. I was one of the last people off the floor. I exited through those doors.

I saw the faces of the rioters smashing windows to try to get at us. They wanted to kill people, kill police, kill us. I saw the walls they covered with feces. I saw them use flagpoles to beat police officers.

I saw the fear in the eyes of my Republican colleagues as they cowered that day. I saw the bravery of law enforcement that protected us.

Mr. Speaker, how the hell do the Republicans walk into this place every day? How does the majority look the police officers in the eye? How does the other side do it, knowing the people who tried to kill them will walk free, thanks to Donald Trump?

These were brave officers who tried to hold the line against a violent mob. They were outnumbered, and they were overwhelmed because Donald Trump refused to lift a finger to help. The people he sent were not peaceful protestors. They were criminals, violent, angry, vicious people. They beat cops into the ground, leaving them bruised and battered.

Donald Trump let them out of jail, and now he calls them heroes. He wants to invite them to the White House. We even had colleagues who went to a D.C. jail to celebrate their release and complained they weren't being let out fast enough.

This is unbelievable. This is an insult to every police officer in this country. It is an insult to the families of the people who died because of what happened and an insult to the millions of Americans who believe in law and order, democracy, and decency.

Trump is abandoning the blue. He could have chosen to let out only the nonviolent offenders, but he let out people who beat the cops. That tells you all that you need to know.

I think my Republican colleagues owe it to us during this debate, the first time we are debating on the floor since the pardons, to come down and explain themselves. They owe America an explanation because the people I am talking to think those pardons are shameful, disgusting, and wrong. Mr. Speaker, I will wait for an answer, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I think it takes a lot of nerve to come down here and talk to us about law and order when the gentleman who just spoke was at the D.C. jail celebrating the release of people who attacked and beat cops here in this Capitol, who almost killed them. Some died as a result of their injuries.

I know my Republican friends don't want to defend these pardons because what the President did was indefensible. He couldn't release these people who attacked our police officers quick enough. He couldn't release them quick enough.

The Speaker of this House was asked about January 6, about January 6 defendants like Daniel Rodriguez, who pled guilty to viciously injuring a police officer with a weapon. The Speaker said: ``It is not my place. It is the President's sole decision, and he made a decision, so I stand with him on it.''

It is not your place? It is not your place? Mr. Speaker, it literally is your place. It is your place.

Mr. Speaker, you preside over this House. You hire the Sergeant at Arms. You oversee the captain of the Capitol Police force. If it isn't your place, then who the hell's place is it?

I have a radical idea. How about you stand with the officers who were beaten and bloodied protecting you rather than stand with a reality TV wannabe dictator?

If your response to the question about the pardons of people who attacked and injured the officers that you oversee and are responsible for is ``it is not my place,'' my question to you is this: Who do you work for? Do

you think you work for President Trump?

I would suggest you do some soul searching, and while you are at it, maybe reread the United States Constitution because you don't work for Donald Trump. You are the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and it damn sure is your place to have an opinion on the people who beat the officers who protect you and this institution having no consequences for beating men and women who protect this country.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, will anybody on that side come down and defend these pardons, which are indefensible?

In any event, Mr. Speaker, I am going to urge that we defeat the previous question, and I will offer an amendment to the rule to make in order amendment No. 1 to provide a permanent pay fix for Federal wildland firefighters. We tried to get this made in order in the Rules Committee, but the Republicans said no to better benefits and a pay raise for the people who are fighting these fires.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman) to discuss this proposal.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The gentleman from Georgia just changed topics so quickly back to Biden that I have whiplash. I think I need a neck brace to be able to follow his logic here.

Spare me your comparisons of Biden pardoning his family and Trump pardoning violent criminals who attacked police officers on January 6.

Do you know what? You can be against both of those actions, but they are not the same and shouldn't even be mentioned in the same conversation.

Let me tell you about the people whom you continue to want to defend and who have been pardoned.

Here are some of the convicted felons that Trump set free on Monday:

Steve Cappuccio, convicted of six felonies, including assaulting a police officer. He ripped off Metro Police Officer Daniel Hodges' gas mask. At one point during the assault he said: How do you like me now, mother f'er?

He was pardoned by Donald Trump.

David Dempsey, sentenced to 20 years. He stomped on police officers' heads, struck an officer in the head with a metal crutch, and attacked police with pepper spray and broken pieces of furniture. He also attacked a fellow rioter who was trying to disarm him, and he has a demonstrated history of political violence.

He was pardoned by Donald Trump.

Enrique Tarrio, sentenced to 22 years. He is a former national leader of the Proud Boys, a domestic terrorist far-right militia. He was found guilty of seditious conspiracy. He helped plan the January 6 attack and made sure it was violent.

He was pardoned by Donald Trump.

Guy Reffitt, sentenced to 7 years and 3 months. He brought a gun, zip ties, body armor, and a helmet to the Capitol, presumably to try to take hostages in an attempt to keep Trump in office after he lost.

He was pardoned by Donald Trump.

Daniel Joseph ``DJ'' Rodriguez, sentenced to over 12 years. He repeatedly tased Officer Mike Fanone, shocking him in the neck multiple times and causing him to lose consciousness and have a heart attack.

He was pardoned by Donald Trump.

Patrick McCaughey III, sentenced to 90 months. He assaulted police, beat their faces and bodies with riot shields and batons that he stole from them.

He was pardoned by Donald Trump.

Peter Francis Stager, sentenced to 4 years and 4 months. He pled guilty to assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon. He is on video declaring: ``Every single one of those Capitol law enforcement officers, death is the remedy.'' Those were his words: That is the only remedy they get.

He was pardoned by Donald Trump.

Julian Khater, sentenced to 6 years, attacked Officer Brian Sicknick with pepper spray. Officer Sicknick died the next day after suffering two strokes.

Edward ``Jake'' Lang was on trial for 11 charges, including swinging a baseball bat at officers. In addition to his January 6 charges, he began organizing a nationwide network of armed militias in all 50 States.

He was pardoned by Donald Trump.

Mr. Speaker, the criminals pardoned were not tourists. They were not peaceful. They were violent criminals.

Here is just one example: Daniel Ball's case was dismissed today, and he was released from jail.

Why was he in jail?

He was being held in pretrial detention because of what a judge described as ``some of the most violent and serious offenses of any of the charges being brought against participants in the January 6 events.'' That includes hurling an explosive device into the lower west terrace tunnel of the Capitol, the scene of some of the most egregious violence against police that day.

Some officers suffered from hearing loss for months.

Get this, Mr. Speaker: Mr. Ball has already been arrested again on Federal gun charges, and he was already a two-time convicted felon for domestic violence battery by strangulation and resisting law enforcement with violence.

Yes, he was already arrested again. This is whom the President pardoned. This is why my Republican friends are silent. It is because this is indefensible.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert in the Record a Politico article titled: ``Trump freed a January 6 defendant charged with assaulting police. DOJ had him arrested again on a gun charge.''

All these people were pardoned, and not a word from the other side.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the best we get from the gentleman is whataboutism. He can criticize President Biden, but he can't bring himself to criticize President Trump. He is afraid, and that is the problem.

All my Republican friends are in fear that if they question anything that this guy does that somehow they themselves will be punished.

However, he didn't even get his facts right on the Peltier issue. The former U.S. Attorney who prosecuted Mr. Peltier wrote in a letter to President Biden: ``The prosecution and continued incarceration of Mr. Peltier was and is unjust.''

He also said: ``I believe that a grant of executive clemency would serve the best interest of justice and the best interest of our country.''

Again, this is coming from the man who prosecuted him.

He also said that we were not able to prove that Mr. Peltier personally committed any of the offenses that happened on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Contrast that, Mr. Speaker, with the Nation's seeing the criminals that Trump pardoned assault cops on live TV.

Please, I ask my friends across the aisle: Find me one prosecutor of one of the cop beaters whom Trump pardoned who regret their conviction.

Which one of Trump's pardoned criminals have already served nearly 50 years in prison?

By the way, Peltier is 80 years old, and he is dying. He was not pardoned, by the way. The gentleman is wrong on that. His sentence was commuted so he could die at home with an ankle bracelet on. This was done only after faith and human rights leaders like the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, and Pope Francis begged for release for years.

So to say that this is remotely the same is a joke.

Why can't my Republican friends just say that what Trump did by pardoning vicious, violent criminals was wrong?

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), who is a member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from New Mexico.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, not a word about what happened in this place on January 6. They just can't bring themselves to do it.

Mr. Speaker, I have a question, and that is: Why won't you install the plaque honoring the brave members of law enforcement who protected us on January 6?

A lot of my colleagues don't know this, but Congress actually passed a law, Public Law 117-103, on requiring the plaque to be installed on the west front of the Capitol before March 15, 2023.

So for 21 months now, almost 2 years, this Speaker has refused to honor the Capitol Police and other law enforcement by installing the plaque that we all voted for.

I know it exists, Mr. Speaker. I have actually seen photos of it, so I know it exists. I have seen photos.

Why the delay?

Why won't you put it up, Mr. Speaker?

I think I know why. It is because Republicans don't want to honor the police who were hurt and who died after that attack.

Maybe the gentleman from Georgia can explain why the plaque is yet to be installed. I won't hold my breath, but instead let me read the plaque, Mr. Speaker, so Speaker Johnson and others know what it says.

It says: ``On behalf of a grateful Congress, this plaque honors the extraordinary individuals who bravely protected and defended this symbol of democracy on January 6, 2021. Their heroism will never be forgotten.''

Because Republicans will not, I want to take a moment to thank all the agencies that are listed on this plaque who are being disrespected by this leadership by refusing to honor them.

I want to say thank you to: the United States Capitol Police. I also want to thank the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia; Arlington County Police Department in Virginia; Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia; Maryland Department of State Police; Metro Transit Police Department; Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Montgomery County Department of Police in Maryland; New Jersey State Police; Prince George's County Police Department in Maryland; Prince William County Police Department in Virginia; Virginia State Police; Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Explosives; Department of Health and Human Services; Department of Homeland Security; Federal Bureau of Investigation; National Guard Bureau; Pentagon Force Protection Agency; United States Marshals Service; United States Park Police; and United States Secret Service.

I say thank you to all of the officers from all of those agencies who were here that day to protect our country and to protect all of us. I appreciate you, and you should know that a lot of Americans have your back, even if this President and the Republicans do not.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would just say to the gentleman that to say what he just said but not reference what happened that day and not acknowledge the pain that has caused so many families and so many people whom we work with every day to protect us, I have to say that is a little bit much.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon), who is a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record an article from The Wall Street Journal today entitled: ``Trump Pardons the Jan. 6 Cop Beaters.''

The editorial reads: ``Law and order? Back the blue? What happened to that GOP?''

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman thanking, in general, our law enforcement officials, but it is troubling that he can't bring himself to address what happened that day. My Republican friends are afraid to debate and to discuss what happened on that day. It is so disappointing in so many ways.

Mr. Speaker, January 6 was not a tourist day. It was a horrific attack on the police who protect our country. I saw with my own eyes the officers with blood on their faces, battered and bruised from fighting off a violent mob. So many of them had to go to the hospital to get stitches and to get medical care. They were severely wounded.

I will never forget the smell of tear gas or the horror on people's faces as we were rushed out of this Chamber. I watched from the Speaker's chair as

Republicans cowered and hid for their lives that day, letting the Capitol Police run to the front lines to protect them.

On Monday, Republicans let out the violent political extremists who did all of this. Republicans let them back out onto the streets.

Trump called them patriots. He called them hostages. There is nothing patriotic about beating police officers with flagpoles, Mr. Speaker.

The patriots were the law enforcement officers who protected this institution. There is nothing patriotic about the KKK, the Oath Keepers, or the Proud Boys. Trump pardoned them.

There is nothing patriotic about viciously assaulting police officers. There is nothing patriotic about bashing heads and breaking into the Capitol Building because of a deranged fantasy about overthrowing the government. There is nothing patriotic about any of that, but Donald Trump doesn't care. He pardoned them because he only cares about himself.

Mr. Speaker, where is your outrage over any of this? Where is your spine? To be silent after these pardons is terrible, and it speaks for itself.

As for me, I stand with the police officers who were here that day. I stand with the officers who were trying to maintain law and order. I stand with the people who are disgusted that Donald Trump is opening the doors and letting out the criminals who attacked them.

I don't hear a single Republican brave enough to come to this floor and condemn these pardons. I don't hear a single one. It is cowardice. It is hypocrisy. They are rewarding political violence and setting the stage for much, much worse things to come.

My colleagues heard Representative Scanlon. Some of them are bragging about how they are going out to buy more guns. What is that about? Violent, dangerous people who beat cops, who tried to kill Members of this body, and who tried to kill our staff were let back out onto the streets by Donald Trump.

It is a disgrace. The Speaker should be ashamed. The Speaker owns this now. The Speaker knows that, and the law enforcement officers of this country know it, too. They are watching, and they will remember.

There is a great conservative, Edmund Burke, who once said that all that it takes for evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing, to be silent.

Well, I, for one, am not going to be silent. We are going to continue to talk about this until we get it right in this country and this Chamber.

I can't speak for my friends on the other side of the aisle, but if today is any indication, Republicans are just hoping and praying that it goes away and that everybody forgets. We will never forget what happened here on January 6. The American people won't ever forget.

The American people did not vote for this. They did not vote to let these violent criminals back onto the streets.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 53 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, last night the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 53, providing for consideration of two measures, the first of which is H.R. 471, the Fix Our Forests Act, to be considered under a structured rule.

The rule provides for 1 hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Natural Resources, or their respective designees, provides for one motion to recommit, and makes two amendments in order.

Additionally, the rule provides for consideration of S. 5, the Laken Riley Act, under a closed rule. The rule provides for 1 hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees, and provides for one motion to recommit.

Mr. Speaker, we are here today to debate a rule on two timely pieces of legislation, beginning with H.R. 471, the bipartisan Fix Our Forests Act.

Mr. Speaker, according to the U.S. Forest Service, more than 1 billion acres of forest land are at risk of wildfire. Further, nearly one-fifth of all land overseen by the Federal Government is at high or very high risk of wildfire.

This didn't happen overnight. It is the result of the buildup of bureaucratic red tape, burdensome regulations, and frivolous legislation that have prevented forest management activities like thinning, prescribed burning, and mechanical treatment.

What we are left with are dangerous wildfires occurring at record levels and intensities. It doesn't have to be this way, though, Mr. Speaker.

The Fix Our Forests Act takes the proper steps toward restoring forest health, increasing resiliency to catastrophic wildfires, and protecting communities. It does so by reforming NEPA to expedite environmental reviews, reducing frivolous lawsuits, and increasing the pace and scale of forest restoration projects.

Additionally, H.R. 471 promotes Federal, State, Tribal, and local collaboration through the creation of a new fireshed center. It will provide agencies with new technologies and other critical tools which allow a quicker response to wildfires and the ability to implement the most vital forest management projects immediately.

As we are unfortunately seeing more frequently, active forest management techniques and a focus on forest health are needed now more than ever. This bipartisan product is a step in the right direction.

Mr. Speaker, the rule also provides for the consideration of S. 5, the Laken Riley Act, another bipartisan piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, Laken Riley was murdered in my home State of Georgia in February of 2024 by a Venezuelan man who was illegally present in the United States. He previously crossed our southern border in September of 2022, where he was paroled and released for further processing.

Between arriving here and committing his heinous act, the individual was arrested in New York and then again in Georgia for stealing from a Walmart. At the time of Laken Riley's murder, there was a bench warrant out for his arrest for failing to show up in court.

Mr. Speaker, S. 5, the Laken Riley Act, as amended, requires the Department of Homeland Security to issue a detainer for any individual inadmissible to the United States who is charged with, is arrested for, convicted of, admits to having committed, or admits to committing acts which constitute the essential elements of any burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, assault of a law enforcement officer, or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury to another person.

Additionally, the bill grants the attorney general of a State the power to hold future administrations accountable by providing standing to bring civil action against Federal officials for the failure to enforce immigration statutes, including mandatory detention, individual parole authority, and visa sanctions.

I commend my colleague from Georgia, Mike Collins, for his work on this legislation. I send my condolences to Laken Riley's family.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to passing this rule. I look forward to passing this bill in the House for the third time and sending it to President Trump's desk.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman knows, we are here to discuss H.R. 471 and S. 5.

I yield 3 minutes to my colleague from Texas (Mr. Roy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Hurd).

Mr. Speaker, I, too, am concerned about some of the pardons that were issued. I can't fathom what was going through President Biden's mind when he pardoned his family members and any of his political allies this past week. It is something that I think does merit much more discussion on how someone just gives family members and political allies a blanket pardon when they had not yet been charged for the crimes they had committed.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my colleague from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I don't have a whole number, the total number, but how many murderers had their sentences commuted by then-President Joe Biden?

Do you know? How many was it?

Let's see, Biden commuted the sentences for 2,500 drug offenders and clemency for 37 of the 40 people on death row, 1 of whom shot two FBI agents , if I am not mistaken.

So you are pretty quick to point the finger at the gentleman who was the 45th and now the 47th President of the United States. I would suggest to you that Donald Trump is the President of the United States today and sitting in the White House today because your policies are so bad because you put illegal immigrants and their rights above the rights of American citizens.

So, again, Biden commuted a lot of sentences for a lot of drug offenders and a lot of people who committed murder. So I don't think you should be pointing the finger at what the 47th President of the United States did when the 46th President of the United States is the one who let people who shot FBI agents out.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this rule is about the Laken Riley Act and the Fix Our Forests Act. I hope people vote for it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to thank all of the law enforcement and first responders who protect this country on a daily basis, and, Mr. Speaker, we know the polls show that a majority of them voted for Donald Trump.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, this vote is on the rule to advance H.R. 471, the Fix Our Forests Act; and S. 5, the Laken Riley Act, regardless of what you have listened to if you have been watching this over the last hour.

This week, the House has the ability to advance significant legislation in the House of Representatives. That is our job.

The Fix Our Forests Act can mark a return to active forest management and return resilience to overgrown, fire-prone forested lands, and I would be willing to bet that that piece of legislation probably passes in a bipartisan manner.

The Laken Riley Act will ensure that criminals who illegally cross our borders and endanger our communities are detained and deported while also giving States the ability to bring civil action against any Federal official in the future should they refuse to enforce our country's immigration laws and put American citizens at risk by refusing to do so.

Again, I thank the law enforcement officers, the Capitol Police specifically, and all those who take care of us on a daily basis.

I send my condolences to Laken Riley's family.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to voting ``yes'' on this bill and sending it to President Trump's desk for his signature. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' on the previous question, ``yes'' on the rule, and then I hope Members will vote ``yes'' on the legislation. The material previously referred to by Mr. McGovern is as follows:

An Amendment to H. Res. 53 Offered by Mr. McGovern of Massachusetts

At the end of the resolution, add the following:

Sec. 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this

resolution, the amendment specified in section 4 shall be in

order as though printed as the last amendment of the report

of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution if

offered by Representative Lee of Nevada or a designee. That

amendment shall be debatable for 10 minutes equally divided

and controlled by the proponent and opponent.

Sec. 4. The amendment referred to in section 3 is as

follows:

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert:

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 5, I call up the bill (H.R. 28) to amend the Education Amendments of 1972 to provide that for purposes of determining compliance with title IX of such Act in athletics, sex shall be recognized based solely on a person's reproductive biology and genetics at birth, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 28.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in support of H.R. 28, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025, authored by Representative Greg Steube.

This bill is about a promise. More than 50 years ago, this country made a promise to women and girls across America. That promise, Title IX, said women and girls would have equal opportunities, both in the classroom and in athletics.

For years, America has kept her promise. Prior to Title IX, only 300,000 women and girls participated in high school and college sports. By the 40th anniversary of Title IX's passage, the number was up to 3 million, and the numbers have continued to climb and grow ever since.

Today, female participation in sports has increased over 1,000 percent at the high school level and over 600 percent at the college level since Title IX went into effect. Unfortunately, these wins for women and girls ushered in by the promise of Title IX have been under attack.

The Biden-Harris administration pushed a radical rewrite of Title IX that would eliminate policies enacted by 26 States to protect equal athletic opportunities for women and girls. Even with last week's court order striking down the regulation and the Trump administration poised to undo the harm caused by it, nearly half of the States have no protections in place for female athletes.

Mr. Speaker, kicking girls off sports teams to make way for biological males takes opportunities away from these girls. This means fewer college scholarships and fewer opportunities for girls. It also makes them second-class citizens in their own sports and puts their safety at risk.

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 offers a new promise to America's women and girls. It will strengthen Title IX's protections for women, ensure a level playing field for female athletes, and protect the law

from current and future radical regulatory schemes.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Steube), the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I would call attention to the fact that, in this bill, we offer no requirement for any type of invasive checks on women or men. They simply have to go to the birth certificate. That will give the answer.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Rulli), a member of the Committee on Education and Workforce.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen) who also chairs the Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.

Mr. Speaker, I am shocked at that description of this legislation and would ask where in the world that information is found in this bill. There is no requirement for inspections, and there is no necessary effort other than going to a person's birth certificate.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens), one who knows about true competition and an equal nature and a just nature as well, as he wears a Super Bowl ring. He is also the vice chair of the Education and Workforce Committee and chair of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Utah.

Certainly. That bill doesn't deal with this at all. It deals with men in sports.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Miller), a member of the Education and Workforce Committee and a strong leader in protecting womanhood, girls, and Title

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 5 seconds to the gentlewoman from Illinois.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Onder), a new member of the Education and Workforce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Harris), an incoming member of the Education and Workforce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messmer), who is an incoming member of the Education and Workforce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Energy Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Hageman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford).

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to hear the talk about invasion of privacy of young kids. It is just not true. On the other hand, let me explain to my colleagues what is invasive.

Last year, Riley Gaines, the former University of Kentucky swimmer, testified in front of Georgia's State legislature. In addressing Georgia Tech's president, she said: ``We did not give our consent to be exploited and exposed to a 6-foot-4 fully naked man. Because you did nothing, that man walked into the women's locker room at your university and saw me undress down to full nudity. You allowed college women to be traumatized . . . on your campus in this way. Why didn't you protect us?''

I ask the same to my Democratic colleagues, Mr. Speaker. Why aren't they willing to protect the women and girls from this invasion of their privacy?

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, it saddens me to hear that my colleagues, who I respect and enjoy working with on most things, are totally not recognizing the fact that the American people, parents, grandparents, and teachers, don't stand with them and organizations that are reported today aren't speaking for the benefit of girls and women.

It is absolutely heart-wrenching to see daughters and sisters lose races. The strides women have made across all corners of the sports world deserve to be celebrated and protected.

Like it or not, sports are based on physical ability. Pretending otherwise is a stark denial of reality.

Erasing sex means ultimately erasing women, especially when it comes to sports. Girls and women lose a fair chance to compete when a biological male enters the field.

We can't let women's sports become collateral damage in the far left's campaign against a traditional science-based understanding of sex. Allowing women and girls to suffer for the sake of the dishonesty of wokeness is inexcusable.

We need to stand for women and girls. I believe that the constituents in overwhelming majority understand what my colleagues are posturing with and that that is not what we are talking about.

We are standing for affirming Title IX, affirming women, affirming girls, and protecting them for their abilities to succeed in the future.

I plead with my Democratic colleagues to join us in celebrating women and girls, the female athlete, and females in general.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, House Republicans are doubling down on our commitment to supporting and protecting the rights and safety of women and girls across the country. We are doing this by championing bills that fight back against unfair competition in sports and dangerous immigration policies.

Yesterday, we passed Congressman Steube's Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which is now on its way to the Senate. This legislation prevents biological males from competing in school athletic programs for women and girls by requiring that sex in athletic competition be determined by genetics at birth.

House Republicans are also supporting Congresswoman Mace's Violence Against Women By Illegal Aliens Act, which amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make illegal immigrants inadmissible and deportable from the United States if they are convicted of or have admitted to committing sex offense or domestic violence.

I am grateful to my colleagues for joining me this evening to discuss these important measures and our commitment to delivering for our daughters, sisters, nieces, and granddaughters.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Moran).

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for being willing to carve out time in their schedules to come down and share this message.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Dakota (Mrs. Fedorchak).

Mr. Speaker, North Dakota, like Utah, definitely hits above its weight, and the gentlewoman from North Dakota's presence is key on all of these particular issues.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Houchin), our Conference secretary.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa), who has been through the devastation that we are seeing there, and our hearts go out to those in California. His district has been hit by this several times, and I will say that hearing the stories and conversations he has from his district, it just puts it into perspective. This is tough stuff. He has been down this road before and has been a strong leader on communicating

what we need to do to keep it from continuing to happen.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California. Again, we continue to pray that the best outcomes possible will continue to happen for California.

Mr. Speaker, my next speaker from Montana (Mr. Downing) is a brand- new Member and our concluding speaker here today. We consider ourselves, as a Utahn and Montanan, the greatest portion of the country, wouldn't you say, out West? We have a lot to prove that.

The gentleman is a new Member but a very experienced, thoughtful, and strong Member that I look forward to working with. I thank him for being here.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Downing).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Montana. I appreciate all that we have been able to enact thus far.

Mr. Speaker, I close tonight and just thank my colleagues for being here tonight and for taking the time to speak on this important issue.

As I mentioned earlier, House Republicans are committed to advancing legislation that supports our women and girls and gives them a fair chance to excel in their athletic endeavors.

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act ensures biological males are unable to compete in female-designated sports, giving women and girls the opportunity to compete on a fair playing field by requiring schools to comply with the Title IX recognition of a person's genetics at birth. This bill withholds Federal funding from schools that facilitate athletic programs where biological men compete against biological women.

To be clear, this is not about disrespecting anyone. Everyone is worthy of dignity and respect. However, protecting women and girls from feeling uncomfortable in their locker rooms, sustaining major sports injuries because of unfair competition, or simply losing out on well- deserved athletic accolades because they are genetically unable to beat a male is not purely political effort. It is simply what is right.

This is a line that we must draw, and we know that Americans agree with this.

I have joked before about a couple of things. I have four boys. I wasn't blessed with a girl. We lament it every day. I do love those boys, though. I push them hard in sports.

I reflect on this about my nieces, and they are dynamite athletes and, candidly, can probably beat me in most of their assigned sports, such as tennis and soccer, across the board. That is what motivates me on this.

The amount of confidence that you get from sports is key. The ability to compete and play and enjoy this, above anything else, with all of the extra pressures that are placed on kids nowadays with social media pressure and everything, the concepts of teamwork that you learn, achieving something, getting better at something, and having the ability to say that you have a shot to win that competition cannot be beaten into my nieces.

They have to be able to say, with a level playing field, they can go win this, not because it is important to win that gold ribbon or this or that or win the track meet. It is because they need to know that the effort they put in can achieve something.

That is going to translate into a career, into anything that they get involved with where they have to accomplish something. It is not just about sports. It is a psychological element that we need to make sure exists.

Sports is such a key, important aspect for growth in people, and that is what we are trying to do here. Let's not make this a political endeavor. At least you won't ever get that from me and my office and the way we communicate about this.

Additionally, House Republicans this week are standing up for women's safety by bringing to the floor Congresswoman Mace's Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act to uphold the U.S. border laws and make illegal immigrants who have been convicted of or admitted to sex offenses or domestic violence inadmissible and deportable.

This bill is about closing critical gaps in our crimes. Last year, over 20,000 illegal immigrants were not detained for sexual assault. As of July, over 650,000 with criminal histories were on the ICE non- detained docket. This must change. This bill takes action to get these violent offenders off of our streets and make our communities safe again.

I am grateful for the work my Republican colleagues have done to push these bills forward. We are wasting no time to get some of the sensible legislation that we were able to get passed and went nowhere in the Senate in the last Congress, and we want to give the Senate an opportunity to vote on this again.

I sincerely believe there will be Democrats who see the sensible approach with this. We are also seeing it with the bill we passed last week, the Laken Riley Act.

Again, I thank Congressman Steube and Congresswoman Mace for their leadership on these critical issues. To my colleagues, again, I appreciate their willingness to spend some time down here today.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.