A bill to provide that for purposes of determining compliance with title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 in athletics, sex shall be recognized based solely on a person's reproductive biology and genetics at birth.

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so afraid of people who are different than them that they have manufactured false and dangerous presumptions based on outdated stereotypes about transgendered people, especially transgender women and girls.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

[email protected].

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. President, November 5, 2024, that is the day that the American people sent shock waves to the swamp in DC when they overwhelmingly reelected Donald John Trump as President of these United States of America. And 77 million Americans didn't just deliver a mandate for President Trump, they also wanted his ``America First'' agenda.

I come to the floor today to remind my Senate Republican colleagues that a critical part of the ``America First'' agenda includes prioritizing the safety of our women and girls in sports and protecting their privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms.

I am here to call for a vote on my legislation, S. 9, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, that would save title IX and save women's sports.

Today is National Girls and Women in Sports Day. That is today. To celebrate, President Trump will sign an Executive order this afternoon in the White House ending Democrats' intentional destruction of title IX and saving women's sports. I am very thankful for his leadership on this.

President Trump's Executive order will make sure women's sports are protected for at least the next 4 years. But, unfortunately, Executive orders can be reversed.

Congress needs to act on this to make sure the next Democrat administration, whenever it is, can't take the same steps to destroy title IX that the Biden administration took.

For the past 4 years, the Biden administration waged an all-out assault on gender. Since the beginning of time, people have agreed that sex is assigned at birth and determined by God. But under the Biden administration, you had people claiming that men can get pregnant. Here on this floor, I heard that. Pure insanity.

But it didn't stop there. They weren't content to just erase gender norms that have been accepted for thousands and thousands of years. No, they wanted to allow transgender men to participate against women and girls in sports.

This has been happening in schools all across the country. Young women have been forced to compete against men and even share locker rooms and showers. On top of that, your taxpayer dollars are paying for this nonsense.

Over the past several years under the Joe Biden administration, 900 women's medals have gone to men--900. That is absolutely wrong.

This one is personal for me. My first coaching job was in women's basketball years ago. Title IX was just starting to be implemented when I took that first job. I saw firsthand the immediate difference it made.

Before title IX, at a lot of schools, college women's athletics didn't really exist. Back then, there were more than 10 times as many male athletes in college as female athletes. After title IX, that quickly changed. For the first time, the young women I coached had equal access to facilities, resources, and competition.

I saw these hard-working young women go on to earn college scholarships, start careers, and become leaders of our country. I still keep in touch with many of these young women today, and I am deeply proud of them.

Looking back on it now, I wonder if they would have had the same opportunities without title IX. Would they have had the same success if they had to compete against males 40 years ago?

This really shouldn't be controversial. It is just common sense.

A recent poll from the New York Times, of all publications, showed 79 percent of all Americans believe men should not compete in women's sports--79 percent.

President Trump campaigned largely on this issue. If you remember his campaign, he spent nearly $20 million on TV ads about the importance of keeping men out of women's sports.

So on November 5, 2024, the American people didn't just elect President Trump; they also decisively rejected this ridiculous notion that men can get pregnant and boys should compete against women's sports--ridiculous. And they definitely didn't want their tax dollars funding schools that allow boys to share locker rooms with girls.

My bill would prevent a school from receiving any Federal funding if they let boys compete in women's sports. It also defines gender as male and female for this purpose.

I was glad to see President Trump sign an Executive order defining gender during his first few days in office. The President also made it clear under that Executive order that he wants Congress to take action on this as well because he understands it can go away with the signing of an ink pen.

That is why today, I am also reintroducing a bill to prohibit men from competing in women's Olympic sports because men competing against women at any level is dangerous.

We are all deeply disturbed--all of us were deeply disturbed this past summer to see videos of boys and men boxing against women.

You know, when I was growing up, we were taught to never hit a girl. But I guess that is over now because of the Democrats.

One study found out that males can punch up to 162 percent harder than females. Somebody is going to get killed or seriously injured if we don't stop this absolute nonsense. It is unsafe, it is unfair, and it is just plain wrong.

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act will make sure men aren't allowed to compete against women in any sport but especially not in a violent sport like boxing. This bill will restore fairness for the American women who train their whole lives to represent our country on the world stage. Their entire lives, they train.

I know we are all looking forward to the United States hosting the Summer Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles. I hope our bill has been passed and signed into law long before that so we can all enjoy some healthy, safe women-against-women or men-against-men competition during those Olympics.

But this issue goes way beyond politics. I have heard from parents, students, teachers, and coaches all over the country about this. These are people who have personally seen the benefits of title IX and are very concerned about Democrats' attempts to take these opportunities away from women and girls.

There are countless stories of girls who have benefited from title IX in my State of Alabama. This includes athletes like Rachel Argent of Thorsby High School in Chilton County, AL. Rachel's athletic ability and good grades drew the attention of college coaches across Alabama. Rachel's athletic ability and her good grades drew

the attention of people from everywhere.

Because of her talent and work ethic, she received a basketball scholarship to Faulkner State Community College in Bay Minette, AL. After competing for 2 years and getting her degree, she got a softball scholarship at Samford University. That scholarship put her on the right direction to be able to buy her own uniform or her own equipment like she did in high school. It was all done because of title IX, and it was all paid for, which, years ago, would not have happened.

She didn't have to worry about landing a full-time job while she went to school and participated in sports to pay her bills.

After college, Rachel returned to Thorsby High School as a teacher and a coach. She wanted to give back to the school what she had gotten from title IX. She taught health and physical education for grades K- 12. She coached girls softball, basketball, track, and volleyball. She made an impact on hundreds of girls across the State of Alabama. It was all made possible, again, by title IX.

Rachel's daughter Addie played softball, tennis, golf, and basketball at Chilton County High School. She got a gold scholarship to the University of Mobile, where she graduated with a degree in nursing. Her athletic scholarship was a key part of her getting a degree and becoming a nurse.

There are countless other young women like Addie and Rachel across Alabama and every other State across the country. More than 50,000 young women in Alabama alone competed in high school sports this past year--50,000. Every single one of them deserves the full benefit of fair competition.

I am grateful that every Member of the Senate Republican leadership is a cosponsor of my Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. They have been very supportive. Leader Thune is a proud cosponsor of my bill, and I am glad to have his support. Leader Thune is committed to scheduling a vote on this bill and putting every Democrat on the record on whether or not they support men competing in women's sports.

We brought this bill to the floor for a vote during the last Congress--really, we brought it twice--and every single Democrat always voted against it. What does that tell you?

Leader Thune has not rescheduled it for a vote this Congress. Right now, we obviously have a lot of things to do with President Trump's Cabinet. Then we can get started on the reconciliation process and get the American economy jump-started again. We have a lot to accomplish in the first 100 days of the Trump administration, and I hope this bill is part of that 100 days.

President Trump will sign an Executive order again today banning men from competing in women's sports. Let's lock that commitment in. Let's lock it in for young girls and women all across this country.

Let's bring this bill to the floor for a vote very soon so the Senate can send it to the President's desk and make this permanent.

To my Senate colleagues who are on the fence about this, I would ask: Do you have daughters? Do you have granddaughters? Do you have nieces? Would you want them competing against men in sports? Would you feel comfortable with them sharing a locker room with a biological male?

I am excited to welcome my first granddaughter in a couple of weeks, Rosie Grace. I would raise hell if she was forced to compete, dress, or use the same showers as men. American taxpayers should not be forced to foot the bill for any schools that are allowing this to happen.

The days of woke, swamp politicians running our government are over. Common sense has been restored to the White House, and Congress needs to get back to work and let President Trump work on this bill. This isn't about politics; this is about right and wrong. The American people have delivered a verdict. They want men out of women's sports and women's locker rooms. President Trump is 100 percent with us on this.

The time to act is now. It is time to restore title IX protections and save women's sports.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. President, today is National Girls and Women in Sports Day. It is a holiday that celebrates women's many accomplishments in athletics.

To be certain, we do have a lot for our athletic women and girls to celebrate, and soon after I leave the floor and these remarks, I will be heading to the White House to join President Trump as he signs an Executive order to keep biological men out of women's sports. This move is a triumph for the more than 3 million high school and college female athletes who deserve safety, fair play, and equal opportunity to succeed.

In many ways, it is disturbing that this action is even necessary. Since title IX's enactment in 1972, which required equal resources for women's sports, the lives of millions of young women and girls have been improved with the benefits of fitness, teamwork, and leadership experience. Yet despite these advances for women, for 4 years the Biden-Harris administration waged a war on women's sports. Instead of empowering young women, they denied biological reality and blurred the difference between men and women.

In 2022, Biden's Education Department announced new rules that would allow biological males to participate in women's groups and activities, essentially forcing schools to accept men into their women's athletic programs. Following up last year, the administration extended the rulemaking to private spaces, such as locker rooms and bathrooms, further jeopardizing the safety of women.

Thankfully, in November, the American people rejected this radical agenda. Instead, they gave President Trump a mandate to protect women, restore fairness, and bring common sense back to government rulemaking. That is why, on Inauguration Day, President Trump issued an Executive order that affirms the Federal Government's position that there are only two sexes--male and female--that are grounded in biology, not gender ideology. In effect, this means no more forcing schools to allow biological men into women's spaces.

For so many female athletes in Tennessee and across the country, President Trump's Executive orders are welcome news. But to ensure that every single one of them receives the safety, opportunity, and fairness they deserve, there is much more that Congress can and should do.

At the top of the list: ensuring the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the NCAA, prohibits biological men from competing in women's sports. The NCAA is the Nation's largest governing body of college athletics. So it wields tremendous power over hundreds of thousands of student athletes all across the country.

That is why it is so troubling that since 2010, the organization has allowed men to compete in female-only events. Time and again, we have seen this policy endanger women's safety and deprive them of hard- earned records, medals, and accomplishments.

Just 3 years ago, at the NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships, Tennessee's Riley Gaines competed against and shared a locker room with a biological male who ultimately took home the trophy that she had rightfully won.

And, in recent months, five NCAA women's volleyball teams were forced to forfeit their matches to avoid the danger of playing against a biological male on a competing team.

To bring this unfairness and inequity to an end, I recently introduced a resolution calling on the NCAA to protect women in sports, including by revoking its policy that allows biological males to compete against women. This move would bring the organization in line with other leading athletic associations, including the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, and more than 20 States that have taken action to preserve fair play in women's sports.

To support young women and girls in sports, I also introduced the Fair Play for Girls Act. Among its provisions,

this crucial legislation would require the U.S. Attorney General to submit a report to Congress on the harms, lost opportunities, and harassment women have faced in athletics, as well as the effectiveness of State and Federal laws to prevent this abuse.

At the same time, it is imperative that we celebrate the accomplishments of the young women who practice, train, and compete every day to achieve athletic success. That is why I introduced a resolution to designate October 10--that would be Roman numerals X and X, like the female sex chromosome--as American Girls in Sports Day. Specifically, the resolution calls on sports governing bodies to protect women and girls in sports.

Young women across the country have suffered injuries, faced sexual harassment, and lost accolades because they were forced to share spaces designed for women with men. Together, President Trump and Republicans in Congress are working together to put an end to this assault on women, once and for all.

Mr. Speaker, Scripture reminds us that, at the beginning of time, God created mankind as males and females, and He blessed them.

All throughout humanity, we have recognized as a species that there are women and there are men, as God created, who are obviously biologically different and, dare I say, scientifically different. Even science agrees with this premise.

Yet, our culture and civilization continue to be subjected to the perverse lie that there are more than two genders or that men can be women or women can be men.

The distinction between men and women is clear and evident, and the erasure of this division has been promulgated by those in the radical left who seek to dismantle the core foundation of our society.

We must never let our country and the American way of life surrender to this immoral ideology. What a shame it is that, over the last several years, the radical left has tried to corrupt the minds of many Americans with the ideology that gender is just a spectrum, that it is fluid, or that you can be whatever you want, whenever you want, depending on how you feel. To them, it is just a social construct.

The radical left has taken gender identity so far that many on the left can't even define what a woman is for fear of retribution or cancelation by transgender activists. They have adopted completely made-up terms, such as nonbinary, trans male, and trans female. Some even say there are 74 genders, everything from agender to omnigender. There is even an astral gender, which is having a gender identity where you feel related to outer space. How can the radical left be able to identify that gender, yet they can't even define what a woman is?

Not too long ago, progressives would say all that is ridiculous, but today, it is their religion. If you question their lies and fictitious terms, you are labeled a transphobic bigot and canceled.

In giving homage to the trans movement, radical leftists have given way to the corruption of the minds of our Nation's youth by dismantling the very protections that Congress created to ensure fairness in education and athletics. In 1972, Congress created Title IX to protect women's sports and to give women their own playing field in athletics. In worship of their trans idols, radical leftists want to kill Title IX, abandoning women across the country.

Parents don't want biological men in locker rooms with their daughters, nor do they believe it is fair that a male could compete with women in female athletics. This is why Title IX protections were implemented in the first place.

Radical leftists want you to believe that this is never happening or that it is so rare that we shouldn't be concerned.

The other side just made a comment that so few of these people are involved in college athletics. The truth of the matter proves otherwise. In my very own district, my constituent Emma Weyant, an incredibly talented swimmer and Olympic medalist, lost the 2022 NCAA women's swimming championship title for the 500-meter freestyle by less than 2 seconds. The man who beat her formerly competed for years on the men's swimming team and took home that title after identifying as a woman.

It is a sad day in our country when radical leftists are willing to erase the rights that women have fought decades to obtain, all to elevate biological males to the top of women's platforms.

An overwhelming majority of Americans believe that men don't belong in women's sports and that we must allow common sense to prevail. This bill would deliver upon the mandate the American people gave Congress to restore the integrity of women's sports, just as Title IX intended.

Now is our time to act. If my liberal colleagues truly believe in supporting women's rights, as they often tout, they will vote in favor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stand for women's free and fair opportunities in athletics and to stand for truth, not lies.