|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Just days after being reintroduced in Congress, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act has passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 218-206.
The bill, which would effectively ban transgender individuals’ participation in sports, was originally introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., in 2023. Tuberville reintroduced the bill in the Senate last week while his GOP colleagues in the House filed their own version of the bill. That House version has now passed, moving the bill one step closer to becoming law under the incoming Trump administration.
Tuberville applauded the House’s passage of the bill, stating in an official press release that the legislation would “reverse the harmful Department of Education (ED) rule that forces schools to allow males to share private spaces with females and compete in women’s sports” and that it would “preserve Title IX protections for female athletes.”
In addition to revoking federal funding for schools that continue to permit transgender athletes’ participation in sports, the bill includes “a resolution calling on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to revoke its transgender student-athlete eligibility policy” and a resolution that would declare Oct. 10 as ‘American Girls in Sports Day.’ The bill would also change federal law to say that “sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
“Sports offer unlimited opportunities and teach great life lessons to our young women and girls. As a former coach, I have seen firsthand the impact that Title IX has had on women’s sports. Unfortunately, the Biden administration has declared a war on Title IX. I’m grateful to be working with my friend, Sen. Blackburn, to restore sanity as we continue to fight for women and girls everywhere,” Tuberville said following the House bill’s passage.
“Last week, I introduced the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which cuts funding for schools that allow men to participate in spaces designated for women. I’m glad to see the House pass its version on a bipartisan basis and urge Majority Leader John Thune to bring my bill to the floor for a vote,” Tuberville added.
While two Democrats, U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-TX, and Vicente Gonzalez, D-TX, voted in favor of the bill, others lambasted the legislation.
One of them was U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, D-MA, the only woman in Congress who has played Division I college sports. Trahan called the bill a way for Republicans to “inject themselves into decisions they have no business making.”
According to NBC, some Democrats, including Trahan, have referred to the bill as the “Child Predator Empowerment Act,” arguing that it endangers students and could expose them to inappropriate questioning and inspection of their bodies.
Trans rights issues seem to have already become a key legislative focus for Republicans just days into the 119th Congress.
Last week, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-LA, upheld a ban barring transgender people from using the single-sex bathrooms near the House floor that align with their gender identities. That policy was enacted shortly after Rep. Sarah McBride, D-DE, was elected as the first ever transgender member of Congress.
In response to the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act’s passage, Johnson said that Republicans had “yet again stood up for women.”
