Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday to ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports with support from a few Democrats.
The bill, known as the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” changes Title IX to recognize a person’s sex as “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” Title IX is the federal law that bans sex discrimination in schools.
President Joe Biden’s Department of Education amended Title IX to expanded the definition of sex discrimination to include gender identity. Numerous courts ruled the change unconstitutional.
If passed in the Senate, the bill would tie compliance to federal funding.
Schools that allow “a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls” could lose federal funding.
The bill passed 218-206-1.
U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., who sponsored the bill, said the measure was about fairness.
“The House has delivered on its promise to protect women’s sports,” he said. “Americans are united in our belief that men have no place in women’s sports, whether it’s breaking records, entering locker rooms, or stealing scholarship opportunities.”
U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, called it a “common sense” bill.
“For over fifty years, Title IX has opened doors for millions of young women,” he said. “Now, we’re reinforcing those foundations with iron-clad protections that ensure fair competition remains truly fair.”
Most Democrats opposed the bill, dismissing it as a political stunt.
U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., called it “a disgusting bill.”
U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, both Democrats from Texas, crossed the aisle to join Republicans in passing the bill. U.S. Rep. Don Davis, a Democrat from North Carolina, voted present.
The bill faces challenges in the Senate, where Republicans would need seven Democrats to advance the measure to a final vote.
In 2023, 3.3% of U.S. high school students identified as transgender, and 2.2% identified as questioning, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.
