FEDERAL TAKEOVER OF SPORTS

FEDERAL TAKEOVER OF SPORTS

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 7 (Tuesday, January 14, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 14, 2025)] [House] [Page H118] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] FEDERAL TAKEOVER OF SPORTS The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Mrs. Trahan) for 5 minutes. Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, House Republicans have a big vote planned for today. Now, I wish I was talking about a bill that will lower costs for hardworking families or help more Americans buy a home, the issues that so many people told us mattered most to them in the 2024 election. However, instead, in just their second week of power, House Republicans have chosen to vote on a Federal takeover of sports at all levels. To justify this power grab, my colleagues across the aisle are preying on the legitimate concerns that some people have about transgender athletes in women's sports. For the vast majority of those folks, many of them parents, their concerns don't come from a place of hate. They come from a place of worry about the safety of their daughters and the fairness of their sport. Now, as the only woman in Congress who played Division I sports in college, I know how critical it is that we ensure that sports are safe and fair above all else. That is all any athlete wants, to know that if they put in the hard work and the training necessary, they are going to have a fair shot on game day. As the mom of two young daughters, who I cheer on from the bleachers every weekend, I know that parents want their kids to be able to enjoy the game they love. After all, we know how important sports can be to children's development. They give the chance to build confidence, learn teamwork, and develop lifelong friendships. That is why, like parents and athletes across our country, I have long placed my trust in the governing bodies of sports, the experts who have dedicated their lives to these games, to create fair and responsible rules for participation. Despite what the authors of this legislation have said, many of those organizations have already updated their rules to ensure fairness and safety in their sports. That includes the international authorities overseeing track and field, boxing, cycling, swimming, and rugby, just to name a few. These organizations, many led by former athletes, worked with scientists, athletic federations, and human rights organizations to craft thoughtful, evidence-based rules, including those governing participation in the Paris Olympics last summer. Don't get me wrong, Madam Speaker. I recognize that there is more work to be done, but why in the world would we let insincere, attention-seeking politicians here in Washington, many of whom know little to nothing about competitive sports, take over? It doesn't make any sense. However, that is exactly what my Republican colleagues are going to do today, inject themselves into decisions they have no business making. In fact, if you listen to them, they would have you think that a transgender woman in college, who may have transitioned after puberty and may present physical advantages over her opponent, is the same as a 10-year-old girl who just wants to play soccer on the weekends with her friends. However, those two situations aren't the same at all, and the consequences of that approach will be devastating: girls as young as 4 years old being subjected to invasive lines of questioning about their bodies and even physical inspections by an adult, a stranger, a predator all because some creep accuses them of not being a girl. What parent would want to put their daughter through that? I know I wouldn't. Madam Speaker, we won't be able to find common ground on this issue today, but this debate has made one thing abundantly clear: Members of Congress are the last people who should decide who gets to play sports in America. That responsibility belongs where it always has, to the organizations whose mission it is to protect the fairness, the safety, and the integrity of their sports. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the GOP's child predator empowerment act. ____________________