Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I speak in opposition to H.R. 734, the politics over participation act.
We can all agree on the need to address the challenges facing our education system, issues like gun violence, academic achievement gaps, and the lack of mental health support for our students. These are serious challenges that demand serious action.
Unfortunately, my Republican colleagues have used their first 100 days in the majority to pursue a radical education agenda that prioritizes political points over students' safety and success.
Today, we are considering another piece of this extreme agenda, one that again targets transgender kids.
School sports activities offer fundamental life lessons--such as leadership, self-confidence, and teamwork--that every child should be able to enjoy. As Members of Congress, our responsibility is to ensure that student athletics are, above all, fair and safe.
H.R. 734 does the exact opposite. It makes school sports less fair by singling out and banning transgender women and girls as young as kindergarten from participating on school sports teams with their friends. We know transgender students already face widespread bullying and discrimination. Adding to their pain by targeting their participation in school sports is both wrong and dangerous.
Furthermore, contrary to my Republican colleagues' claims, H.R. 734 actually makes school sports less safe for women and girls. To enforce its ban on transgender student athletes, the bill would require all girls as young as their preteens to ``prove their gender.''
For example, under Utah's blanket ban on transgender student participation in school sports, parents of the second- and third-place finishers in a State-level girls' competition complained to the Utah High School Activities Association that they suspected the winner of the event was trans. Following the complaint, the school was forced to investigate the student by combing through her records going back to kindergarten. She was, in fact, not transgender.
The association has received other complaints about supposed trans competitors, sometimes with the reasoning being simply that a girl doesn't look feminine enough.
Simply put, H.R. 734 does not protect women and girls. It only makes school sports less safe and less fair.
There are schools, States, and sports associations that have been allowing transgender people to play equitably and consistent with their gender identity with no issues for decades.
This bill doesn't address the most elite level of athletes. Yet, even at the most elite level, organizations like the International Olympic Committee have frameworks for transgender inclusion in sports. They reject the type of categorical blanket ban Republicans are pushing for kids as young as kindergartners in schools.
Congress has no business targeting transgender women and girls and imposing a nationwide ban on their participation in school sports. We need to refocus on our job in Congress to address the most pressing issues facing students and parents and ensure that every child in America can reach their full potential.
Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 734, and I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California, (Ms. Pelosi), Speaker Emerita.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, while girls' participation in sports have increased 1,000 percent since Title IX, the participation numbers still have not reached that of boys 50 years ago.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Stevens).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan), the chair of the Equality Caucus.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire how much time remains on each side?
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Jacobs).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Robert Garcia).
Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding time.
Mr. Chair, I rise today in anger and strong opposition to this bill. Now, I know how painful life can be as an openly gay person, but that pales in comparison to what transgender Americans face every day.
Our voters send us here to address our country's biggest challenges, but instead of taking that responsibility seriously, House Republicans are choosing to bully and belittle trans children. This is about attacking a small group of children, and it is shameful.
These people don't give a damn about women or girls. If they did, we would be talking about the very real problems of paid equity and ensuring sports are safe from sexual harassment and abuse, but instead, they are peddling open bigotry and its disgusting BS culture war right here from the House floor. Why are Republicans so obsessed with attacking trans youth and children? We need answers.
To the trans and nonbinary youth that are watching this, I am so sorry your government is failing you today. We will never stop fighting to defend your dignity and your humanity. We love you.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I include in the Record the following letters from PFLAG, a consortium of women and girls' rights organizations and 40 professional athletes all in opposition to H.R. 734. PFLAG, April 14, 2023. Member of Congress, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Representative: PFLAG is the nation's largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them. Since our founding in 1973, we have been the connection for LGBTQ+ people with community, parents with resources, and allies with tools, bolstering the LGBTQ+ movement with strength, power, and love.
PFLAG families, members, and supporters in every District across the country urge Congress and others to support inclusion of transgender, nonbinary and intersex youth in sports. We strongly oppose isolating, and excluding youth from participation, and violating privacy and protection in order to combat discrimination granted in Title IX, which by law promises not to discriminate on the basis of sex.
In furtherance of the above,--and in pursuit of protecting trans, nonbinary, and intersex youth athletes who participate in sports with their cisgender peers--PFLAG National opposes H.R. 734, the so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023, and rejects its targeted attacks which not only harms transgender, nonbinary, and intersex youth and their families but also harms girls' and women's sports as a whole.
When more than 20 states have or seek laws to restrict trans, nonbinary and intersex students from participating with their peers in sports, families everywhere must be able to rely on our federal government to seek fair inclusion and equal access in all areas of public education, including sports.
Our families across the nation are relying on you to do what this bill states in name but defies in content: Protect women and girls in sports by including--not excluding--trans, nonbinary and intersex youth participation in sports.
If you or your staff have any questions or wish to speak to your constituents who are part of PFLAG and can speak to the negative impact and harm that passage of this bill would have and inflict, please contact our Director of Policy Diego M. Sanchez.
PFLAG's network of hundreds of chapters and hundreds of thousands of members from coast to coast are working to create an equitable, inclusive world where every LGBTQ+ person is safe, celebrated, empowered, and loved. We are all counting on you to do the proper and honorable act of voting ``No'' on H.R. 734 when it comes to the House Floor for a vote. Sincerely, Brian K. Bond, Executive Director, PFLAG National. ____ April 14, 2023.
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. 734, ``The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023,'' and any other similar effort to ban transgender girls from participating in sports. 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. We support the inclusion of all students, including transgender, intersex, and nonbinary students in school sports as part of this mission. While this bill is framed as ``protecting women's and girls' sports,'' we write to call out this hateful measure for what it actually is: a discriminatory attempt to target an already-marginalized group, rather than to promote fairness and safety in school sports for women and girls. We thus urge you to oppose H.R. 734 and join us in rallying behind all women and girls and rejecting the efforts to enshrine sex discrimination against an especially vulnerable group within Title IX.
H.R. 734 unmistakably constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex. As recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court, numerous Federal courts, and the U.S. Department of Education, discrimination includes discrimination based on gender identity and sex characteristics. Title IX's mandate that all students must be able to access the benefits and opportunities of an education free from sex discrimination includes the right to play sports. It is well documented that sports participation is linked to increased academic achievement, and fosters in students increased emotional, mental, and physical well-being and a sense of community. Amending Title IX to exclude transgender, intersex, and nonbinary students from these essential benefits of sports participation betrays Title IX's broad purpose to defeat sex discrimination in education in order to further harm these students, who because of stigma and discrimination are already especially vulnerable to isolation and decreased academic performance.
The bill's title, ``Protecting Women and Girls in Sports Act,'' is an intentionally deceptive misnomer, as H.R. 734 makes no effort to address the actual, pervasive discriminatory barriers that women and girls continue to face in school athletics. H.R. 734 does nothing to address the fact that college women have almost 60,000 fewer athletic opportunities to play than men, or that high school girls have over 1 million fewer opportunities than boys do to play sports. It fails to take any steps to open opportunities for women and girls of color, who are disproportionately impacted by these disparities in participation opportunities. H.R. 734 does not advance policies to address the second-class treatment women's and girls' teams continue to receive from their schools as compared to men's and boys' teams when it comes to facilities, equipment, and travel. Nor does H.R. 734 seek to strengthen protections against the rampant sexual abuse student-athletes of all ages and genders still face. To put it plainly, one would be hard pressed to explain how banning transgender women and girls from playing alongside their peers does anything to address actual problems of sex discrimination in sports.
Transgender women and girls have been playing school sports for years, and claims that they have been unfairly ``dominating'' competition or excluding their cisgender peers from chances to play are utterly false. Indeed, recent data from the CDC shows that state policies that prevent transgender high school students from playing are correlated with lower participation by all high school girls between 2011 and 2019; meanwhile, participation by all girls remained unchanged in states with policies allowing transgender students to play. H.R. 734's real purpose is not to expand opportunities for women and girls, but to deny transgender, intersex, and nonbinary students of their right under Title IX to equal athletic opportunities. This bill coopts the language of women's rights to undermine protections against sex discrimination.
Not only does H.R. 734 fail to address the actual, ongoing problems that limit women's and girls' opportunities in school sports, but excluding women and girls who are transgender from school sports invites gender policing that threatens all women and girls. H.R. 734 is vague and unworkable, and could only be implemented by a combination of invasive and harmful practices. There is no principled way to apply the bill's unclear language to the many girls and young women born with intersex variations, which by definition, are variations in ``reproductive biology and genetics at birth. ``Similar bans have been widely used to push girls and women born with these variations out of sports opportunities and have chilled their participation in school sports. Additionally, H.R. 734 would inevitably lead to some schools adopting invasive and dangerous ``sex verification'' practices, which police women and girls' bodies by forcing them to submit to a variety of humiliating and unscientific practices for the purported purpose of determining whether they are ``really'' girls or women. These procedures make all women and girls vulnerable to sexual abuse, but are especially likely to be used to target Black and brown women and girls who do not conform to white ideals of femininity, other women and girls who do not conform to sexist stereotypes, and nonbinary and gender nonconforming students. If H.R. 734 becomes law, it would permit school districts, colleges and universities, and athletics associations to become the arbiters of who is ``sufficiently'' feminine to play, thereby perpetuating harmful racist and sexist stereotypes that punish students for who they are or how they look, and placing students at further risk for sexual abuse.
Transgender and intersex women and girls are women and girls, and should have the right to participate in athletics consistent with their gender identity. The blanket, discriminatory exclusion that H.R. 734 would mandate for every age, every sport, and every level of competition flies in the face of Title IX's mandate of equal access to educational opportunities. H.R. 734 promotes fear, dangerous stereotypes, and sex discrimination based on misinformation, and it should not become law.
As women's rights and gender justice organizations, we vehemently reject the dangerous legislation and rhetoric pushed by politicians seeking to marginalize transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people. Supporting the civil rights of women and girls cannot be separated from championing policies that protect the rights of transgender, intersex, and nonbinary individuals' rights to be free from sex discrimination, including in school sports. This, at a minimum, includes voicing strong opposition to H.R. 734. Sincerely,
National Women's Law Center and Women's Sports Foundation, joined by:
National Organizations:
A Better Balance, Advocates for Youth, Alliance of Tribal Coalitions to End Violence, American Association of University Women, Athletes Unlimited, Catholics for Choice, Clearinghouse on Women's Issues, End Rape On Campus, Equal Rights Advocates, Family Values @ Work, Feminist Majority Foundation, Futures Without Violence, Girls Inc., Harvard Law School Gender Violence Program, Healthy Teen Network, Institute for Women's Policy Research, It's On Us, Jewish Women International, Just Solutions, Know Your IX, Advocates for Youth, Legal Momentum, the Women's Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, National Council of Jewish Women, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice.
National Network to End Domestic Violence, National Organization for Women, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, National Women's Political Caucus, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Public Justice, SafeBAE, Sexual Violence Prevention Association, SIECUS, Stop Sexual Assault in Schools, The Army of Survivors, The Every Voice Coalition, The National Domestic Violence Hotline, Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, UltraViolet Action, Union for Reform Judaism, United State of Women (USOW), ValorUS, VOICE IN SPORT Foundation, Women's Law Project, YWCA USA, 9to5.
State and Local Organizations:
AAUW Pennsylvania, Bucks County Women's Advocacy Coalition, Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE), Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Family Violence Appellate Project, Forward Allies, Gender Equality Law Center, Gender Justice, Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Jane Doe, Inc., Legal Aid at Work, Maine Women's Lobby, Make It Work Nevada, Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence, Men Stopping Violence, Inc., Nevada Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Pride Aroostook, Rebuilding Hope! Sexual Assault Center for Pierce County, Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Violence Free Minnesota, Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Women Against Abuse, Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, Women's Resource Center, Women's Resources of Monroe County, Inc., YWCA Berkeley/ Oakland, YWCA Billings, YWCA Binghamton Broome County, YWCA Delaware, YWCA Duluth, YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley, YWCA Grand Island, YWCA Jamestown, YWCA Kaua`i, YWCA Minneapolis, YWCA New Hampshire, YWCA North Central Washington, YWCA Northeast Kansas, YWCA Northern New Jersey, YWCA of Eastern Union County, YWCA Pierce County, YWCA Princeton, YWCA Western New York, YWCA Yakima.
We, the undersigned athletes, believe that every child deserves to have their life changed for the better by being able to participate in the sport that they love.
As professional, Olympic and Paralympic athletes, we have dedicated our lives to sports. Sports have given us our greatest friends, taught us incredible life lessons, and given us the confidence and drive to succeed in the world. Those of us who love sport know that its value goes far beyond the playing field, to developing a sense of self and identity, and reflecting what we value as a community. Sport is a tremendous outlet for physical and mental health, teaches valuable lessons on teamwork and discipline, and has brought us lifelong community. Every single child should have access to the lifesaving power of sports.
Right now, transgender and intersex human rights are under attack, with politicians in Washington D.C. pushing forward H.R. 734, the so-called ``Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act'', which would stipulate that Title IX compliance requires banning transgender and intersex girls and women from participating in sports. If this bill passes, transgender and intersex girls and women throughout the country will be forced to sit on the sidelines, away from their peers and their communities. Furthermore, the policing of who can and cannot play school sports will very likely lead to the policing of the bodies of all girls, including cisgender girls. This will deter girls from participating in sports and create additional barriers. Denying children access to a place where they can gain significant mental and physical health benefits, and learn lifelong lessons that come from being part of a team and working hard towards your goals does not protect women in sports.
We believe that gender equity in sport is critical which is why we urge policymakers to turn their attention and effort to the causes women athletes have been fighting for decades, including equal pay, an end to abuse and mistreatment, uneven implementation of Title IX, and a lack of access and equity for girls of color and girls with disabilities, to name only a few
Our deepest hope is that transgender and intersex kids will never have to feel the isolation, exclusion and othering that H.R. 734 is seeking to enshrine into law. Signed,
Abby Dunkin, Paralympic Gold medalist, Wheelchair Basketball, Team USA
Alison Desir, Founder, Harlem Run and Co-Chair, Running Industry Diversity Coalition
Angela Hucles, Former Professional and Olympic Soccer Player, Team USA/NWSL; Former President of the Women's Sports Foundation
Becky Sauerbrunn, Olympic Gold Medalist, Soccer, Team USA/ NWSL
Bella Bixby, Professional Soccer Player, NWSL
Brad Stuver, Professional Soccer Player, MLS
Caitlin Cosme, Professional Soccer Player, NWSL
Carly Nelson, Professional Soccer Player, NWSL
Carrie Sheinberg, Former Olympic Alpine Skier, Team USA
CeCe Telfer, NCAA National Champion
Celia Jimenez, Professional Soccer Player, NWSL and Spanish National Team
Chris Mosier, Triathlete & Duathlete, 6-time Team USA and Founder of TransAthlete.Com
Devin Ibanez, Professional Rugby Player, Major League Rugby
Emily Menges, Professional Soccer Player, NWSL
Erika Lawler, Olympic Ice Hockey Player, Team USA
Esther Lofgren, Olympic Rower, Team USA
Grete Eliassen, Professional Freestyle Skier
Gwen Berry, Olympic Track and Field athlete, Team USA
Imani Dorsey, Professional Soccer Player, NWSL
JayCee Cooper, Powerlifter
Jessica Mendoza, Former Olympic Softball Player, Team USA
Johnny Stanton, Professional Football Player, NFL
Kaiya McCullough, Former Professional Soccer Player, NWSL
Kaylie Collins, Professional Soccer Player, NWSL
Kendall Chase, Olympic Rower, Team USA
Layshia Clarendon, Professional Basketball Player, WNBA
Lori Lindsey, Former Olympic and Professional Soccer Player, Team USA/NWSL
Madison Packer, Professional Ice Hockey Player, Premier Hockey Federation
Meaghan Nally, Professional Soccer Player, NWSL
Megan Rapinoe, Olympic and Professional Soccer Player, Team USA/NWSL
Meghan Duggan, Former Olympic Ice Hockey Player, Team USA
Meghan Klingenberg, Olympic and Professional Soccer Player, Team USA/NWSL
Meghan O'Leary, Olympic Rower, Team USA
Mikey Lopez, Professional Soccer Player, USL Championship
Naya Tapper, Olympic Rugby Player, Team USA
Pam Boteler, Former Team USA Sprint Canoeist
Patricio Manual, Professional Boxer
Sophia Herzog-Gibb, Paralympic Swimmer, Team USA
Sue Bird, Olympic and Professional Basketball Player, Team USA/WNBA
Tziarra King, Professional Soccer Player, NWSL
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. I remind my colleagues on the other side that trans people do exist. To deny their existence is to also deny their humanity, and this is a terrible thing.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Frost).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I include in the Record an article from the Advocate titled ``Judge Blocks Utah Trans Sports Ban, While Probe of Athlete Emerges,'' from August 2022. [From the Advocate, Aug. 19, 2022] Judge Blocks Utah Trans Sports Ban, While Probe of Athlete Emerges (By Trudy Ring)
A judge in Utah has blocked enforcement of the state's transgender sports ban, days after news emerged that parents of cisgender female athletes had filed a complaint about an alleged trans competitor who turned out not to be.
Judge Keith A. Kelly in the Third District Court of Utah, located in Salt Lake County, issued a preliminary injunction Friday against the state's blanket ban on trans girls in girls' school sports, meaning it can't be enforced while a lawsuit against it proceeds. The ban is only one section of the law passed as House Bill 11. He left the rest of the law intact, including the requirement for trans girls to go before a commission to determine their eligibility to compete in girls' sports.
``Thus, the effect of this preliminary injunction will not mean that transgender girls will automatically be eligible to compete on their school's girls' teams,'' Kelly wrote. ``Rather, it will allow them to compete only upon the commission's determination that their being able to compete is fair under all of the circumstances.''
Utah lawmakers overrode Gov. Spencer Cox's veto to pass the legislation in March.
The injunction comes shortly after another development regarding the law. The parents of the second- and third-place finishers in a state-level girls' sports event complained to the Utah High School Activities Association that they suspected the winner of the event was trans, David Spatafore, legislative representative for the association, told the Utah Legislature's Education Interim Committee Wednesday, the Deseret News reports. The UHSAA had the student's school investigate, looking over her records all the way back to kindergarten, and it turned out that she was not trans. He didn't identify the student, the school, or the sport, citing privacy considerations.
He said the association has received other complaints about supposed trans competitors, sometimes with people saying a girl simply ``doesn't look feminine enough.''
Opponents of the law said this shows major problems with it. ``We warned about this being a possibility, that everyone would accuse everyone who is successful of being transgender,'' Sue Robbins, a member of the Transgender Advisory Council of Equality Utah, told The Salt Lake Tribune. ``It becomes about judging women's bodies. And no body is safe.''
At his monthly press conference Thursday, Gov. Cox called this investigation a disturbing development. ``My goodness, we're living in this world where we've become sore losers, and we're looking for any reason why our kid lost,'' he said, according to the Tribune. ``I have a real problem with that story. . . . I just wish we could be a little more thoughtful in life and a little less critical of other people.''
Meanwhile, the parents who filed suit against the law welcomed Friday's injunction. ``My husband and I are very relieved by this decision,'' Debbie Roe, a parent plaintiff in the lawsuit, Roe v. UHSAA, said in a press release. ``We are grateful the court understood how much harm this law has caused, which has been a huge source of stress and trauma for our child. Our daughter just wants the same chance as other kids to make friends and play on the team she loves. Today's ruling gives her the opportunity to do that.''
``This is a win not only for my child but for all girls in this state,'' added Jean Noe, another parent plaintiff. ``This law is based on stereotypes and misconceptions that are harmful to all girls. I am grateful the court has put this dangerous law on pause and that, at least for the moment, all Utah children can know that they are valued and supported.''
``We are very pleased by the court's decision,'' said Justice Christine Durham, former chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court and senior of counsel at Wilson Sonsini, one of the lawyers representing the parents. ``Thus far, every court to rule on a similar ban has barred it from taking effect, due in part to the serious harms caused by excluding an entire group of students from such an important school activity. We read today's decision as recognizing that the law is not only discriminatory but puts Utah children at needless risk of lifelong harm. We look forward to moving forward with the case and securing a permanent decision blocking the law from taking effect.''
In addition to Wilson Sonsini, the parents are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah and the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Kamlager-Dove)
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Landsman).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I include in the Record letters from the Human Rights Campaign and the Athletes' Advisory Council. Human Rights Campaign, April 14, 2023.
Dear Representative: On behalf of the Human Rights Campaign's more than three million members and supporters nationwide, I write to express our strong opposition to H.R. 734--the misnamed Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023 which seeks to implement a discriminatory ban on transgender girls participating in girls' sports nationwide. As the nation's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer equality, we are deeply concerned about the negative impact this legislation would have on young people already facing significant challenges due to stigma and discrimination.
Athletics are an experience everyone deserves equal access to. School sports provide important development opportunities that teach young people about teamwork, perseverance, leadership, discipline, and exercise, and help them build friendships and community. All kids--including transgender girls and intersex children who would also be restricted from participating in school sports by this bill--should have the same opportunities to participate in activities that embody our shared ideals as Americans.
We know that allowing transgender and intersex youth to play sports in school does not disadvantage anyone else. States, school districts, and athletic associations around the country have allowed transgender and intersex young people to participate in school sports consistent with their gender identity for decades--all without issue. Indeed, despite hundreds, if not thousands, of transgender women and girls participating in sports over time, only a handful of transgender athletes in high school or college have had any notable success. This is because transgender and intersex students do not seek to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity to gain an unfair advantage--they do it for the same reasons other young people play sports in school: to challenge themselves, improve their fitness, be part of a team, and have fun.
Banning transgender and intersex kids from playing sports in school would do nothing to address ongoing, well- documented threats to girls' and women's sports, including a lack of equal resources, pay inequality, and sexual harassment. Advocates for women and girls in sports like the National Women's Law Center, the Women's Sports Foundation, Women Leaders in College Sports, and American Association of University Women all support policies allowing transgender people to play sports consistent with their gender identity.
These groups oppose efforts to exclude transgender students like this bill, which would promote baseless fears and misinformation rather than solve any real problems.
We urge you to vote no on H.R. 734, as well as vote against any anti-LGBTQ+ amendments. We will consider these key votes. Sincerely, Kelley Robinson, President. ____ Athletes' Advisory Council, April 14, 2023. Re H.R. 734--OPPOSE.
Dear Members of Congress: The Team USA Athletes' Commission (Team USA AC), formally known as the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee Athletes' Advisory Council (AAC), serves as the representative group and voice of Team USA athletes (approximately 5,000 athletes). We write to you today to voice our opposition to H.R. 734, ``The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023.''
H.R. 734 does not align with the Team USA AC position, as detailed in our June 2022 Statement on Transgender and Nonbinary Athlete Inclusion:
``The AAC [now Team USA AC], which serves as the representative group and voice of Team USA athletes, seeks to promote a safe and welcoming environment for everyone involved in sport, consistent with the AAC's core values of championing diversity, equity and inclusion.
Everyone should have equal access to and opportunity in sport. The AAC opposes any attempt to marginalize, limit or deny human rights and is on the side of inclusion of all participants in youth sports. Banning transgender and nonbinary kids from sports ostracizes from a fundamental part of growing up and all the benefits sports provide to youth.
The AAC also recognizes the difference between youth sports (K-12 and recreational) and elite sports. Competitive sport relies on a level playing field where no athlete has an unfair and disproportionate advantage over another. Sport must ensure everyone, irrespective of their gender identity or sex characteristics, can compete in a safe environment that respects and recognizes their needs and identities while balancing the interests of ensuring fair competition. Like the IOC, we echo that simply because an athlete is transgender or has an intersex variation, does not mean they automatically have a competitive advantage in sport.
Each sport's governing body should be given the latitude to determine how an athlete may be at a disproportionate advantage over another considering the nature of each sport. Eligibility criteria play a paramount role in ensuring fairness, particularly at the elite level. Such criteria should be evidence-based, employ a stakeholder centered approach and be grounded in inclusion, prevention of harm, fairness and nondiscrimination. As the AAC, we remain committed to ensuring all athletes have the right to participate in sport in a way that respects their health, safety and dignity.'
The blanket exclusion that H.R. 734 would mandate for every age, every sport, and every level of competition is contrary to Title IX's mandate of equal access to educational opportunities.
We ask all members of Congress to oppose H.R. 734. Sincerely, Mark Ladwig, Chair, Team USA Athletes' Commission.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, may I inquire of the time remaining.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I yield 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I include in the Record letters from the ACLU, the Leadership Conference of Civil and Human Rights, and GLSEN, all in opposition to H.R. 734. American Civil Liberties Union, Washington, DC, April 14, 2023.
Dear Representative: The American Civil Liberties Union strongly urges you to oppose H.R. 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. This discriminatory and unconstitutional legislation would make it illegal for schools receiving federal funding to allow transgender girls and women to play on sports teams for girls and women, in violation of the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection. In addition, under Title IX, all girls, including those who are transgender, should be able to participate fully and equally in athletics, in accordance with who they are. This will be the first vote in congressional history to specifically single out transgender people for discrimination. Because of the importance of this vote, the ACLU will be scoring it.
Across the country, state legislatures have advanced legislation to ban transgender children from participating in sports, particularly transgender girls. These legislators-- like the proponents of this legislation--have argued that passing these bans is necessary to protect sports for girls and women. There are a multitude of barriers facing female student athletes--from continued funding inequities to pay disparities among coaches and staff to harassment and abuse. The participation of their transgender peers, who frequently number in the single digits in states that have enacted bans identical to this one, is simply not one of those barriers.
Legislators supporting these bans are cynically using transgender people as political pawns under the guise of ``protecting women's sports,'' yet leading advocates for women's sports, including the Women's Sports Foundation, Women Leaders in College Sports, the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, National Women's Law Center, and hundreds of athletes in women's sports and other women's rights groups have consistently voiced their strong support for inclusion of transgender girls and women in women's sports.
These organizations rightly recognize that transgender girls and women participate in sports for the same reasons as their peers who are not transgender: to be part of a team, learn sportsmanship, and challenge themselves. The experience of 12-year-old Becky PepperJackson from West Virginia is reflective of so many other transgender youth across the country. These are Becky's own words:
A long time before I or my parents understood what the word ``transgender'' meant--as far back as I can remember--I knew that I am a girl. I'm 12 years old and in the 7th grade now, and I'm lucky that my friends at school all accept me for who I am: a girl who loves math and science, anything pink, and playing video games with my friends. And I'm a runner. Most of my family runs. I run with my two big brothers and my mom, and sometimes my aunt joins us too.
After I ran with my school's cross-country team in the spring of 2022, my coach encouraged me to try out for some of the field events. I made the team for shotput and discus, and I love both. It was so much fun to cheer on my teammates at the meets, and they would cheer me on when I competed in my events. I kept up with cross-country too. The past two years on my middle school's girls' cross-country and track-and- field teams have been the best of my life. My teammates and I have the best time during practices and at cross-country and track- and-field meets. They support me even when I am not the fastest or best on the team. I don't want to stop doing the thing that I love and that is part of who I am. Sports are everything to me and my cross-country and track-and-field teams have become my second family over the last two years. I have many more years of cross-country and track-and-field left, and I just want the opportunity to participate in school sports like any other girl.
H.R. 734 does nothing to address the real barriers facing female student athletes. Instead, it targets a small, already vulnerable group of people for further discrimination. The ACLU strongly urges all Members to vote NO on H.R. 734. Sincerely, Christopher Anders,
Federal Policy Director. Ian S. Thompson,
Senior Legislative Advocate. ____ The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Washington, DC, March 27, 2023. Oppose H.R. 734 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 230 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States, and the 187 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. 734, the so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023, 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, that their agenda is not about the rights of people of color know that when companies profit from poverty wages for disabled people, especially in segregated work sites, that their agenda is not about independence and self-determination for worker And we know that when opponents of Title IX, 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. 734's vague language and intrusive focus on scrutiny of students' bodies will effectively exclude 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 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 sexbased 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. 734 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. Sincerely,
National (116): The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights; Act To Change; Advocates for Youth; American Association of University Women; American Atheists; American Civil Liberties Union; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); American Federation of Teachers; American Humanist Association; American School Counselor Association; Asexual Visibility and Education Network; Asian Americans Advancing Justice|AAJC; Athlete Ally; Autistic Self Advocacy Network; Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; Campus Pride; Care in Action; Center for American Progress; Center for Applied Transgender Studies.
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP); Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research (CLEAR); CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers; Children's Defense Fund; Clearinghouse on Women's Issues; Collective Power for Reproductive Justice; Community Catalyst; Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund; EDGE Consulting Partners; EducateUS: SIECUS In Action; Education Reform Now; Educators for Excellence; End Rape On Campus; Equal Rights Advocates; Equality Federation; Equity Forward; ERA Coalition; Evaluation, Data Integration, and Technical Assistance (EDIT) Program; Family Equality; Feminist Campus.
Feminist Majority Foundation; Fenway Institute; FORGE, Inc.; Girls Inc.; GLAAD; GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD); GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality; GLSEN; Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights; Human Rights Campaign; Human Rights First; Ibis Reproductive Health; If/ When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice; Impact Fund; interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth; Interfaith Alliance; Japanese American Citizens League; Juvenile Law Center; Know Your IX; Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.
Lambda Legal; League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC); Legal Momentum, the Women's Legal Defense and Education Fund; LPAC Action Network; LULAC-IL; MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund); Matthew Shepard Foundation; MomsRising; Movement Advancement Project; MoveOn; NAACP; National Black Justice Coalition; National Center for Lesbian Rights; National Center for Parent Leadership, Advocacy, and Community Empowerment (National PLACE); National Center for Transgender Equality; National Center for Youth Law; National Council of Jewish Women; National Crittenton; National Disability Rights Network (NORN); National Domestic Workers Alliance.
National Education Association; National Hispanic Media Coalition; National LGBT Cancer Network; National Organization for Women; National Recreation and Park Association; National Urban League; National Women's Law Center; Oregonizers; PFLAG National; Planned Parenthood Federation of America; Plume Health; PowerOn, a program of LGBT Tech; Public Citizen; Public Justice; Reproductive Rights Coalition; Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA); SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change; Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF); Stanton Ventures; Supermajority.
The Advocates for Human Rights; The Education Trust; The Sikh Coalition; The Trevor Project; TransAthlete; Transform Together; Transgender Law Center; True Colors United; Trust Women; Union for Reform Judaism; Unitarian Universalist Association; United State of Women (USOW); VoteProChoice; We Testify; Whole Woman's Health; Whole Woman's Health Alliance; YWCA USA.
State/Local (72): Acadiana Queer Collective; Aces NYC; Action Together New Jersey; Advocates for Children of New York; African American Office of Gay Concerns; AIDS Foundation Chicago; Arkansas Black Gay Men's Forum; Avow Texas; Bans Off Miami; Central Florida Jobs with Justice; Chicago Abortion Fund; Cobalt; Colorado Children's Campaign; DC Abortion Fund; Democrats for Education Reform DC (DFER DC); DFER Colorado; Disability Law Center; Dutchess County Progressive Action Alliance; Education Law Center Pennsylvania.
Education Reform Now Massachusetts; Education Reform Now Texas; Equality California; Equality Florida; Equality Illinois; Equality South Dakota; Equality Virginia; Equality Maine; FL National Organization for Women; Florida Council of Churches; Florida Health Justice Project; Gender Justice; GLSEN New Mexico; Greater Orlando National Organization for Women; Indivisible Coalition of Georgia; Indivisible DuPage; Indivisible Miami; Jane's Due Process; JASMYN, Inc.; Joy as Resistance.
Lafayette Citizens Against Censorship; Los Angeles LGBT Center; Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship; Louisiana Coalition for Reproductive Freedom; Louisiana Progress; Louisiana Trans Advocates; Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition; Mazzoni Center; Men Stopping Violence, Inc.; Missouri Health Care for All; National Council of Jewish Women St. Louis; New Jersey Safe Schools Coalition; New Orleans Youth Alliance; One Colorado; OutFront Minnesota; OutNebraska; Pride Action Tank; Pro Choice Missouri; Pro-Choice Connecticut; Pro-Choice North Carolina.
Pro-Choice Ohio; Pro-Choice Washington; Progress Florida; Project Butterfly New Orleans; Queer Nortshore; Reproductive Freedom Acadiana; Silver State Equality-Nevada; SOMA Justice of South Orange/Maplewood; St. Tammany Library Alliance; The Parents' Place of MD; The Womxn Project; Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations; Youth Outlook. ____ GLSEN. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Washington, DC.
Dear Leader Jeffries: Thank you for your ongoing leadership in combating the rise of discrimination against LGBTQ+ Americans. We appreciate the opportunity to share our thoughts on H.R. 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.
GLSEN is the leading national organization on LGBTQ+ issues in K-12 education, working at the local, state, and national level to transform education systems to improve conditions for LGBTQ+ students across the United States.
GLSEN believes that every student has the right to a safe, supportive, and LGBTQ-inclusive K-12 education, and works to ensure that LGBTQ+ students are able to learn and grow in a school environment free from bullying and harassment.
H.R. 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, is designed specifically to attack students in the LGBTQ+ community, and opens the door for bullying and harassment. This legislation prohibits transgender students from participating in sports that align with their gender identity, robbing them of their right to participate in sports.
Participation in sports has positive effects on youth development, such as improving physical health, social skills, and psychological well-being. Additionally, research has found that sports participation is related to greater feelings of school belonging and pro-school behaviors. To restrict which students can benefit from participation in sports is to contribute to a hostile school environment that further isolates and discriminates against transgender students.
Policies that create social exclusion have been found to have a negative impact on students' mental health. GLSEN's 2021 National School Climate Survey found that among those who reported considering dropping out school, over half (51.5 percent) said it was due to hostile school climate created by anti-LGBTQ+ policies, such as restrictions on their ability to access sex-separated spaces. Further, students who experienced anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination were nearly three times as likely to have missed school in the past month as those who had not (43.3 percent vs. 16.4 percent). These students reported lower levels of self-esteem, higher levels of depression, and were more than twice as likely to have seriously considered suicide in the past year as compared to students who did not experience these discriminatory policies.
H.R. 734 targets the 41 percent of transgender youth who have participated on at least one school sport team in the past year. Removing students from their sports teams will reinforce feelings of self-doubt, isolation, and a feeling that they do not belong.
Rather than working to further entrench the mental health problems faced by students, Congress should be acting to support our children in schools. American families want to enjoy time watching their children participate in their favorite sports, not incite flames of hatred and exclusion.
GLSEN thanks you for your ongoing leadership and we are happy to serve as a resource if you have any questions or need additional information. Sincerely, Aaron Ridings,
Chief of Staff and Deputy Executive Director for Public Policy and Research, GLSEN.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Clark), the Democratic whip.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 10 seconds to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I include in the Record a statement by the National Parents Union in opposition to H.R. 734. National Parents Union.
H.R. 734 bullies kids instead of teaching them to read. It's time to get focused on what matters to American families.
The National Parents Union continues to be frustrated with the lack of focus from House and Education Workforce Committee Leadership on issues that matter to American Families. Families across the country want Congress to focus on ensuring that every child is prepared for their future-- not bullying kids who want to play sports among their peers.
32 percent of our country's 4th graders were proficient readers according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. That means that 7 out of 10 of our current 5th graders cannot fully engage in their learning because they cannot read the content.
Our latest national parent poll clearly states parent priorities and nowhere to be found is anything about members of their kids sports teams.
90 percent Believe students should have access to high- quality, well rounded education with resources to support their individual needs.
90 percent Believe that students should be prepared for college and/or careers when they graduate.
90 percent Believe students should be protected from any form of discrimination at school.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the ranking member of the full Committee on Education and the Workforce.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Vermont (Ms. Balint).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chair, I too had the opportunity yesterday to engage with Rebekah and her mother, and I want to just point to a stark reality.
Mr. Chair, 53 percent of trans kids considered suicide last year. I am glad that the Governor of Utah, in a very lengthy letter, said: I want them to live. What Rebekah said is that she loves playing sports. She gets to know people, and they know her.
She said the talk that we are doing on the floor of the House is scary. It puts trans children--children in corners. They don't know who likes them or not or who wants to do harm to them.
This is a meaningless bill. The Olympics has addressed the question. The NCAA has addressed the question.
When will we realize we have the right to freedom of religion and we have a right to our beliefs, and in that we have no right to undermine and threaten the lives of trans children.
Mr. Chair, I stand in opposition to this mean-spirited legislation because I am a woman of faith, and I believe in the humanity of all children.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chair, fundamentally, the difference between the two sides is that my friends on the other side of the aisle do not recognize trans people as human beings. They do not even recognize the validity of trans. That is a terrible error, and it is wrong, and it does not grant trans people humanity.
A subsequent corollary to this stance is that they don't believe that trans people are who they are, that somehow it is a choice. I am going to tell you: This debate itself has been traumatizing.
I can remember when I was a teenager when debate in California was occurring over the Briggs Initiative, which would have banned LGBT teachers from teaching. One Republican Governor, Ronald Reagan, at the last minute opposed the initiative, and to me that meant a lot. It means a lot to me that Spencer Cox of Utah recognizes that trans kids exist and that we should protect them. This bill is horrible. All should stand opposed to it.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I include in the Record a Statement of Administration Policy from the administration. Statement of Administration Policy
h.r. 734--protection of women and girls in sports act of 2023--rep. steube, R-fl, and 93 cosponsors
The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 734.
For students nationwide, participating in sports and being part of a team is an important part of growing up, staying engaged in school, and learning leadership and life skills. H.R. 734 would deny access to sports for many families by establishing an absolute ban on transgender students--even those as young as elementary schoolers--playing on a team consistent with their gender identity. Schools, coaches, and athletic associations around the country are already working with families to develop participation rules that are fair and that take into account particular sports, grade levels, and levels of competition. As a national ban that does not account for competitiveness or grade level, H.R. 734 targets people for who they are and therefore is discriminatory. Politicians should not dictate a one-size-fits-all requirement that forces coaches to remove kids from their teams. At a time when transgender youth already face a nationwide mental health crisis, with half of transgender youth in a recent survey saying they have seriously considered suicide, a national law that further stigmatizes these children is completely unnecessary, hurts families and students, and would only put students at greater risk. Discrimination has no place in our nation's schools or on our playing fields.
Instead of addressing the pressing issues that families and students face today--such as raising teacher pay, keeping guns out of schools, addressing the mental health crisis our youth face, and helping students learn and recover academically from unprecedented disruptions--Congressional Republicans have instead chosen to prioritize policies that discriminate against children.
If the President were presented with H.R. 734, he would veto it.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source