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Floor Speech

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Mrs. BLACKBURN. 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.

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