[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 143 (Wednesday, September 6, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4219-S4221]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        August State Work Period

  Mr. RICKETTS. Mr. President, boys and men should not be allowed to 
participate in girls' and women's sports. This used to be common sense, 
but today, apparently, it is controversial.
  When I was back home in Nebraska for the August recess, two events 
highlighted this. The first was Volleyball Day.
  Volleyball Day in Nebraska saw four of our women's volleyball teams 
showcase their talent. Over 92,000 fans crammed into Lincoln's Memorial 
Stadium to watch the event. It was a

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world-record event, the most attendees for a women's sports event in 
history, and it was a great day for title IX to demonstrate how much 
success that has had over the last 50 years. In fact, Omaha World-
Herald columnist Tom Shatel wrote, ``Volleyball Day in Nebraska may be 
the biggest Title IX statement of all time.'' Certainly, it 
demonstrated the progress we have seen, creating equal opportunity for 
our daughters, granddaughters, and sisters. And it is not just about 
athletics; it is about scholarships, about educational opportunities 
and, of course, those career opportunities as well.
  But sadly, today, title IX is under attack from bad policies that are 
undermining what has been so successful for half a century.
  That brings me to my second event. I, along with 1,100 other 
Nebraskans, had the honor to listen to Riley Gaines. Riley was a 
women's swimmer for the University of Kentucky, and she described her 
experience competing against Lia Thomas.
  Lia Thomas was William Thomas, a man who competed against other men 
for 3 years of his college career, and at that time, he was mediocre at 
best. He came in ranked 462nd in the Nation. But after a year of 
testosterone suppression therapy, under NCAA rules, Thomas was allowed 
to compete against women, and he went from being ranked 462nd 
nationally to being top-ranked. Riley described how unfair this 
experience was.
  We also heard from Dr. Greg Brown. He is a physiologist and professor 
at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He described the differences 
between men and women. It is crazy that we need to have somebody talk 
about the differences between men and women. He described that men 
produce 10 to 20 times more testosterone than women on average and that 
this testosterone suppression therapy that I mentioned--well, it 
reduces it, but according to NCAA rules and IOC rules, you only have to 
get below the ``normal'' range, and that level is still 5 to 10 times 
more testosterone than what women produce.
  Here is the kicker: There is no research--none whatsoever--that shows 
that by reducing testosterone, you eliminate the male sex-based 
athletic advantages. None. It is bogus. It is arbitrary. That is part 
of the unfairness.
  When we support policies that undermine title IX, we are potentially 
robbing women of the opportunity to be able to have those sports 
careers and to have the opportunity to get those scholarships.
  As school starts back up again, let's celebrate the differences 
between boys and girls, between men and women. Let's not support 
policies that are driving them off the court or the playing field or 
out of the pool.
  I am a proud cosponsor of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports 
Act. It would require title IX to be interpreted based upon your 
biological sex. This will preserve title IX and those opportunities for 
young women all across this country. Let's make sure bad policy is not 
undermining title IX.
  I urge all my Senate colleagues to support this commonsense act. It 
is pro-science, it is pro-women, and it is pro-common sense. We need to 
push back against these bad policies that are undermining the important 
title IX work over the last 50 years. That way, we can ensure that our 
daughters, granddaughters, and sisters have that equal opportunity that 
they have had over all these years.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. SCHMITT. Mr. President, I am here today to talk about my time 
back in the State in August. It was a great recess in the ``Show-Me'' 
State. To paraphrase one of our most famous Missourians, Mark Twain, 
when Congress is in session, no American is safe. So Americans and 
Missourians could feel safe that their pocketbooks were not at risk for 
at least a month.
  But I was able to get all around the State, the four corners of our 
State, and tour a couple of really critical military installations we 
have. Of course, we have Fort Leonard Wood. I was there a couple months 
ago. It is a critical Army installation. We have Whiteman Air Force 
Base. Whiteman, of course, is home to the B-2 stealth bomber. I spent 
some time there visiting with leadership, talking to them, and also 
getting up to the Rosecrans Air National Guard Base up in the northwest 
corner of the State, which plays a critical role not just in natural 
disasters but in wartime. They are in desperate need of the new C-130J 
aircraft. They give training on all the aircraft, including aircraft 
they don't have there. So we are certainly advocating for that in 
addition to some of the big wins we got in the NDAA.
  It also reaffirmed--one of my great passions right now is to root out 
this divisive DEI training we have in our military. The U.S. military 
has been one of the great meritocracies in the history of the planet. 
People can rise from the lowest rung of the socioeconomic ladder to 
ticker-tape parades. There is a reason why there are uniforms, and 
there is a reason why there are haircuts, but what we don't need to be 
doing is separating people by race. This divisive ideology is hurting 
recruitment, and we have real recruitment challenges when we should be 
focusing on readiness and the threat China poses.
  So we were able to get around and focus on some of those issues as 
well, along with getting around and talking to some of the business 
leaders. We talked to job producers in Springfield and in Kansas City 
about how they are dealing with some of the challenges they have in the 
labor market and also making sure we have great jobs in the ``Show-Me'' 
State and a ready workforce.
  I had the opportunity also, on a lighter note, to have some ribs and 
burnt ends at the world-famous Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City. And to 
all those who may think they have better barbecue in Texas or Tennessee 
or the Carolinas, I got news for you: In Missouri, we have the best 
barbecue, no doubt. Arthur Bryant's--if you have a Mount Rushmore of 
barbecue, Arthur Bryant's is the Mount Rushmore. I got to the Sikeston 
Rodeo, one of the bigger rodeos in the country. I got to the State fair 
in Sedalia.
  One thing that was abundantly clear with everybody I talked to is 
that Bidenomics isn't working. Regardless of how this administration 
tries to sell this, Missourians understand what the truth is, and that 
is that everything has gotten way more expensive. The spending spree 
has made it tougher for American families to make ends meet--working 
families--and that is continually reflected in some of the more recent 
economic reports. For example, rapidly rising inflation has hollowed 
out savings. Skyrocketing interest rates have made it more difficult 
for people to afford things.
  Since Biden took office, overall prices have increased 16.8 percent. 
Grocery prices have risen over 20 percent. Electricity prices have 
risen over 24 percent. Gasoline prices have risen a staggering 54 
percent. Auto loan rates are at a 17-year high. Credit card interest 
rates are at alltime highs. Thirty-year interest rates are at a 23-year 
high.
  Bidenomics isn't working, but it is making working families put in 
more overtime.
  Lastly, I had a chance to catch up with some of the great farmers and 
ranchers and agricultural leaders at the Missouri State Fair. It is a 
great State fair. I spent time at the Cattlemen's Beef House, the Pork 
Place, and the dairy center. I saw the butter cow. I met with folks 
from the Missouri Soybean Association, Missouri Corn, and the Farm 
Bureau. Everybody was there--the co-ops.
  The farmers and ranchers in our State are essential to the Nation's 
food supply, and times have been immensely tough for them as they deal 
with rising inflation that has raised the prices on everything from 
diesel to basic operating costs. Most of this is due to overreach from 
regulators who have never stepped foot on a farm. These officials are 
implementing harsher regulations on farmers and doing so in the name of 
climate alarmism, telling these farmers, who know how to care for their 
land--they are great stewards of the land--things they have no business 
telling them.
  By the way, Congress never voted on any of this stuff. It is some 
Deputy Secretary in some Department you have never heard of.
  The best thing the government can do is get out of their way and let 
these folks provide the food our country needs.

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  It is always great to get around the State. It is one of the great 
joys of being in office--just visiting with people, real people, 
listening to what their concerns are. I had a chance to do that. I 
promised them I would always come and fight for them. Visiting for that 
month in particular--as we always do but certainly that amount, that 
block of time--only inspires me to fight even harder.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.