[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 108 (Thursday, June 27, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       INTRODUCTION OF THE REAL ID GENDER REQUIREMENT REFORM ACT

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                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 27, 2024

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I introduce the REAL ID Gender 
Requirement Reform Act, which would remove the requirement from the 
REAL ID Act that REAL ID-compliant licenses include gender. Instead, 
the decision of whether to have gender on a state's REAL-ID-compliant 
licenses would be left to the states. I am pleased Representative 
Maxwell Frost is co-leading this bill.
  This bill would require states that require gender designation for 
licenses to allow individuals wishing to change their gender 
designation on their license to do so through self-attestation. It 
would also require states that require gender designation on licenses 
to have a neutral or other designation gender field, in addition to 
male or female.
  Under the REAL ID Act, gender must be included on a license. This can 
be problematic for transgender or nonbinary individuals. I recognize 
that some LGBTQ+ individuals do not want gender designations on 
licenses at all, while others do want gender designation so as to 
express their identity. I believe this bill strikes the middle ground, 
while showing Congress' support for LGBTQ+ individuals.
  This is an important bill for equality. I urge my colleagues to 
support this bill.

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