[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 9 (Thursday, January 16, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E45]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          PROTECTION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN SPORTS ACT OF 2025

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 14, 2025

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 28, 
which would open the door to invasive surveillance and physical 
inspections of young women and girls as a condition of their 
participation in sports.
  Sports should be safe, accessible, and fair for everyone. 
Participating in sports helps young people develop skills like 
leadership and teamwork and builds their self-esteem. All children, no 
matter their gender, should have the opportunity to develop these 
skills in a supportive community.
  Instead, this Republican-led Child Predator Empowerment Act puts the 
privacy, security, mental health, and physical well-being of young 
female athletes at risk. H.R. 28 would allow anyone to challenge and 
target kids with questions about their gender. It would subject minors 
to deeply personal questions about their bodies and to physical 
inspections of their genitals by strangers without their parents 
present.
  The reality is that there are already athletic associations that take 
issues like fairness and safety into account when determining gender-
based eligibility guidelines for different sports at different levels 
of competition. Professional athletic organizing bodies like the 
International Olympic Committee and National Collegiate Athletic 
Association have already addressed participation for trans athletes 
within their respective sports. There is bipartisan recognition of the 
damaging impact of a complete ban on the participation of transgender 
children in youth sports, as evidenced by the vetoes issued by Utah 
Governor Spencer Cox, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, and North Dakota 
Governor Doug Burgum in response to similar legislation introduced and 
passed by their respective legislatures.
  If we want to take action in this Congress to truly support female 
athletes and women's sports, then we could address issues like equal 
pay, ending institutional mistreatment of female athletes, and 
broadening opportunities for participation for historically excluded 
communities. We could work to protect athletes from sexual abuse, 
instead of taking up a bill that creates new conditions that predators 
can exploit. The majority of athlete sexual assault cases involve 
coaches, trainers, or other sports administrators, who could be 
inspecting young women and girls under this law.
  The enforcement of H.R. 28 would cause lasting damage to student 
athletes and to school-based athletics, all while isolating and 
stigmatizing transgender and intersex youth. I urge my colleagues to 
vote against this deeply misguided legislation.

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