[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 5, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1511-S1512]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



              Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act

  Mrs. HYDE-SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to once again join my 
Republican colleagues in reaffirming our commitment to safeguarding the 
protections provided by title IX and the hard-won opportunities it 
offers women and girls.
  Since its enactment in 1972, title IX has been instrumental in 
preventing sex discrimination in education, ensuring equality for girls 
and women. Remember that before title IX, women and girls were denied 
the same academic and athletic opportunities as their male peers.
  Title IX was originally designed by Congress to ensure that women and 
girls receive equal and fair opportunities based on biological reality 
while also ensuring their safety in educational settings. For more than 
50 years, it successfully upheld these principles.
  Unfortunately, over the past 4 years, we have seen a concerted and 
completely misguided effort to redefine gender in ways that ignore 
biological facts and threaten the significant strides women and girls 
have made since the passage of title IX. These misguided actions eroded 
the protections that title IX was created to offer.
  After watching the Biden administration claw away at the integrity of 
title IX for 4 years, I am proud to stand with my colleagues and 
President Trump in fighting to restore the protections that title IX 
was always meant to provide to girls and women in sports.
  Despite the attempts of our colleagues across the aisle to defend 
their war on title IX, the American people overwhelmingly agree on a 
fundamental point: Biologically male athletes should not be allowed to 
compete in women's sports or use women's locker rooms.
  I find it ironic that the party that wore pink to protest President 
Trump's address last night claiming his policies harm women is the same 
party where not one Member voted to protect women in sports this week. 
If it were not so serious, it would almost be laughable.
  This is not a matter of partisanship but of common sense and 
fairness. It is a matter of equal opportunity for all.
  This is the message we must continue to amplify in Congress as we 
work to ensure the future protections of title IX remain intact.
  We must pass legislation that protects female athletes and preserves 
the integrity of women's sports. To suggest that biological females and 
transgender women are the same in all respects, particularly in the 
context of athletic competition, is to set women and girls back, not 
forward.
  The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act would safeguard title 
IX by defining gender based on an individual's biological and genetic 
sex at birth. It would also ensure that no Federal funding goes to 
schools or educational organizations that allow males to participate in 
women's sporting events, ensuring that title IX's original intent is 
upheld across the board.
  Importantly, its passage would make it harder for some future 
President to again assault title IX.
  It is disheartening to see that, once again, my Democratic colleagues 
are failing to advocate for the importance of title IX and what it 
means to women and girls everywhere. Instead, they choose to cater to 
an out-of-touch woke mob on this issue.
  I am proud to join Senator Tuberville in supporting this commonsense 
legislation that will continue to protect our daughters, nieces, and 
granddaughters for years to come.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mr. RICKETTS. Mr. President, I rise today in strong support of the 
Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.
  This act will protect our daughters and granddaughters and keep the 
original meaning of title IX that was meant to help protect girls and 
promote females in sports.
  On Monday, I was proud to support and vote for this bill. Sadly, 
every single Democrat--every single one--voted against it. It is deeply 
concerning and disappointing, frankly, that not one single Democrat 
would step up and say: I want to protect women's sports; that I have a 
daughter or a granddaughter who wants to have the same opportunities 
that title IX has provided over the last 50 years.
  For 50 years, title IX has made it so women and girls would have a 
chance to compete in sports, but it is not just about athletic 
opportunities; it is about scholarships, and it is about long-term 
careers.
  Title IX leveled the playing field so our daughters and 
granddaughters could dream big and pursue their dreams. We saw this on 
full display in Nebraska when we had Volleyball Day in Nebraska. For 
those of you who do not recall, Nebraska set a women's sports 
attendance record. Over 92,000 people came to watch our women's 
volleyball teams. It occurred at Memorial Stadium. It was the largest 
crowd ever.
  You don't have to take me at my word that this is important for title 
IX. The Omaha World-Herald called it ``the biggest title IX statement 
of all time.''
  It was an incredible moment and could not have happened without title 
IX. That progress is under attack today.
  The Biden administration tried to eliminate those protections. The 
Biden administration tried to rewrite title IX without the approval of 
Congress. They tried to change the definition of ``sex'' to include 
``gender identity,'' which, let me tell you, that was not a thing 50 
years ago when this bill was written.
  Girls would be forced to share dorm rooms, locker rooms, and 
bathrooms with males. Men would be able to take women's spots on sports 
teams and women's scholarships. That is what happens if you allow this 
to go forward, if you allow men to compete in women's sports, just by 
claiming they are a woman. The damage is already being done.
  Last night, President Trump told the story of Payton McNabb. Payton 
was a high school volleyball player on the girls' team who was severely 
injured by a male opponent who smashed a ball into her head. She 
suffered a concussion, a brain bleed, and permanent whiplash. She also 
dealt with vision problems. It never should have been allowed to 
happen.
  Riley Gaines is another example. Riley swam for the University of 
Kentucky and competed against a man for 3 years in her college career.
  Lia Thomas, formerly William Thomas, was a mediocre male swimmer who 
then decided that he would be a women's swimmer, with all that goes 
along with that, not only competing in events but accessing women's 
restrooms and their locker rooms. He became one of the top women 
swimmers--because it is true, what we all know from common sense: Males 
and females are built differently.
  It is wrong and it is unfair to allow men to compete against women in 
women's sports. It ignores science and common sense.
  Last August, the United Nations released a report that showed that 
over 600 female athletes--600 female athletes--in more than 400 
competitions have already lost more than 890 medals in 29 different 
sports because those women were competing against males who claimed to 
be women. That is hundreds of young women who have trained for years, 
only to have their medals, records, and opportunities taken from them.
  The American people see the unfairness of it, and they strongly 
support protecting women's sports. A 2025 poll from the New York Times 
found that 79 percent of Americans want to keep women's sports for 
women--for biological females. That includes a majority of registered 
Democrats.
  This isn't a Republican or a Democrat issue. This is an American 
issue. And unlike my Democratic colleagues and President Biden, 
President Trump took steps to protect women's sports. He took action to 
protect the original meaning of title IX, in his first few

[[Page S1512]]

days as President. He knew that title IX was written to protect women, 
not erase them. His leadership stood for fairness, science, and common 
sense.
  But there is no guarantee the next President is going to uphold 
President Trump's action. This bill would make those protections 
permanent. The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act is simple. 
It says that, under title IX, ``sex'' means the person's reproductive 
biology at birth. That is how title IX was written. That is how title 
IX was understood for decades, and that is how title IX should work 
today.
  Men and boys shouldn't compete against women and girls in female 
sports. It is just common sense. It is absolutely just plain common 
sense.
  Yet, 2 days ago, every single one of my Democratic colleagues voted 
against protecting women's collegiate athletics. They chose the wrong 
side of an 80-20 issue. They chose not to fight for science, for equal 
opportunity, and for women and girls.
  I urge them to reconsider. Let's stand with women over radical 
policies. Let's stand with the overwhelming majority of Americans. 
Let's keep a level playing field for our daughters and granddaughters. 
Again, I urge my Democratic colleagues to reconsider.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.