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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), the only former Division I woman athlete in Congress, spoke on the House floor in opposition to H.R. 28, House Republicans’ proposal to empower Washington to determine who gets to play sports at every level.

“I wish I was talking about a bill that will lower costs for hardworking families or help more Americans buy a home. You know, the issues that so many people told us mattered most in the ‘24 election,” Congresswoman Trahan said. “But instead, in just their second week of power, House Republicans have chosen to vote on a federal takeover of sports at all levels.”

CLICK HERE or the image below to watch Trahan’s full remarks.

H.R. 28 threatens to revoke federal funding from schools that allow transgender girls and women, including those as young as Kindergarteners, to play sports on girls’ and women’s teams, effectively banning their participation nationwide. The legislation provides no guidance on how to enforce the ban, leaving the door open to requirements that girls “prove” their gender when they are accused of not being girls.

“The consequences of that approach will be devastating. Girls as young as four years old being subjected to invasive lines of questioning about their bodies and even physical inspections by an adult, a stranger, a predator? All because some creep accuses them of not being a girl,” Congresswoman Trahan continued. “What parent would want to put their daughter through that? I know I wouldn’t.”

The President of the NCAA testified in December that fewer than 10 out of the 510,000 active college athletes are transgender, and last year, Republican Utah Governor Spencer Cox vetoed a similar state level ban citing the bill’s impact on just 4 out of Utah’s 75,000 high school athletes. H.R. 28 also makes no mention of steps already taken by sports governing bodies to update their rules to ensure fairness and safety in their respective sports. To date, the international authorities overseeing Track and Field, Boxing, Cycling, Swimming, and Rugby have crafted rules governing transgender athlete participation, including during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“Madam Speaker, we won’t be able to find common ground on this issue today. But this debate has made one thing abundantly clear: Members of Congress are the last people who should decide who gets to play sports in America,” Congresswoman Trahan concluded. “That responsibility belongs where it always has – to the organizations whose mission it is to protect the fairness, the safety, and the integrity of their sports.”

As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Trahan has championed efforts to strengthen girls’ and women’s sports across all levels of competition. Last February, she reintroduced the Fair Play for Women Act to close Title IX loopholes that deprive women and girls of athletic opportunities in college and K-12 sports. In November, Trahan led nearly 30 Democratic congresswomen in writing to the U.S. Secretary of Education requesting clarity on how Title IX applies to collegiate athlete pay, particularly if a federal judge approves the proposed settlement in the House, Hubbard, and Carter v. NCAA court cases.
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Congresswoman Lori Trahan

Remarks as Delivered

Floor Speech Opposing H.R. 28

January 14, 2025

Madam Speaker, House Republicans have a big vote planned for today. Now, I wish I was talking about a bill that will lower costs for hardworking families or help more Americans buy a home. You know, the issues that so many people told us mattered most in the ‘24 election. But instead, in just their second week of power, House Republicans have chosen to vote on a federal takeover of sports at all levels.

To justify this power grab, my colleagues across the aisle are preying on the legitimate concerns that some people have about transgender athletes in women’s sports. For the vast majority of those folks, many of them parents, their concerns don’t come from a place of hate. They come from a place of worry about the safety of their daughters and the fairness of their sport.

Now, as the only woman in Congress who played Division I sports in college, I know how critical it is that we ensure that sports are safe and fair above all else. It’s all any athlete wants – to know that if they put in the hard work and the training necessary, they’re going to have a fair shot on game day. And as the mom of two young daughters who I cheer on from the bleachers every weekend, I know that parents want their kids to be able to enjoy the game they love.

After all, we know how important sports can be to children’s development. They give the chance to build confidence, learn teamwork, and develop lifelong friendships. That’s why, like parents and athletes across our country, I have long placed my trust in the governing bodies of sports – the experts who have dedicated their lives to these games – to create fair and responsible rules for participation.

And despite what the authors of this legislation have said, many of those organizations have already updated their rules to ensure fairness and safety in their sports. That includes the international authorities overseeing Track and Field, Boxing, Cycling, Swimming, Rugby, just to name a few. These organizations – many led by former athletes – worked with scientists, athletic federations, human rights organizations to craft thoughtful, evidence-based rules, including those governing participation in the Paris Olympics last summer.

Don’t get me wrong, Madam Speaker – I recognize that there’s more work to be done. But why in the world would we let insincere, attention-seeking politicians here in Washington, many of whom know little to nothing about competitive sports, take over? It doesn’t make any sense. However, that’s exactly what my Republican colleagues are going to do today – inject themselves into decisions they have no business making.

In fact, if you listen to them, they would have you think that a transgender woman in college who may have transitioned after puberty and may present physical advantages over her opponent is the same as a ten-year-old girl who just wants to play soccer on the weekends with her friends. But those two situations aren’t the same at all, and the consequences of that approach will be devastating. Girls as young as four years old being subjected to invasive lines of questioning about their bodies and even physical inspections by an adult, a stranger, a predator? All because some creep accuses them of not being a girl.

What parent would want to put their daughter through that? I know I wouldn’t.

Madam Speaker, we won’t be able to find common ground on this issue today. But this debate has made one thing abundantly clear: Members of Congress are the last people who should decide who gets to play sports in America. That responsibility belongs where it always has – to the organizations whose mission it is to protect the fairness, the safety, and the integrity of their sports.

I urge my colleagues to vote no on the GOP’s Child Predator Empowerment Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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