On Monday, the White House confirmed President Joe Biden plans to veto a bill that would prevent biological males from participating in women’s sports if it passes both houses of Congress.
H.R. 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, was introduced by Republican Greg Steube of Florida and is expected to be brought for a vote on the floor of the House sometime this week.
“The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 734,” said the White House in a statement. “For students nationwide, participating in sports and being part of a team is an important part of growing up, staying engaged in school, and learning leadership and life skills. H.R. 734 would deny access to sports for many families by establishing an absolute ban on transgender students — even as young as elementary schoolers — playing on a team consistent with their gender identity.”
“Schools, coaches, and athletic associations around the country are already working with families to develop participation rules that are fair and that take into account particular sports, grade levels, and levels of competition. As a national ban that does not account for competitiveness or grade level, H.R. 734 targets people for who they are and therefore is discriminatory,” said the White House.
The administration accused politicians of dictating a “one-size-fits-all requirement that forces coaches to remove kids from their teams.” It argued that youth who identify as transgender across the U.S. is already facing a mental health crisis.
It also claimed that such a law “hurts families and students” and was “unnecessary.”
“Discrimination has no place in our nation’s schools or on our playing fields. Instead of addressing the pressing issues that families and students face today — such as raising teacher pay, keeping guns out of schools, addressing the mental health crisis our youth face, and helping students learn and recover academically from unprecedented disruptions — Congressional Republicans have instead chosen to prioritize policies that discriminate against children,” said the White House.
“If the President were presented with H.R. 734, he would veto it,” it added.
H.R. 734 would ban institutions that receive Title IX funding from allowing a biological male to compete against women or girls
Under the bill, educational institutions that receive Title IX funding from the federal government could not “permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designed for women or girls.”
The bill says the athlete’s sex is only recognized by their “reproductive biology and genetics and birth.” The legislation would also permit transgender female athletes to practice or train in a girls’ athletic program only if no biological female is deprived of a spot on the roster.
Dems have made it clear that all or most of them will oppose the bill on the floor. The House Education and Workforce Committee approved the legislation by a 25-17 vote, with every GOP member voting for it and only Democrats opposing it.
