Kentucky’s junior U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Bowling Green, and Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, have been joined by 28 other senators in the introduction of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports to preserve Title IX protections for female athletes.
Paul said for the past four years the Biden administration has taken a sledgehammer to Title IX through rulemaking at the Department of Education (ED). This legislation would reverse the harmful ED rule that forces schools to allow males to share private spaces with females and compete in women’s sports, or risk losing their funding.
Paul and Tuberville say this is expected to be the hallmark Senate Republican legislation in the 119th Congress related to preserving women’s sports.
“The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act reflects our commitment to women’s rights in sports,” Paul said. “This bill ensures that women have equal opportunities to compete and maintains the integrity of women’s sports.”
Tuberville added, “President Trump ran on the issue of saving women’s sports and won in a landslide. Seventy percent of Americans agree—men don’t belong in women’s sports or locker rooms. I have said many times that I think Title IX is one of the best things to come out of Washington. But in the last few years, it has been destroyed. While I’m glad that the Biden administration ultimately rescinded the proposed rule, Congress must ensure this never happens again.”
Specifically, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act:
- Ensures Title IX provisions treat gender as “recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
- Bans recipients of federal funding from operating, sponsoring, or facilitating athletic programs that permit a male to participate in a women’s sporting event.
The legislation is endorsed by Independent Women’s Voice, Concerned Women for America, and Heritage Action for America.
According to Tuberville’s office, he is working closely with President-elect Donald Trump to ensure there is fair competition under his administration.
With the new Senate under the authority of Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., Tuberville’s bill has gotten the proper blessing to move forward. A vote on the measure could come as soon as the end of the week.
Read the full text of the legislation HERE.
(Photo: Sen. Rand Paul, courtesy of NPR)
By Tom Latek, Kentucky Today
