Congresswoman Bonamici Leads Opposition to Republican’s “Child Predator Empower Act”
WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) spoke on the House floor in opposition to H.R. 28, the Republican’s “Child Predator Empowerment Act.” This bill would not make school sports more fair or safe by banning transgender women and girls—as young as kindergarten—from participating on school sports teams with their friends. Moreover, the bill would endanger women and girls by requiring girls to “prove their gender.”
Watch Congresswoman Bonamici’s floor remarks on YouTube.
“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today in strong opposition to the so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, a bill that will actually do the opposite and make sports more dangerous for women and girls. In fact, this bill will empower child predators, putting students across the country at increased risk.
“This bill is a “one size fits all” approach that would apply equally to every sport from K-12 schools to colleges. Currently schools, parents, and communities manage youth sports leagues and write rules about who can participate in different sports at different levels. Many states, schools, and athletic associations across the country have allowed equal participation for transgender athletes for years and it’s working just fine.
“This legislation would revoke all federal funding from schools that include transgender students on girls’ and women’s sports teams. This is damaging and discriminatory to transgender students, who benefit, as all students do, from participating in school sports, and also damaging to the entire school that’s threatened because federal funding benefits all students.
“Keep in mind, colleagues, that as of last month, of the approximately 510,000 athletes who play at the NCAA level – 10 are transgender. Not 10,000. Ten. Out of 510,000.
“Transgender students — like all students — they deserve the same opportunity as their peers to learn teamwork, to find belonging, and to grow into well-rounded adults through sports. Childhood and adolescence are important times for growth and development, and sports help students form healthy habits and develop strong social and emotional skills. Sports provide meaningful opportunities for kids to feel confident in themselves and learn valuable life lessons about teamwork, leadership, and communication. Teams provide a place for kids to make friends and build relationships.
“Yet my colleagues across the aisle want to take these opportunities away from certain children; that’s discriminatory and it’s wrong.
“My colleagues are apparently so afraid of people who are different from them that they’ve manufactured false and dangerous presumptions based on outdated stereotypes about transgender people, especially transgender women and girls.
“Additionally, there is no way this so called “protection” bill could be enforced without opening the door to harassment and privacy violations. It opens the door to inspection, not protection, of women and girls in sports. Will students have to undergo exams to “prove” they’re a girl? We are already seeing examples of harassment and questioning of girls who may not conform to stereotypical feminine roles; will they be subject to demands for medical tests and private information? That’s intrusive, offensive, and unacceptable, especially from a party of limited government.
“I want to be very clear, there are real problems harming women and girls in sports, but transgender students are not why. Today, we should be working to solve the real, pervasive problems in athletics that deter women and girls from participating, including sexual harassment and assault, lack of equal resources, and pay inequality.
“We should be working on those issues, and also on the issues that improve the lives of the people we represent back home, like increasing access to affordable health care and housing, lowering costs for everyday Americans, and fighting the climate crisis.
“But instead, here we are again. We’ve seen this time and time again—Republicans fearmonger about the trans community to divert attention from the fact that they have no real solutions to help everyday Americans with the pressing problems they face.
“We must not discriminate against kids because of who they are. Transgender youth already face high hurdles, and research shows that this type of discriminatory policy is associated with declines in mental health and higher suicide risk among already threatened LGBTQI+ youth. We don't need adults in Congress making things worse.
“As Republican Governor Spencer Cox from Utah said in his veto statement of a similar bill, "When in doubt, however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy, and compassion.
“So should we all. I reserve the balance of my time.”
Read a fact sheet on H.R. 28, Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, here.
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