Nominations

Floor Speech

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Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, today I want to talk about the real March madness that we are having this month, moments about basketball and the tournament, but I want to talk about the madness of attacking title IX, attacking women's sports, and attacking women in general.

Last night marked the beginning of the 2022 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championship. Instead of celebrating the many hard-working women who earned their spot in the championship, I expect much of the media attention to be around a singular competitor--a transgender athlete who competed as a male as recently as 2019.

But the discussion should not be about inclusivity; it should be about fairness. I have spoken about this issue before and, last March, actually forced a vote on the amendment that would have prevented Federal funds from going to educational institutions that allowed biological males to compete in women's athletics.

Unfortunately, colleagues on the left were more interested in pandering to the far left than they were in protecting the ability for girls and women to participate in fair--and I repeat, fair-- competition. They refused to support my amendment.

And I would argue that by allowing biological males to complete in women's athletics, Democrats have set serious efforts for women's equality back by decades. And, ultimately, this will have the effect of discouraging many, many, many young women from participating in sports.

In a recent article, two parents of a current collegiate athlete said:

I think the NCAA needs to change its policies, and find a way to include transgender women without trampling all over biological women.

I agree.

Well, the NCAA has been silent. They have failed to take decisive action in ensuring a level playing field for all of women.

And so now Congress must act to do so. This is why I joined Senator Mike Lee and 16 fellow colleagues in introducing the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2021. This is critical legislation that would make it a violation--a violation--of title IX for a recipient of related Federal funds to permit a biological male from participating in an athletic program or activity designated for women and girls.

The bill would also establish the definition of ``sex'' in title IX as based ``solely on a person's reproductive biology and genetics at birth.''

It is imperative for Congress to act so that an entire generation of women aren't discouraged from pursuing their athletic dreams, whether on the field, whether on the court, or whether in the swimming pool.

As some of the most talented female swimmers in the country prepare to compete over the next few days, it would be wrong not to call out the inherent unfairness in allowing a biological male to participate in several women's events.

Penn's transgender athlete will compete in the women's 100-, 200-, and 500-yard freestyle events. Just a few short years ago, this athlete was competing in men's collegiate swimming events.

Since being allowed to switch, this swimmer has shattered--and I mean completely shattered--records in women's events.

In December, at the Zippy Invitational, this athlete set new national and school records in the 1,650-, the 500-, and the 200-yard freestyle events and continues to dominate the competition.

At the invitational, this swimmer won the 1,650-yard freestyle with a new record time of 15:59.71. The second-place swimmer finished 38 seconds later.

At the Ivy League Championships last month, this swimmer broke the 200-yard freestyle record of 1 minute and 43 seconds, beating out the last record by over a half a second, and the pool record was beat by 2 seconds.

Having been a coach for 40 years, I can attest more so than anyone in Congress that there are fundamental differences between men and women when it comes to sports. But you don't have to take my word for it. A recent study concludes that ``on average, males have (1) 40-50 percent greater upper limb strength, (2) 20-40 percent greater lower limb strength, and (3) an average of 12 pounds more skeletal muscle mass than age-matched females at any given body weight.''

Lungs are bigger; heart is bigger. Competing in swimming, in the women's swimming division, has given this Penn athlete an unfair advantage that no one else in the field can overcome.

Some have been too afraid to speak up, fearing they will be sacrificed at the altar of political correctness, or that they will be canceled if they say it is unfair for a biological male to compete against a biological female, or that they will be shunned if they don't embrace inclusivity over fairness.

But some have already bravely voiced their opinion.

The advocacy organizations Champion Women and Women's Sports Policy Working Group released dual petitions on Tuesday with over 5,000 signatures, asking for policymakers to prioritize ``fairness and safety for females'' instead of ``blanket transgender inclusion or exclusion'' in women's sports.

The petitions were organized by three-time Olympic gold medalist, and the founder of Champion Women, Nancy Hogshead. According to Champion Women, the petitions were signed by nearly 300 Olympians, Paralympians, and U.S. national team members, as well as over 2,500 athletes who have competed at the high school, club, or collegiate levels.

This is why Congress must act to pass the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2021.

Allowing biological males to compete in women's athletics threatens-- threatens--to undo all progress that has been made under title IX.

Title IX has provided women and girls the long-denied platform that had always been afforded just to men and boys. It ensures female athletes had the same access to funding, facilities, and athletic scholarships. Before title IX, female athletes received less than 2 percent of the college athletic budget--only 2 percent--and athletic scholarships for women were virtually nonexistent.

And since the 1970s, when I first started coaching, female participation at the college level has risen by more than 600 percent.

So this week, the NCAA championship will once again emphasize that the debate is not limited just to the Halls of Congress, but one that we are seeing play out across the country.

It is an undeniable fact that biological males have a physiological advantage over females--a fact. So let me be clear: The question here is not should we be inclusive and supportive of all athletes; it is how.

The first step the Senate can take to address the wrong that the NCAA has allowed to happen is to pass S. 251.

There is an attack on women's sports. In the long run, there is an attack on women in this country. It has to stop, and it has to stop now.

So I ask my colleagues to stand up for America's female athletes and women all throughout this country and support these efforts to preserve women's sports.

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