President Joe Biden. Photo via Biden’s Facebook.
The Biden-Harris administration issued a statement April 17 objecting to the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, HR 734, a bill by U.S. House Republicans that would categorically bar transgender student athletes from competing on teams consistent with their gender identity.
“If the president were presented with HR 734, he would veto it,” according to the statement, which argues the proposed legislation “targets people for who they are and therefore is discriminatory.”
HR 734 was introduced in February by U.S. Rep. Gregory Steube (R-Fla.) and marked up by the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee last month. Even if it passes the lower chamber, the measure is unlikely to reach President Joe Biden’s desk for a veto given Democrats’ majority control of the U.S. Senate.
“At a time when transgender youth already face a nationwide mental health crisis, with half of transgender youth in a recent survey saying they have seriously considered suicide, a national law that further stigmatizes these children is completely unnecessary, hurts families and students and would only put students at greater risk,” the administration wrote in the statement.
“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,” the statement says.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education unveiled a draft policy that would prohibit schools from issuing blanket bans on the participation of trans student athletes in school sports.
The policy provided for exceptions in certain circumstances, however, provided schools’ athletics eligibility criteria provides for the consideration of factors like differences between sports, grade levels and the levels of competition.
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