Mr. Speaker, it is disappointing but unsurprising that House Republicans have made it their top priority in their new Congress to pass a bill, H.R. 28, designed to generate headlines rather than solve actual problems. Mr. Speaker, I have spoken on the serious flaws in this bill several times, including last night in the Rules Committee, but it is worth noting that since the House last considered this bill, it has been altered with an increasingly ironic amendment. The amendment added mandatory imprisonment for people accused of assaulting a law enforcement officer.
H.R. 28: Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025
Introduced Jan 3, 202583 cosponsors
Sponsor
W. Steube
Republican · FL-17
Girls’ sports need a clear nationwide eligibility rule
3 min readLast updated November 6, 2026
Why it matters
Five opportunities are expressly protected: roster spots, practices or competitions, scholarships, school admission, and other athletic benefits. H.R. 28 would apply one birth-based eligibility standard to women’s and girls’ sports run by federally funded schools and organizations.
If enacted, H.R. 28 would bar federally funded schools and organizations from letting anyone the bill classifies as male compete in an athletic program designated for women or girls. Its definition of sex would rely solely on reproductive biology and genetics at birth.
The proposal does not specify an age or grade-level limit. It would reach recipients of federal financial assistance that operate, sponsor, or facilitate covered athletics, including activities offered because someone participates on a team.
For a transgender girl or woman classified as male under the bill’s standard, competition on a covered girls’ or women’s team would no longer be permitted. Training or practice could still be allowed, but only when no female athlete loses a roster spot, participation opportunity, scholarship, admission opportunity, or other athletic benefit.
The bill would also direct the Government Accountability Office to study the benefits of single-sex sports and document psychological, developmental, participation, and social harms that the bill associates with male participation in girls’ programs. It sets no deadline for that study or its report to Congress.
Bill Progress
IntroducedJan 3
Committee
Pass HouseJan 14
Pass Senate
Signed
Law
Latest Action · Jan 15, 2025
1/3
Passed the House, received in Senate
H.R. 28 Bill Summary
What H.R. 28 actually does.
1
Girls’ teams use a birth-based eligibility standard
Covered programs would determine sex solely from reproductive biology and genetics at birth when deciding who may compete in women’s or girls’ athletics.
2
Transgender girls are excluded from competition
A transgender girl or woman classified as male under the bill’s standard could not compete in a covered athletic program designated for women or girls.
3
Practice remains possible under strict conditions
Someone classified as male could train or practice with a women’s or girls’ program only when no female athlete loses any protected opportunity or benefit.
4
Five athletic opportunities receive explicit protection
The bill lists roster spots, practice or competition opportunities, scholarships, admission to an educational institution, and other benefits tied to athletic participation.
5
Federal auditors study effects on girls
The Government Accountability Office would examine benefits associated with single-sex sports and harms the bill attributes to male participation, then report to the House and Senate education committees. No deadline is provided.
Who benefits from H.R. 28?
Female athletes competing for limited team opportunities
Girls and women classified as female under the bill would receive explicit protection for roster spots and opportunities to practice or compete.
Students pursuing athletic scholarships
The bill would prevent a female athlete from losing a scholarship or scholarship opportunity because someone classified as male trains or practices with her program.
Applicants whose athletics may influence admission
Female athletes would also be protected from losing or being displaced from an educational admission opportunity tied to sports participation.
Who is affected by H.R. 28?
Transgender girls and women
Those classified as male through the bill’s birth-based standard could not compete in covered women’s or girls’ programs, regardless of gender identity. Limited training or practice could still be permitted.
Federally funded schools and athletic organizations
Public schools and other recipients of federal assistance would have to apply the new rule if they operate, sponsor, or facilitate athletics. The bill does not create a separate fine, but noncompliance would violate federal sex-discrimination rules.
Coaches and athletic administrators
They would need to apply the bill’s eligibility definition and determine whether any permitted practice arrangement costs a female athlete one of the five listed benefits.
Programs following different state or association rules
Covered programs would have to follow the federal standard even if their existing eligibility policies consider gender identity or use different participation criteria.
On the Record
What Congress Is Saying
15 legislators have weighed in on H.R. 28 — 5 Democrats, 10 Republicans.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent all North Dakotans in the United States House of Representatives. This is my first speech on the House floor, and I want to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about our State and what I hope to accomplish during the 119th Congress. North Dakotans are hardworking, independent, resourceful people who are dedicated to their faith, families, and communities. From Abercrombie to Zap, and every place in between, North Dakotans show up every day, regardless of rain, snow, or subzero temperatures. That is what I will do here.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today before you to reaffirm the House Republicans' efforts to empower and protect American women and girls. By passing legislation such as Congressman Greg Steube's Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, Congressman Mike Collins' Laken Riley Act, and Congresswoman Nancy Mace's Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, we address significant lapses in our justice, legal, and educational systems, and we push back against a radical left agenda that leaves our society in moral tatters.
H.R. 28 also appeared in 1 more House floor reference and 4 routine cosponsor filings.
HR28 Legislative Journey
Sent to Senate
Jan 15, 2025
Received in the Senate.
House: Passed 218-206
Jan 14, 2025
On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 218 - 206, 1 Present (Roll no. 12). (text: CR H126)
+10 more actions this day
House: Committee Action
Jan 3, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
About the Sponsor
W. Steube
Republican, Florida's 17th congressional district · 7 years in Congress
Committees: House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Ways and Means
View full profile →
Cosponsors (83)
No new cosponsors in 661 days — momentum stalled
All 83 cosponsors are Republicans. Cosponsors represent 33 states: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, and 30 more.
83Republicans·33 states
Tim Walberg
Republican · MI
Ron Estes
Republican · KS
Erin Houchin
Republican · IN
Brad Finstad
Republican · MN
Clay Higgins
Republican · LA
Russ Fulcher
Republican · ID
Nancy Mace
Republican · SC
Andrew Ogles
Republican · TN
Harriet Hageman
Republican · WY
Gus Bilirakis
Republican · FL
Dan Crenshaw
Republican · TX
Lance Gooden
Republican · TX
Committee Sponsors
Education and Workforce Committee
16D20R1I
|11 signed26 not yet11 of 37 committee members cosponsored
9 Republicans across this committee haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
What laws does H.R. 28 change?
1 changes
Sections Amended
Section 901 of Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681)
adding at the end the following: ``(d)(1) It shall be a violation of subsection (a) for a recipient of Federal financial assistance who operates, sponsors, or facilitates athletic programs or activities to permit a person whose sex is male to participate in an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls
H.R. 28 Quick Facts
Cosponsors
83
- Committee
- Education and Workforce
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Introduced
- Jan 3, 2025
Passed the House, received in Senate
Jan 15, 2025
Official Sources
H.R. 28 on Congress.gov
Congress.gov provides the official bill text, legislative actions, sponsors, committees, and current status of H.R. 28.
Official Engrossed Text of H.R. 28
GovInfo publishes the official House-passed text specifying the proposed eligibility rule, protected athletic benefits, and required GAO study.
Federal Title IX Athletics Regulation
The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations provides the existing federal Title IX regulation governing athletics at covered educational institutions.
Government Accountability Office: What GAO Does
H.R. 28 directs the Comptroller General, who leads GAO, to study participation in single-sex sports and report the results to Congress.
House Committee on Education and Workforce
H.R. 28 requires the GAO study report to be submitted to this House committee.
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
H.R. 28 requires the GAO study report to be submitted to the Senate committee responsible for education policy.
Congressional Research Service Overview of Title IX
This Congressional Research Service report provides legal background on Title IX and federal sex-discrimination requirements in education.
H.R. 28 Common Questions
Can transgender girls compete in girls’ sports under H.R. 28?
No, not in covered programs. H.R. 28 would bar anyone classified as male under its birth-based standard from competing in federally funded women’s or girls’ athletics.
Which schools and sports programs would H.R. 28 cover?
It would cover recipients of federal financial assistance that operate, sponsor, or facilitate athletics. That can include public schools and federally funded colleges or private institutions.
How would H.R. 28 define sex for athletic eligibility?
The bill would determine sex solely from reproductive biology and genetics at birth. It does not provide additional criteria or explain how schools would resolve disputed classifications.
Could male athletes practice with women’s teams under H.R. 28?
Yes, under limited conditions. Practice or training could occur only if no female athlete loses a roster spot, participation opportunity, scholarship, admission opportunity, or other benefit.
What five benefits would H.R. 28 protect?
The bill lists roster spots, practice or competition opportunities, scholarships, admission to an educational institution, and any other benefit accompanying athletic participation.
Does H.R. 28 apply to every age or grade level?
The bill sets no age or grade-level limit. Its rule would apply whenever a federally funded recipient operates, sponsors, or facilitates a covered women’s or girls’ athletic program.
What study would H.R. 28 require?
The Government Accountability Office would study benefits associated with single-sex sports and harms the bill attributes to male participation in girls’ programs. The bill sets no deadline.
Has H.R. 28 become law?
No. The House passed H.R. 28, and it was received in the Senate. It would still need Senate approval and the president’s signature to become law.
Based on H.R. 28 bill text
H.R. 28 Bill Text
“To amend the Education Amendments of 1972 to provide that for purposes of determining compliance with title IX of such Act in athletics, sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
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