H.R. 6144: Male or Female Only Act
Sponsor
Ronny Jackson
Republican · TX-13
Bill Progress
Latest Action · Nov 19, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Federal forms would recognize only male or female
Why it matters
Every agency in the federal government — from the IRS to the passport office to the Census Bureau — would have 60 days to strip gender identity questions off its forms and remove any sex option besides male or female. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), also tells agencies to reject answers that don't fit those two boxes, even when someone fills them in voluntarily. It carries no funding and no penalties, and it's sitting in the House Oversight Committee with four Republican cosponsors.
H.R. 6144, the "Male or Female Only Act," is short and sweeping. In a single section, it tells the head of every federal agency how it can collect information about a person's sex on any form, survey, or document.
The rule has two halves. First, agencies can't ask for or accept information about a person's gender or gender identity, and they can't put any sex option on a form other than male or female. Second, if someone writes in a different answer anyway, the agency has to reject the response.
That second half is what makes the bill more than a forms redesign. It doesn't just remove the boxes — it instructs agencies to refuse answers that fall outside the two-option rule, even volunteered ones.
The clock is tight. Within 60 days of the bill becoming law, every agency would have to update all of its forms, surveys, and documents to comply. The text spells out no new money to do the work and names no fine or criminal penalty for getting it wrong.
Supporters frame this as setting a single, uniform federal standard for how sex is recorded. Critics argue it would erase gender identity data from federal records and prevent transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people from describing themselves accurately on government paperwork.
H.R. 6144 Bill Summary
What H.R. 6144 actually does.
Forms drop to two sex options
Agencies could not provide any option on a form, survey, or document to mark a person's sex as anything other than male or female.
No gender identity questions
Agencies could not solicit or obtain any information about a person's gender or gender identity through any collection of information.
Agencies must reject off-list answers
If a person states a gender identity, or a sex other than male or female, the agency is required to reject that response — even when the person offers it on their own.
60-day deadline to update everything
Within 60 days of enactment, every agency head would have to update all forms, surveys, and documents to comply. The bill sets no later transition period.
Applies across the whole government
The rule covers the head of any agency and any collection of information through a form, survey, or document, making it government-wide rather than limited to one program or department.
No funding, no penalty in the text
The bill names no appropriation to pay for the changes and no civil or criminal penalty for noncompliance. Enforcement is operational: remove the options, reject the responses.
Who benefits from H.R. 6144?
Lawmakers and officials who want a single federal standard
The bill replaces agency-by-agency practices with one rule: forms list only male or female, and gender identity questions come off entirely, with a single 60-day deadline to comply.
People who object to gender identity questions on federal paperwork
Agencies would be barred from asking about gender or gender identity, so those questions would have to be removed from every covered federal form and survey.
Who is affected by H.R. 6144?
Transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people
They could no longer record a gender identity or a sex other than male or female on covered federal forms, and agencies would be required to reject responses that do.
Every federal agency
Agency heads would have to review and rewrite all forms, surveys, and documents within 60 days, and set up a process to reject noncompliant answers — with no funding allocated for the work.
Federal statisticians and data teams
Agencies that currently collect gender identity data on surveys would have to stop, which changes long-running datasets used for research and program planning.
Anyone filling out a federal form
From passport applications to benefits paperwork, covered forms would show only male or female, and some volunteered answers would be thrown out rather than recorded.
HR6144 Legislative Journey
House: Committee Action
Nov 19, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
About the Sponsor
Ronny Jackson
Republican, Texas's 13th congressional district · 5 years in Congress
Committees: Foreign Affairs, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Armed Services
View full profile →
Cosponsors (4)
All 4 cosponsors are Republicans. Cosponsors represent 4 states: Alabama, Arizona, South Carolina, and 1 more.
Committee Sponsors
Oversight and Government Reform Committee
1 of 47 committee members cosponsored
25 Republicans across this committee haven't cosponsored yet. Mobilize their constituents
H.R. 6144 Quick Facts
- Committee
- Oversight and Government Reform
- Chamber
- House
- Policy
- Government Operations and Politics
- Introduced
- Nov 19, 2025
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Nov 19, 2025
Official Sources
Official Congress.gov page for the Male or Female Only Act, with bill text, status, and actions.
The federal government's official inventory of every information collection done through forms and surveys under the Paperwork Reduction Act — the exact category of collections the bill would govern.
The Census Bureau's directory of federal surveys is relevant because the bill's ban on gender identity questions would affect long-running statistical surveys that currently collect that data.
The IRS forms portal is a prominent example of the federal paperwork — like a tax return — that would have to be reviewed and updated under the bill's 60-day deadline.
The State Department's passport forms page is relevant because passport paperwork includes sex markers and would be a high-visibility form affected by the bill.
The SSA forms portal is relevant because the bill would require agencies government-wide to update their forms and documents within 60 days of enactment.
H.R. 6144 Common Questions
What would H.R. 6144 actually change on federal forms?
Federal forms, surveys, and documents could only offer male or female as sex options. Agencies couldn't ask about gender identity at all, and they couldn't list any third sex category.
How fast would agencies have to comply with the Male or Female Only Act?
Fast. Every federal agency would have 60 days after the bill becomes law to update all of its forms, surveys, and documents. The text sets no longer transition period.
Could you still write in your gender identity on a federal form?
No. The bill requires agencies to reject any response stating a gender identity or a sex other than male or female — even if you fill it in voluntarily.
Which federal agencies would the Male or Female Only Act cover?
All of them. The bill applies to the head of any federal agency that collects information through a form, survey, or document, making it government-wide.
Does H.R. 6144 only apply to surveys, or to all federal paperwork?
All of it. The rule covers any collection of information through a form, survey, or other document — not just statistical surveys.
Are there fines or criminal penalties in H.R. 6144?
No. The bill text names no fine and no criminal penalty. It works by ordering agencies to update their documents and reject answers that fall outside male or female.
Has H.R. 6144 become law?
No. It was introduced on November 19, 2025 and referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. It has four cosponsors, all Republicans, and no committee action yet.
Based on H.R. 6144 bill text
H.R. 6144 Bill Text
“To prohibit Federal agencies from providing on Federal forms, surveys, and documents, an option other than Male or Female to reference the sex of an individual, and for other purposes.”
Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office
Get notified when H.R. 6144 moves
Committee votes, floor action, cosponsor changes — straight to your inbox.
Bill alerts + Legisletter's monthly briefing. Unsubscribe anytime.
Government Operations and Politics Bills
9 related bills we're tracking
Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Feb 6, 2025
Rights for the TSA Workforce Act
Referred to the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security.
Mar 11, 2025
Fair Pay for Federal Contractors Act of 2025
Referred to the Committee on Appropriations, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Sep 30, 2025
SAVE America Act
Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Jan 30, 2026
SAVE Act
Received in the Senate.
Apr 10, 2025
Saving the Civil Service Act
ASSUMING FIRST SPONSORSHIP - Mr. Walkinshaw asked unanimous consent that he may hereafter be considered as the first sponsor of H.R. 492, a bill originally introduced by Representative Connolly, for the purpose of adding cosponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII. Agreed to without objection.
Sep 16, 2025
Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2025
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Aug 5, 2025
SHARE Act of 2025
Referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Mar 25, 2025
End Crypto Corruption Act of 2025
Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 71.
May 8, 2025
Trending Right Now
Bills gaining momentum across Congress
AADAPT Act
Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 48 - 0.
May 21, 2026
Life at Conception Act
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Jan 24, 2025
West Bank Violence Prevention Act of 2025
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Apr 28, 2025
Tracking Government Operations and Politics in Congress? Monitor bills, track cosponsor momentum, and launch advocacy campaigns — all from one advocacy platform.