{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://baumgartner.house.gov/2026/06/04/baumgartner-introduces-house-companion-to-bipartisan-protest-college-sports-act-of-2026/", "Baumgartner\u00a0Introduces\u00a0House Companion to Bipartisan\u00a0Protect\u00a0College Sports Act of 2026", "2026-06-04", "2026", "2026-06", "Republican", "House", "WA", "Michael Baumgartner", "B001322", "baumgartner.house.gov", "baumgartner", "https://baumgartner.house.gov/category/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Congressman Michael Baumgartner (WA-05), Chair of the Congressional College Sports Caucus, today introduced the House companion to the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act of 2026, following the introduction of the legislation in the Senate by Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA).\n\nThe legislation would establish a comprehensive federal framework to stabilize college athletics, preserve opportunities for student-athletes, and protect the future of women\u2019s and Olympic sports, smaller athletic programs, and historic rivalries. The bill comes as President Donald Trump endorsed the bill and called on Congress to act to address the growing instability in college sports.\n\n\u201cPresident Trump is right: college sports are at a breaking point, and Congress needs to act,\u201d said Congressman Baumgartner. \u201cI commend Senators Cruz and Cantwell for putting forward a serious bipartisan proposal that recognizes what is at stake. I am proud to introduce the House companion to this legislation today and look forward to working with my colleagues in both chambers to advance this bipartisan measure and save college sports.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe future of college sports cannot be reduced to a handful of wealthy programs building a second NFL while smaller schools, women\u2019s teams, Olympic sports, and historic rivalries, like the Apple Cup are left behind. We need to make sure the future of college sports works for WSU, Eastern, and Gonzaga too,\u201d Baumgartner continued. \u201cOur North Star should be preserving opportunities for America\u2019s sons and daughters to compete as student-athletes on college campuses across the country.\u201d\n\nThe Protect College Sports Act would address the rapidly changing landscape of college athletics by establishing clearer national rules for student-athlete compensation, strengthening protections for broad-based athletic participation, and promoting a more sustainable model for schools and conferences across the country.\n\nBaumgartner has made college sports reform a central priority in Congress. In addition to founding the Congressional College Sports Caucus, he has advocated for reforms that preserve broad-based participation, protect student-athletes, and prevent college athletics from becoming a professionalized system that serves only the wealthiest programs and conferences.\n\nFind Bill Text here.\n\nSection-by-section summary can be found here.", 1, "2026-06-10T06:36:00Z", "2026-06-11T06:41:07Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://baumgartner.house.gov/2026/06/04/baumgartner-introduces-house-companion-to-bipartisan-protest-college-sports-act-of-2026/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8482746779918671, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}