{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.banks.senate.gov/news/press-releases/icymi-sen-banks-introduces-amendment-protecting-female-athletes/", "ICYMI: Sen. Banks Introduces Amendment Protecting Female Athletes", "2026-08-07", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "IN", "Jim Banks", "B001299", "www.banks.senate.gov", "banks", "https://www.banks.senate.gov/news/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Yesterday, Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) offered an amendment to the Protect College Sports Act alongside Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) that would prevent the legislation from preempting state laws protecting women\u2019s sports.\n\nSen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.): \u201cIndiana has one of the strongest laws in the country that keeps biological men from competing in women\u2019s sports. As a father of three daughters, I can\u2019t support and legislation that would preempt Indiana\u2019s law. This amendment would make sure the Protect College Sports Act protects female athletes.\n\nSee the Amendment featured on Fox & Friends:\n\nClick the image above for the full discussion.\n\nSee the Amendment featured on America Reports:\n\nClick the image above for the full discussion.\n\nAmendmentSummary:\n\nProtects state and local laws, regulations, rules, requirements, and standards that prohibit biological men from participating in women\u2019s intercollegiate sports from being preempted by federal law.\n\nBackground:\n\nIndiana has enacted protections for female athletes at every level of education. In 2022, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation to prohibit biological males from competing in girls\u2019 K-12 sports. In 2025, Governor Mike Braun signed a second law extending those protections to women\u2019s collegiate athletics.\n\nHere\u2019s what they\u2019re saying:\n\nTerry Schilling:\u201cThe NCAA has shown us time after time: without clear laws, it will always side with radical transgender ideology over female athletes. The PCSA, while well-intentioned, must protect all female athletes. A simple amendment, like the one just introduced by Sens. @HawleyMO, @Jim_Banks and @SenTuberville, will do just that.\u201d\n\nKristen Waggoner: \u201cURGENT: The current version of the Protect College Sports Act could jeopardize women\u2019s sports. Every Senator who cares about women\u2019s equal opportunity should act immediately to clarify that this bill does not preempt state laws protecting girls\u2019 sports.\u201d\n\nRiley Gaines: \u201cThe Protect College Sport Act protects the NCAA. The NCAA does NOT protect female athletes. Unless its amended, I do not support the Protect College Sports Act. There is no room for ambiguity.\u201d\n\nAlliance Defending Freedom: \u201cMomentum is growing to FIX the Protect College Sports Act and minimize its risk of being misused to challenge women\u2019s sports laws. We\u2019re grateful to our allies who publicly support a simple fix. We don\u2019t have to choose between protecting college sports and keeping women\u2019s sports for women. We can do both. Fix the PCSA.\u201d\n\nKevin Roberts: \u201cThis is 100% correct: we\u2019ve made way too much progress protecting female athletes from transgender ideology to backtrack now.\u201d\n\nSage Steele:\u201cFor those who understand the importance of protecting women\u2019s sports, please listen. And those politicians who SAY they want to protect women & girls, the vote you cast tomorrow will solidify that. PLEASE do the right thing!\u201d\n\nKim Shasby Jones: \u201cThe PCSA must be rock solid for female athletes if we are really serious about granting legal immunity power to the NCAA. Until women are protected, NO DEAL.\u201d\n\nJennifer Sey: \u201cIt sounds great to \u2018protect college sports\u2019. And it is. But the bill can\u2019t leave women out. And right now , the bill leaves an opening for the NCAA to run roughshod over female athletes. Fix it make sure women\u2019s sports are protected too.\u201d\n\nTina Descovitch: \u201cWe have to get this right!\u201d\n\nConcerned Women for America: \u201cThe Protect College Sports Act could undermine the ability of states to pass laws banning men from female athletics. Protecting female sports should not be negotiable. Congress should not attempt to fix the broader issues within college sports at the expense of female athletes.\u201d\n\nFox News Digital: Republican senators file amendment to stop college sports bill from overriding state women\u2019s sports laws\n\nOutkick: The \u201cProtect College Sports Act\u201d has a fatal flaw: it doesn\u2019t protect women \u2013 Riley Gaines\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-08T05:41:38Z", "2026-08-08T05:43:24Z"]], "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://www.banks.senate.gov/news/press-releases/icymi-sen-banks-introduces-amendment-protecting-female-athletes/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4354039449244738, "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"}