{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/2026/8/blackburn-leads-colleagues-in-introducing-bill-to-permanently-restore-biological-sex-standard-in-title-ix", "Blackburn Leads Colleagues in Introducing Bill to Permanently Restore Biological Sex Standard in Title IX", "2026-08-04", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "TN", "Marsha Blackburn", "B001243", "www.blackburn.senate.gov", "blackburn", "https://www.blackburn.senate.gov/news/cc8c80c1-d564-4bbb-93a4-f1d772346ae0", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Jim Justice(R-W.Va.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) introduced the Title IX Clarification Act, which would ensure Title IX anti-discrimination requirements tied to federal education funding are based on biological sex and not \u201csexual orientation or gender identity:\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Biden administration weaponized Title IX to force women to compete with men in sports and allow men to invade women\u2019s spaces,\u201d said Senator Blackburn. \u201cThankfully, President Trump restored common sense in Title IX, and now Congress must codify these protections for women into law to prevent future abuse. The Title IX Clarification Act would ensure that common sense, not leftist ideology, governs federal education funding tied to Title IX requirements to protect young women.\u201d\n\n\u201cPresident Trump has taken decisive action through executive orders to protect young women on campuses across the country. Now, we must ensure these protections are codified into federal law,\u201d said Senator Britt. \u201cWe saw the Biden-Harris Administration cave to the woke mob and allow Title IX to be abused in ways that permitted biological men to infringe on girls\u2019 sports and spaces. We cannot let that happen again, and this legislation will restore regulatory clarity to ensure it does not.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve been blessed to spend many years coaching young ladies in West Virginia, and I can tell you this: they work their tails off and earn every opportunity they get. At the end of the day, they deserve a fair shot. That\u2019s exactly what the Title IX Clarification Act is about. It puts common sense back into the law, protects the opportunities Title IX was meant to guarantee, and stands up for our girls and young women. Fighting for our female athletes is a fight I\u2019ll take every single day,\u201d said Senator Justice.\n\n\u201cWe cannot allow the radical left\u2019s campaign to succeed in undermining Title IX protections. While far too many activists refuse to acknowledge the differences between biological men and women, I am proud to join Senator Blackburn and my colleagues in this common-sense effort to ensure women and girls continue to receive equal access to educational opportunities,\u201d said Senator Budd.\n\n\u201cEven after Idaho\u2019s historic win to keep men out of women\u2019s sports at the U.S. Supreme Court, the rights promised in Title IX remain under threat,\u201d said Senator Risch. \u201cThe Title IX Clarification Act further guards these protections, clearly defining the biological differences between men and women, so that generations of young girls can continue participating in sports and other educational opportunities on a level playing field.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe original intent of Title IX was to protect women\u2019s educational and athletic opportunities,\u201d said Senator Crapo. \u201cIn a recent decision on Idaho\u2019s first-in-the-nation law to ensure these opportunities do not go to biological males, the Supreme Court of the United States correctly ruled Title IX allows states to apply a biology-based understanding of maintaining separate sports categories. The Title IX Clarification Act preserves the existing framework of the law while making clear its protections are based on the biological definition of sex.\u201d\n\n\u201cTitle IX exists for a simple, obvious reason: women deserve their own spaces and proper protection under the law. That has been clear for all of human history, and we only need to clarify it now because of Democrats\u2019 radical gender ideology,\u201d said Senator Scott. \u201cI\u2019m grateful my daughters had Title IX protection; we shouldn\u2019t make it meaningless to appease the radical left. I\u2019m proud to join Senator Blackburn on this commonsense bill.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe need to protect fairness and opportunity for women. For 50 years, Title IX has leveled the playing field. Democrats continuously undermine these protections in their attempts to redefine biology. The Title IX Clarification Act would clearly define an individual\u2019s sex is based solely on biology. President Trump reaffirmed this commonsense reality by executive order and now Congress must codify these protections. Passing this bill would keep men out of women\u2019s sports, restrooms, and locker rooms,\u201dsaid Senator Ricketts.\n\n\u201cThe left is weaponizing their radical gender ideology to undermine Title IX, which goes against its entire purpose: to protect women and girls. It\u2019s critical we codify President Trump\u2019s Title IX protections and match biological reality rather than the left\u2019s dangerous gender identity beliefs. I\u2019m proud to work alongside Senator Blackburn to protect women\u2019s sports and set the record straight,\u201d said Senator Daines.\n\n\u201cBoys are boys, and girls are girls - it\u2019s common sense. Title IX was created to protect women and girls, and that\u2019s exactly what this bill does by making clear that federal law is rooted in biological reality - not political ideology. We owe it to current and future generations to ensure opportunities under Title IX are protected,\u201d said Senator Sheehy.\n\nHouse Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) led introduction of companion legislation in the House of Representatives. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) also co-sponsored this legislation.\n\nBACKGROUND\n\nFor more than 50 years, Title IX has protected equal educational opportunities by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex. In recent years, however, woke ideology has sought to redefine the law beyond Congress\u2019 original intent, creating uncertainty for schools and undermining protections for women and girls.\n\nAt the beginning of his second term, President Trump revoked a Biden-era Executive Order that directed the U.S. Secretary of Education to interpret Title IX anti-discrimination language \u201con the basis of sex\u201d to cover \u201cdiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.\u201d\n\nTITLE IX CLARIFICATION ACT\n\nThe Title IX Clarification Act would clarify that the term \u201csex\u201d refers only to an individual's biologically determined status as male or female where Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance.\n\nSpecifically, this legislation would:\n\nRestore Title IX's original meaning by affirming Congress\u2019 original intent to protect women's educational opportunities;\n\nAddress concerns raised by the Supreme Court during the January 2026 oral arguments regarding transgender participation in women's sports. During those arguments, Justice Neil Gorsuch noted that Congress has not clearly defined Title IX's requirements for states accepting federal funds and suggested that any departure from the historical understanding of \"sex\" as biological sex raises Spending Clause concerns unless Congress acts explicitly; and\n\nEstablish clear statutory definitions of \"male\" and \"female\" within Title IX, eliminating ambiguity and preventing taxpayer dollars from being used to support ideological redefinitions of sex.\n\nClick here for bill text.\n\nENDORSEMENTS\n\nThis legislation is supported by the Family Research Council (FRC); Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF); American Principles Project (APP); Family Policy Alliance (FPA); Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC); and Heritage Action.", 1, "2026-08-05T07:37:37Z", "2026-08-05T07:38:44Z"]], "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.blackburn.senate.gov/2026/8/blackburn-leads-colleagues-in-introducing-bill-to-permanently-restore-biological-sex-standard-in-title-ix"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3795099221169949, "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"}