April 17 (UPI) — Any federal legislation prohibiting transgender women and girls from competing on female sports teams will be vetoed if it makes it to President Joe Biden‘s desk, the White House confirmed Monday.
“The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 734,” the White House said in a statement Monday.
“If the President were presented with H.R. 734, he would veto it.”
Known as the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, the legislation would prohibit transgender students from participating on female sports teams, altering Title IX legislation to limit participation to a team “based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., is the bill’s sponsor and has twice before attempted to move similar legislation forward.
If passed by the Republican-controlled House, it is doubtful the legislation would make it through the Democrat-run Senate.
“For students nationwide, participating in sports and being part of a team is an important part of growing up, staying engaged in school, and learning leadership and life skills,” the White House statement reads.
“H.R. 734 would deny access to sports for many families by establishing an absolute ban on transgender students — even those as young as elementary schoolers — playing on a team consistent with their gender identity.”
“At a time when transgender youth already face a nationwide mental health crisis, with half of transgender youth in a recent survey saying they have seriously considered suicide, a national law that further stigmatizes these children is completely unnecessary, hurts families and students, and would only put students at greater risk.”
Last week, dozens of U.S. athletes sent an open letter urging lawmakers to oppose Steube’s legislation.
“We must Save Women’s Sports!,” Steube Tweeted Friday.
The Education Department said earlier this month, it is working to establish a new framework for developing eligibility criteria for transgender athletes participating in school sports.
Monday’s statement touched on that initiative.
“Schools, coaches, and athletic associations around the country are already working with families to develop participation rules that are fair and that take into account particular sports, grade levels, and levels of competition. As a national ban that does not account for competitiveness or grade level, H.R. 734 targets people for who they are and therefore is discriminatory,” the White House said in the statement.
The House Rules Committee is set to discuss the bill during a session Monday afternoon.
Twenty states have already moved to pass similar legislation, most recently Kansas.