Mark Pocan: “This is the third week that we are in the 119th Congress and the third week that no bill is before us to lower costs for…”

“This is the third week that we are in the 119th Congress and the third week that no bill is before us to lower costs for Americans. Instead, before us is a political attempt to divide us as a nation, stigmatizing some kids so some adults can get MAGA merit badges. The Republican Governor of Utah vetoed a similar piece of legislation after he shared that, of the 75,000 students in high school sports in Utah, only 4 were trans, and only 1 was a girl playing sports. He also mentioned the very real 86 percent of trans kids reporting suicidality due to things like adults stigmatizing kids for political gain. Instead, today, the proposed solution in search of an actual problem suggests we somehow ban girls from sports with some sort of process to determine who is a girl. Does this mean hiring potential predators to peek at the private parts of kids in locker rooms? That sounds like an actual problem to me. Creating a solution to a nonexistent problem by creating a problem instead of lowering costs for Americans is a sign of an ineffective congressional majority, at best. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote.”