Text of US HB 7421 (2026)

I 119TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7421 To amend title 36, United States Code, to provide that a national governing body shall have as an eligibility criteria related to participation in the Olympic Games, a requirement that an amateur athlete may only partici- pate in events corresponding to the sex of such athlete, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 9, 2026 Mr. CLOUD (for himself, Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, Mr. ROSE, Mrs. LUNA, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, Ms. TENNEY, Ms. BOEBERT, Mr. OWENS, Mr. MOORE of Utah, Mr. MOORE of Alabama, Ms. MACE, Mr. FINE, and Mr. HAMADEH of Arizona) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 36, United States Code, to provide that a national governing body shall have as an eligibility criteria related to participation in the Olympic Games, a requirement that an amateur athlete may only partici- pate in events corresponding to the sex of such athlete, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Feb 10, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7421.IH H7421 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 7421 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing Actual Fe- 2 male Events in Olympic Sports Act’’ or the ‘‘SAFE Olym- 3 pic Sports Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO PARTICIPATE IN EVENTS COR- 5 RESPONDING TO SEX OF ATHLETE IN THE 6 OLYMPIC GAMES. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 220522 of title 36, United 8 States Code, is amended— 9 (1) in paragraph (15), by inserting ‘‘except as 10 provided in paragraph (20),’’ before ‘‘does not have 11 eligibility criteria’’; 12 (2) in paragraph (18), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 13 end; 14 (3) in paragraph (19), by striking the period at 15 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 16 (4) by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(20) has as an eligibility criteria related to 18 participation in the Olympic Games, the Paralympic 19 Games, the Pan-American Games, the Parapan 20 American Games, or any other national, regional, 21 State, or local event or competition sanctioned by 22 such organization (including any national, regional, 23 State, any local division thereof), a requirement that 24 an amateur athlete may only participate in events 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Feb 10, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7421.IH H7421 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 7421 IH and competitions corresponding to the sex of such 1 athlete.’’. 2 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 220501(b) of title 36, 3 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 4 following: 5 ‘‘(12) ‘sex’ means a person’s immutable biologi- 6 cal classification as either male or female, as bio- 7 logically determined. 8 ‘‘(13) ‘male’ means a person belonging, at con- 9 ception, to the biological sex characterized by a re- 10 productive system with the biological function of 11 producing sperm. 12 ‘‘(14) ‘female’ means a person belonging, at 13 conception, to the biological sex characterized by the 14 reproductive system with the biological function of 15 producing eggs.’’. 16 SEC. 3. GRANTING SANCTIONS FOR AMATEUR ATHLETIC 17 COMPETITIONS. 18 220525 of title 36, United States Code, is amended 19 by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(c) CONTINUED SANCTIONING OF CERTAIN COM- 21 PETITIONS.— 22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to section 23 220522(20), for the sport that it governs, a national 24 governing body (including any national, regional, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Feb 10, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7421.IH H7421 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 7421 IH State, any local division thereof) shall continue sanc- 1 tioning an amateur athletic competition that— 2 ‘‘(A) meets the requirements to be sanc- 3 tioned under this section; 4 ‘‘(B) is solely for competition among males 5 or solely for competition among females; and 6 ‘‘(C) is a competition (or a successor to a 7 competition) that the national governing body 8 sanctioned during the 10-year period prior to 9 the date of enactment of this subsection. 10 ‘‘(2) CLARIFICATION FOR EVENTS PREVIOUS 11 SANCTIONED.—A national governing body may not 12 rescind the sanctioning or alter the competition cat- 13 egories related to the sex of the athletes (except to 14 comply with section 220522(20)) of any event de- 15 scribed in paragraph (1) that the national governing 16 body sanctioned prior to the date of enactment of 17 this subsection and that has not taken place as of 18 such date of enactment. 19 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This sub- 20 section may not be construed to prohibit a national 21 governing body from sanctioning an amateur athletic 22 competition that is for competition among males and 23 females.’’. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Feb 10, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7421.IH H7421 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB