WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) spoke on the Senate floor about the SAVE America Act ahead of the Senate’s vote on her amendment with Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) to prohibit school athletic programs from allowing biological males to participate in programs that are for women and girls and make President Trump’s efforts permanent. Every single Senate Democrat voted to block her amendment. Watch Senator Blackburn’s remarks here.

Click here to download Senator Blackburn’s remarks.

EXCERPTS OF REMARKS

Blackburn Excoriates Democrats for Voting Against Common-Sense Provisions to Secure Elections

“The American people are learning quite a bit about the Democratic members of the Senate and the Republican members of the Senate as we go through this debate on the SAVE America Act.”

“Voter I.D. is something that makes sense because the American people are accustomed to verifying to individuals that they are, indeed, who they claim to be. But our friends across the aisle only here in this chamber are saying, ‘Oh, we can't vote for that.’”

“71% of all Democrats, 85% of all Independents, and over 95% of all Republicans agree voter I.D. is a good idea.” 

“We also see the same type of numbers when it comes to the other common-sense provision, that if you are going to vote in a U.S. election, you really ought to be a U.S. Citizen. That makes sense to people.”

“They know that when they travel to other countries, they don't vote in those elections, even if they're there on an election day.”

“Our friends across the aisle want to make it easy to cheat. They want to allow individuals that are illegally in the country or people that are here on a visa or people that are here as permanent residents or people that are touring our country to show up at a poll, grab a ballot, give an address, and cast that ballot because in 12 states in this country, you can vote without showing anything when you go to the polls.”

“To the American people are watching and observing and learning… they think [Democrats have] lost their ever-loving minds that they will not support voter I.D. and being a citizen of the nation in order to cast a vote.” 

Blackburn Amendment Would Make President Trump’s Efforts to Protect Girls in Sports Permanent

“Now, there is another provision that I want to call attention to… this is protecting girls in sports.” 

“50 years ago, when title IX came to be, we only had about 300,000 college and high school female athletes that were competing. Today that number is over three million.” 

“I know many of us are watching March Madness and the talented young women that are playing in this tournament. We love cheering for them. We love watching them excel and succeed. We love it when we are watching college sports, and we see young women who have come together, who have formed a team, who have built that camaraderie and know how to compete as a team.”

“[Democrats have] decided they no longer support women. They can't even define the word woman.” 

“They want to tear down title IX, which has opened doors of opportunity for young women.”

“Thank goodness President Donald Trump has tried to chase away some of the adverse actions against title IX that were carried out during the Biden administration when opportunities for young women and girls were lost, when women would be forced to share a locker room with guys because the guy decided he was going to claim to be a female so he could compete.”

“The guy couldn't win in the guys' category, so they claimed to be women.”

“That is disgusting, absolutely disgusting, but our friends across the aisle support that.”

“In just a few moments, Senator Tuberville and I are going to push to pass the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.”

“We're doing this as part of the SAVE America Act because it's another of these issues that you've got 80% of the American people, 90%, 70% of the American people that are for this.”

“I am asked regularly by Tennesseans… ‘When are you going to codify this and put it into law so that it will have the force of law behind it?’” 

“So, today when it comes to protecting women in sports to making certain men cannot compete in women's sports, when it comes to affirming biological reality, we are going to take that vote.”

“To my friends across the aisle… I would encourage them -- choose today to honor women.”

“Choose today to stand with women.”

“Choose today to support so many young women that absolutely want to be able to compete.”