Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz and ranking member Maria Cantwell on Monday said their chamber was “on the cusp” of passing legislation to broadly regulate college athletics, but the measure’s success is still unclear.
“To use a football analogy, I think we’re on the one-yard line,” Cruz (R-Texas) said at a joint press conference with Cantwell (D-Wash.) on the bill.
The duo wants to see an initial floor vote as soon as this week, but acknowledged it could get punted to next week. The legislation could be the most significant measure the chamber passes before the midterms, but it faces opposition despite Cruz and Cantwell’s latest negotiations to win bipartisan support.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune was less confident Monday about the future of the bill.
“We’ll see if we have 60 — I don’t know the answer for sure on that yet,” he told reporters.
Concerns from Republicans that the legislation would preempt states’ authority to regulate transgender athlete participation on women’s sports teams have been addressed with added bill language, Cruz said.
Still, some Republicans Monday expressed other doubts on the measure.
“I’m not a real fan of that bill,” Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said in an interview, calling the legislation “way too prescriptive.”
“I don’t think the federal government should be that involved,” he said.
And the Service Employees International Union and other labor and civil rights groups made a push Monday to oppose the bill, while Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) held a press conference with the AFL-CIO criticizing the measure.
“We’re going to do everything in our power — those of use who oppose this in the Senate — to ask our colleagues to step back and oppose moving this forward,” Murphy said, saying the current version would “preserve a system of exploitation that is damaging our athletes.”
At least one Senate Democratic aide with knowledge of ongoing negotiations granted anonymity to discuss private talks said the coalitions against the bill are only expanding despite the view presented by Cruz and Cantwell.
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