College sports bill faces tough path in House
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Speaker Mike Johnson adjusts his glasses as he talks to reporters outside of his office at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 16. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The most significant congressional action on college sports in decades is about to hit a wall in the House of Representatives.
Why it matters: The House has already scrapped one major overhaul of college sports this Congress, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has a huge priority — government funding — to get passed during the lame-duck session.
- The Congressional Black Caucus is opposed over concerns about exploiting students of color, so Republicans can't count on the Democratic support they would need to quickly move the bill under suspension of the rules.
- Some conservative House Republicans want to add restrictions on foreign athletes — a change that would jeopardize the bipartisan coalition behind the measure in the Senate.
- The Senate bill also doesn't resolve the contentious question of whether college athletes should be considered employees: A group of Republicans has raised concerns that would leave the door open to possible unionization efforts by players.
Between the lines: Although Johnson (R-La) told reporters that he would bring the House back on 48 hours' notice if the Senate moved on any major legislation before the election, GOP leadership currently has no plans to do so to deal with the college sports bill.
- The fact that the sports bill is almost certain to cause drama on the floor is just one of the cons for GOP leadership to consider when weighing whether to bring lawmakers back from the campaign trail.
- "The last thing we need to do is campaign on sports when we need to do the SAVE [American] Act and cut spending," Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told reporters earlier this month before the House left for recess, adding that he has "concerns" about the bill.
An early return would also tee up a pre-election vote on Rep. Thomas Massie's privileged resolution to force a vote on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
- Lawmakers could also use a return to Washington to force action on other issues GOP leaders would rather not litigate in the final weeks of the campaign season.
Driving the news: The Senate voted 77-22 Monday to pass the college sports overhaul, which would set national rules on everything from name, image and likeness compensation and the transfer portal to conference realignment and pooled media rights.
- The bill allows the NCAA to set and enforce standardized rules on transfers, recruits and pay-for-play NIL arrangements.
- It also caps the amount schools can pay student athletes and aims to prevent the formation of a super league.
Flashback: House GOP leaders tried to bring their own college sports bill, the SCORE Act, to the floor in May, but pulled it after opposition from the CBC and a handful of Republicans left them short of the needed votes.
- The bill was a top priority for Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), but its collapse shifted the action to the Senate, where lawmakers negotiated their own bipartisan version.
What's next: The House isn't scheduled to return until after Election Day, leaving a narrow window to get the bill across the finish line.
- And lame-duck sessions are typically a tricky time for moving any major bills.
- But Trump, who has publicly backed the legislation, could put pressure on House Republicans to act in November or December.
