# What the Traditional Passport Act Actually Does

This bill would require the U.S. State Department to issue passports with only two gender options—"male" or "female"—and would prevent the government from issuing passports with any other gender designation. Currently, the State Department allows people to select their gender marker on their passport, and in recent years has expanded options to include designations beyond just male or female. This bill would eliminate that flexibility and lock passports into a binary system.

The practical impact would affect transgender and non-binary Americans who want their passport to reflect their gender identity. Under this bill, these individuals would be forced to have a gender marker on their official travel document that doesn't match how they identify. Since passports are required for international travel and are often used as primary identification documents, this would mean carrying government-issued ID that many people would find inaccurate or distressing. The bill also defines "biological gender" based on chromosomes, hormones, and reproductive anatomy present at birth, which would be the only basis the government could use when determining what gender marker to assign.

For most Americans, this bill would have little direct effect since the vast majority of people identify with the sex they were assigned at birth. However, for the transgender and non-binary population—estimated at around 1-2 million adults in the U.S.—this would represent a significant change that removes an option many have recently gained. The bill would essentially reverse recent policy changes that made passports more inclusive of diverse gender identities.

TPA Act

Lesko, Debbie

Traditional Passport Act or the TPA Act This bill requires the Department of State to only permit passport applicants to select a gender designation that matches their biological gender. In addition, the gender designation may only be either male or female. The bill defines biological gender as the biological classification of the applicant as of the male or female sex in the context of reproductive potential or capacity as indicated by sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, gonads, and nonambiguous internal and external genitalia present at birth.