Text of US HB 2450 (2016)

I 114TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2450 To prohibit, as an unfair and deceptive act or practice, commercial sexual orientation conversion therapy, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 19, 2015 Mr. TED LIEU of California (for himself, Ms. PELOSI, Mrs. DAVIS of Cali- fornia, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. FARR, Mr. PETERS, Ms. HAHN, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. RUSH, Mr. WELCH, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. LEE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. POCAN, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GRI- JALVA, Mr. GUTIE´RREZ, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. SEAN PAT- RICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. RUIZ, Ms. SPEIER, and Mr. HONDA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To prohibit, as an unfair and deceptive act or practice, commercial sexual orientation conversion therapy, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Therapeutic Fraud 4 Prevention Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 May 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2450.IH H2450 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2450 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds that— 2 (1) being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or 3 gender nonconforming is not a disorder, disease, ill- 4 ness, deficiency, or shortcoming; 5 (2) the national community of professionals in 6 education, social work, health, mental health, and 7 counseling has determined that there is no scientif- 8 ically valid evidence for attempting to prevent a per- 9 son from being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, 10 or gender nonconforming; 11 (3) such professionals have determined that 12 there is no evidence that conversion therapy is effec- 13 tive or that an individual’s sexual orientation or gen- 14 der identity can be changed by conversion therapy; 15 (4) such professionals have also determined 16 that the potential risks of conversion therapy are not 17 only that it is ineffective, but also substantially dan- 18 gerous to an individuals’s mental and physical 19 health, and has been shown to contribute to depres- 20 sion, self-harm, low self-esteem, family rejection, and 21 suicide; and 22 (5) it is in the interest of the Nation to make 23 sure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 24 people and their families are not defrauded by per- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 May 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2450.IH H2450 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2450 IH sons seeking to profit by offering this harmful and 1 wholly ineffective therapy. 2 SEC. 3. UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS AND PRACTICES RE- 3 LATED TO CONVERSION THERAPY. 4 (a) UNLAWFUL CONDUCT.—It shall be unlawful for 5 any person to— 6 (1) provide conversion therapy to any individual 7 if such person receives monetary compensation in ex- 8 change for such services; or 9 (2) advertise for the provision of conversion 10 therapy where such advertising claims— 11 (A) to change another individual’s sexual 12 orientation or gender identity; 13 (B) to eliminate or reduce sexual or ro- 14 mantic attractions or feelings toward individ- 15 uals of the same gender; or 16 (C) that such efforts are harmless or with- 17 out risk to individuals receiving such therapy. 18 (b) VIOLATION OF RULE.—A violation of subsection 19 (a) shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an 20 unfair or deceptive act or practice prescribed under section 21 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 22 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 23 (c) POWERS OF COMMISSION.—The Commission shall 24 enforce this section in the same manner, by the same 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 May 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2450.IH H2450 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2450 IH means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties 1 as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Fed- 2 eral Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were 3 incorporated into and made a part of this Act. Any person 4 who violates subsection (a) shall be subject to the penalties 5 and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in 6 the Federal Trade Commission Act. 7 SEC. 4. CONVERSION THERAPY DEFINED. 8 The term ‘‘conversion therapy’’— 9 (1) means any practices or treatments by any 10 person that seek to change another individual’s sex- 11 ual orientation or gender identity, including efforts 12 to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to 13 eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or 14 feelings toward individuals of the same gender if 15 such person receives monetary compensation in ex- 16 change for such services; and 17 (2) does not include practices that— 18 (A) provide assistance to an individual un- 19 dergoing a gender transition, or 20 (B) provide acceptance, support, and un- 21 derstanding of clients or facilitation of clients’ 22 coping, social support, and identity exploration 23 and development, including sexual orientation- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 May 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2450.IH H2450 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2450 IH neutral interventions to prevent or address un- 1 lawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices, 2 so long as such efforts do not seek to change sexual 3 orientation or gender identity. 4 SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY. 5 If any provision of this Act, or the application of such 6 provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be un- 7 constitutional, the remainder of this Act, and its applica- 8 tion to any person or circumstance shall not be affected 9 thereby. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:10 May 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2450.IH H2450 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS