Text of US HB 2802 (2015)

I 114TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2802 To prevent discriminatory treatment of any person on the basis of views held with respect to marriage. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 17, 2015 Mr. LABRADOR (for himself, Mr. COLLINS of Georgia, Mr. JONES, Mr. SES- SIONS, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. NEUGEBAUER, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. SANFORD, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. ROTHFUS, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. POMPEO, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. PITTENGER, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia, Mr. MARCH- ANT, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. JORDAN, Mr. PALMER, Mr. MEADOWS, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. HUELSKAMP, Mr. PITTS, Mr. GRAVES of Georgia, Mr. MIL- LER of Florida, Mr. GARRETT, Mr. FINCHER, Mr. SALMON, Mr. WEST- MORELAND, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. HARRIS, Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. FLEMING, Mr. KELLY of Penn- sylvania, Mr. BABIN, Mr. YOHO, Mr. CHAFFETZ, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. PALAZZO, Mr. CARTER of Texas, Mr. ROUZER, Mrs. BLACK, Mr. BRAT, Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mrs. LOVE, Mr. GOWDY, Mr. ADERHOLT, and Mr. STEWART) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To prevent discriminatory treatment of any person on the basis of views held with respect to marriage. VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:10 Jun 19, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2802.IH H2802 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2802 IH 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 ‘‘First Amendment De- 4 fense Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Leading legal scholars concur that conflicts 8 between same-sex marriage and religious liberty are 9 real and should be legislatively addressed. 10 (2) As the President stated in response to the 11 decision of the Supreme Court on the Defense of 12 Marriage Act in 2013, ‘‘Americans hold a wide 13 range of views’’ on the issue of same-sex marriage, 14 and ‘‘maintaining our Nation’s commitment to reli- 15 gious freedom’’ is ‘‘vital’’. 16 (3) Nevertheless, in 2015, when asked whether 17 a religious school could lose its tax-exempt status for 18 opposing same-sex marriage, the Solicitor General of 19 the United States represented to the United States 20 Supreme Court that ‘‘[i]t’s certainly going to be an 21 issue’’. 22 (4) Protecting religious freedom from Govern- 23 ment intrusion is a Government interest of the high- 24 est order. Legislatively enacted measures advance 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:10 Jun 19, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2802.IH H2802 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2802 IH this interest by remedying, deterring, and preventing 1 Government interference with religious exercise in a 2 way that complements the protections mandated by 3 the First Amendment to the Constitution of the 4 United States. 5 (5) Laws that protect the free exercise of reli- 6 gious beliefs and moral convictions about marriage 7 will encourage private citizens and institutions to 8 demonstrate tolerance for those beliefs and convic- 9 tions and therefore contribute to a more respectful, 10 diverse, and peaceful society. 11 SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF THE FREE EXERCISE OF RELI- 12 GIOUS BELIEFS AND MORAL CONVICTIONS. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi- 14 sion of law, the Federal Government shall not take any 15 discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially 16 on the basis that such person believes or acts in accord- 17 ance with a religious belief or moral conviction that mar- 18 riage is or should be recognized as the union of one man 19 and one woman, or that sexual relations are properly re- 20 served to such a marriage. 21 (b) DISCRIMINATORY ACTION DEFINED.—As used in 22 subsection (a), a discriminatory action means any action 23 taken by the Federal Government to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:10 Jun 19, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2802.IH H2802 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2802 IH (1) alter in any way the Federal tax treatment 1 of, or cause any tax, penalty, or payment to be as- 2 sessed against, or deny, delay, or revoke an exemp- 3 tion from taxation under section 501(a) of the Inter- 4 nal Revenue Code of 1986 of, any person referred to 5 in subsection (a); 6 (2) disallow a deduction for Federal tax pur- 7 poses of any charitable contribution made to or by 8 such person; 9 (3) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or oth- 10 erwise deny any Federal grant, contract, sub- 11 contract, cooperative agreement, loan, license, cer- 12 tification, accreditation, employment, or other simi- 13 lar position or status from or to such person; 14 (4) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or oth- 15 erwise deny any benefit under a Federal benefit pro- 16 gram from or to such person; or 17 (5) otherwise discriminate against such person. 18 (c) ACCREDITATION; LICENSURE; CERTIFICATION.— 19 The Federal Government shall consider accredited, li- 20 censed, or certified for purposes of Federal law any person 21 that would be accredited, licensed, or certified, respec- 22 tively, for such purposes but for a determination against 23 such person wholly or partially on the basis that the per- 24 son believes or acts in accordance with a religious belief 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:10 Jun 19, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2802.IH H2802 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2802 IH or moral conviction that marriage is or should be recog- 1 nized as the union of one man and one woman, or that 2 sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage. 3 SEC. 4. JUDICIAL RELIEF. 4 (a) CAUSE OF ACTION.—A person may assert an ac- 5 tual or threatened violation of this Act as a claim or de- 6 fense in a judicial or administrative proceeding and obtain 7 compensatory damages, injunctive relief, declaratory re- 8 lief, or any other appropriate relief against the Federal 9 Government. Standing to assert a claim or defense under 10 this section shall be governed by the general rules of 11 standing under Article III of the Constitution. 12 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES NOT REQUIRED.— 13 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an action 14 under this section may be commenced, and relief may be 15 granted, in a United States district court without regard 16 to whether the person commencing the action has sought 17 or exhausted available administrative remedies. 18 (c) ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—Section 722(b) of the Re- 19 vised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended by insert- 20 ing ‘‘the First Amendment Defense Act,’’ after ‘‘the Reli- 21 gious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 22 2000,’’. 23 (d) AUTHORITY OF UNITED STATES TO ENFORCE 24 THIS ACT.—The Attorney General may bring an action 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:10 Jun 19, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2802.IH H2802 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2802 IH for injunctive or declaratory relief against an independent 1 establishment described in section 104(1) of title 5, United 2 States Code, or an officer or employee of that independent 3 establishment, to enforce compliance with this Act. Noth- 4 ing in this subsection shall be construed to deny, impair, 5 or otherwise affect any right or authority of the Attorney 6 General, the United States, or any agency, officer, or em- 7 ployee of the United States, acting under any law other 8 than this subsection, to institute or intervene in any pro- 9 ceeding. 10 SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 11 (a) BROAD CONSTRUCTION.—This Act shall be con- 12 strued in favor of a broad protection of free exercise of 13 religious beliefs and moral convictions, to the maximum 14 extent permitted by the terms of this Act and the Con- 15 stitution. 16 (b) NO PREEMPTION, REPEAL, OR NARROW CON- 17 STRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to 18 preempt State law, or repeal Federal law, that is equally 19 or more protective of free exercise of religious beliefs and 20 moral convictions. Nothing in this Act shall be construed 21 to narrow the meaning or application of any State or Fed- 22 eral law protecting free exercise of religious beliefs and 23 moral convictions. Nothing in this Act shall be construed 24 to prevent the Federal Government from providing, either 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:10 Jun 19, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2802.IH H2802 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2802 IH directly or through a person not seeking protection under 1 this Act, any benefit or service authorized under Federal 2 law. 3 (c) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this Act or 4 any application of such provision to any person or cir- 5 cumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder 6 of this Act and the application of the provision to any 7 other person or circumstance shall not be affected. 8 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 9 In this Act: 10 (1) FEDERAL BENEFIT PROGRAM.—The term 11 ‘‘Federal benefit program’’ has the meaning given 12 that term in section 552a of title 5, United States 13 Code. 14 (2) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Fed- 15 eral Government’’ includes each authority of any 16 branch of the Government of the United States. 17 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means a per- 18 son as defined in section 1 of title 1, United States 19 Code, and includes any such person regardless of re- 20 ligious affiliation or lack thereof, and regardless of 21 for-profit or nonprofit status. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:10 Jun 19, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2802.IH H2802 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS