Text of US HB 9197 (2022)

I 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 9197 To prohibit the use of Federal funds to develop, implement, facilitate, or fund any sexually oriented program, event, or literature for children under the age of 10, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 18, 2022 Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. GOOD of Virginia, Mr. BABIN, Mr. DUNCAN, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. MULLIN, Mrs. BOEBERT, Mr. STEUBE, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. TAYLOR, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, Mr. GOODEN of Texas, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, Mr. WOMACK, Mr. MANN, Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania, Mr. C. SCOTT FRANKLIN of Florida, Mr. OWENS, Mr. ROSENDALE, Mr. FULCHER, Mr. TIFFANY, Ms. MALLIOTAKIS, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. CLYDE, Mr. GUEST, and Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris- diction of the committee concerned A BILL To prohibit the use of Federal funds to develop, implement, facilitate, or fund any sexually oriented program, event, or literature for children under the age of 10, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:46 Dec 12, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9197.IH H9197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 9197 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop the Sexualization 2 of Children Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) Certain school districts that receive Federal 6 grants have implemented sexual education for chil- 7 dren under 10 years of age. 8 (2) Many newly implemented sexual education 9 curriculums encourage discussions of sexuality, sex- 10 ual orientation, transgenderism, and gender ideology 11 as early as kindergarten. 12 (3) State and local library systems, museums, 13 and other educational institutions that receive Fed- 14 eral grants have purchased sexually oriented lit- 15 erature and materials that target preadolescent chil- 16 dren and teach them about concepts like masturba- 17 tion, pornography, sexual acts, and gender transi- 18 tion. 19 (4) Private organizations, State government 20 agencies, and local government agencies have made 21 use of Federal grants to host and promote sexually 22 oriented events like drag queen story hours and bur- 23 lesque shows. 24 (5) Federal agencies like the Department of 25 Defense have used Federal funds to promote and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:46 Dec 12, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9197.IH H9197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 9197 IH host burlesque shows and drag shows on Federal 1 property during family-oriented events. 2 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 3 It is the sense of Congress that— 4 (1) parents and legal guardians have the right 5 and responsibility to determine where, if, when, and 6 how their children are exposed to material of a sex- 7 ual nature; and 8 (2) Federal funds should not be used to expose 9 children under 10 years of age to sexually oriented 10 material. 11 SEC. 4. PROHIBITING THE PRESENTATION OF SEXUALLY 12 ORIENTED MATERIALS TO CHILDREN UNDER 13 THE AGE OF 10. 14 (a) FEDERAL FUNDS LIMITATION.—No Federal 15 funds may be made available to develop, implement, facili- 16 tate, or fund any sexually oriented program, event, or lit- 17 erature for children under the age of 10, including hosting 18 or promoting any program, event, or literature involving 19 sexually oriented material, or any program, event, or lit- 20 erature that exposes children under the age of 10 to nude 21 adults, individuals who are stripping, or lewd or lascivious 22 dancing. 23 (b) PROHIBITION AT FEDERAL FACILITIES.—A fed- 24 erally owned facility or property may not be used to host 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:46 Dec 12, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9197.IH H9197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 9197 IH or promote any sexually oriented program, event, or lit- 1 erature for children under the age of 10, including any 2 program, event, or literature listed in subsection (a). 3 (c) CIVIL ACTION.— 4 (1) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—A parent or 5 legal guardian of a child may bring a civil action for 6 injunctive relief in any Federal district court of ap- 7 propriate jurisdiction against a government official, 8 government agency, or private entity for a violation 9 of subsection (a) or subsection (b) by such an offi- 10 cial, agency, or entity if the child was— 11 (A) exposed to sexually oriented material 12 funded in part or in whole by Federal funds; 13 and 14 (B) under the age of 10 at the time that 15 such exposure occurred. 16 (2) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action 17 under this subsection may commence not later than 18 1 year after a violation occurs under subsection (a) 19 or (b). 20 (3) ATTORNEY’S FEES AND OTHER COSTS.—In 21 any action brought under this subsection, the court, 22 in its discretion, may award a prevailing plaintiff 23 reasonable attorney’s fees, expert witness fees, and 24 other costs of litigation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:46 Dec 12, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9197.IH H9197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 9197 IH (d) PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL FUNDS.— 1 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT.—The 2 head of a Federal agency may not disburse Federal 3 funds to any Federal program, State or local govern- 4 ment agency, or private entity for 3 fiscal years if 5 that entity receives 2 or more injunctions for viola- 6 tions of subsection (a) or (b) in a 5-year period. 7 (2) NOTIFICATION.—The appropriate head of a 8 Federal agency shall submit to a government agency 9 or private entity written notice of the prohibition on 10 the disbursement of Federal funds under paragraph 11 (1). 12 (3) APPEAL.—Not later than 30 days after re- 13 ceiving a notice pursuant to paragraph (2), a gov- 14 ernment agency or private entity may appeal a pro- 15 hibition on the disbursement of Federal funds under 16 paragraph (1) in an administrative hearing of the 17 appropriate agency. 18 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 19 (1) SEXUALLY ORIENTED MATERIAL.—The 20 term ‘‘sexually oriented material’’ means any depic- 21 tion, description, or simulation of sexual activity, 22 any lewd or lascivious depiction or description of 23 human genitals, or any topic involving gender iden- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:46 Dec 12, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9197.IH H9197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 9197 IH tity, gender dysphoria, transgenderism, sexual ori- 1 entation, or related subjects. 2 (2) STRIPPING.—The term ‘‘stripping’’ means 3 any act which involves the removal or simulated re- 4 moval of clothing in a sexual manner for the enter- 5 tainment of one or more individuals. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:46 Dec 12, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H9197.IH H9197 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS