Text of US SB 3438 (2023)

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 3438 To prohibit entities receiving Federal assistance that are involved in adoption or foster care placements from delaying or denying placements under certain conditions. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 7, 2023 Mr. COTTON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To prohibit entities receiving Federal assistance that are involved in adoption or foster care placements from de- laying or denying placements under certain conditions. 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 ‘‘Sensible Adoption For 4 Every Home Act’’ or the ‘‘SAFE Home Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:32 Dec 18, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3438.IS S3438 2 •S 3438 IS SEC. 2. STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT UNDER THE FEDERAL 1 FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION ASSISTANCE 2 PROGRAM. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a) of the Social Secu- 4 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is amended— 5 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 6 (36); 7 (2) by striking the period at the end of para- 8 graph (37) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(38)(A) prohibits any entity that receives Fed- 11 eral assistance and is involved in adoption or foster 12 care placements from delaying or denying the place- 13 ment of a minor child for adoption or into foster 14 care, or otherwise discriminating in making a place- 15 ment decision with a prospective or actual adoptive 16 or foster parent, for any of the following reasons— 17 ‘‘(i) the parent raises, cares for, and ad- 18 dresses a child in a manner consistent with the 19 child’s sex; 20 ‘‘(ii) the parent declines to consent to a 21 child receiving any medical, surgical, pharma- 22 cological, or psychological treatment or other 23 medical or mental health service for the purpose 24 of attempting to alter the appearance of, or to 25 validate a child’s perception of, the child’s sex, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:32 Dec 18, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3438.IS S3438 3 •S 3438 IS if the appearance or perception is inconsistent 1 with the child’s sex; or 2 ‘‘(iii) the parent declines to consent to an 3 amendment or alteration to a child’s birth cer- 4 tificate, passport, driver’s license, school 5 records, or other government-issued identifica- 6 tion document, if the amendment or alteration 7 is inconsistent with the child’s sex; and 8 ‘‘(B) for purposes of this paragraph, defines— 9 ‘‘(i) the term ‘sex’ as biological sex, either 10 male or female; 11 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘female’ as an individual who 12 has, had, will have, or but for a developmental 13 or genetic anomaly or historical accident would 14 have, a reproductive system that at some point 15 produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for fer- 16 tilization; and 17 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘male’ as an individual who 18 has, had, will have, or but for a developmental 19 or genetic anomaly or historical accident would 20 have, a reproductive system that at some point 21 produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for fer- 22 tilization.’’. 23 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:32 Dec 18, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3438.IS S3438 4 •S 3438 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by 1 this Act shall take effect on the 1st day of the 1st 2 fiscal quarter beginning on or after the date of the 3 enactment of this Act, and shall apply to payments 4 under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 5 for calendar quarters beginning on or after such 6 date. 7 (2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION 8 REQUIRED.—If the Secretary of Health and Human 9 Services determines that State legislation (other 10 than legislation appropriating funds) is required in 11 order for a State plan developed pursuant to part E 12 of title IV of the Social Security Act to meet the ad- 13 ditional requirements imposed by the amendments 14 made by this Act, the plan shall not be regarded as 15 failing to meet any of the additional requirements 16 before the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter begin- 17 ning after the first regular session of the State legis- 18 lature that begins after the date of the enactment of 19 this Act. For purposes of the preceding sentence, if 20 the State has a 2-year legislative session, each year 21 of the session is deemed to be a separate regular 22 session of the State legislature. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:32 Dec 18, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3438.IS S3438