Text of US SR 766 (2026)

III 119TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. RES. 766 Acknowledging and apologizing for the mistreatment of, and discrimination against, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals who served the United States in the uniformed services, the Foreign Service, and the Federal civil service and committing to the pursuit of equal rights, protections, and respect for all LGBT servicemembers and Federal civil servants. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 11, 2026 Mr. KAINE (for himself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. COONS, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. FETTERMAN, Mr. GALLEGO, Mrs. GILLI- BRAND, Mr. KING, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. SCHIFF, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. WYDEN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs RESOLUTION Acknowledging and apologizing for the mistreatment of, and discrimination against, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals who served the United States in the uniformed services, the Foreign Service, and the Federal civil service and committing to the pursuit of equal rights, protections, and respect for all LGBT servicemembers and Federal civil servants. Whereas the Federal Government discriminated against and terminated hundreds of thousands of lesbian, gay, bisex- ual, and transgender (referred to in this preamble as VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Jun 12, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR766.IS SR766 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 •SRES 766 IS ‘‘LGBT’’) individuals who served the United States in the uniformed services, the Foreign Service, and the Fed- eral civil service (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘civilian employees’’) for decades, causing untold harm to those individuals professionally, financially, socially, and medi- cally, among other harms; Whereas Congress enacted legislation, led oversight hearings, and issued reports and public pronouncements against LGBT military service members, Foreign Service mem- bers, and civilian employees; Whereas the policy that led to the discharge and systematic screening of gay, lesbian, and bisexual military service members was codified in a 1949 decree by the newly con- solidated Department of Defense, which mandated that ‘‘homosexual personnel, irrespective of sex, should not be permitted to serve in any branch of the Armed Forces in any capacity and prompt separation of known homo- sexuals from the Armed Forces is mandatory’’; Whereas the Federal Government maintained policies to drive hundreds of thousands of LGBT military service mem- bers, who honorably served the United States in uniform, including many who were fighting in wars around the world, from its military ranks; Whereas, in 1993, Congress enacted the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (Public Law 103–160; 107 Stat. 1547), which contained the so-called ‘‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’’ policy that prohibited lesbian, gay, and bisexual military service members from dis- closing their sexual orientation while they served in the Armed Forces; VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Jun 12, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR766.IS SR766 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 •SRES 766 IS Whereas, despite the ‘‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’’ policy, LGBT military service members continued to be investigated and discharged solely on the basis of the sexual orienta- tion of those military service members; Whereas historians have estimated that at least 100,000 mili- tary service members were forced out of the uniformed services between World War II and 2011 simply for being LGBT, while countless others were forced to hide their identities and live in fear while serving, with many being denied access to the benefits granted to honorably dis- charged veterans; Whereas, although the ‘‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’’ policy was in- tended to allow qualified citizens to serve in the Armed Forces regardless of their sexual orientation, the policy was inherently discriminatory against LGBT military service members because it prohibited those service mem- bers from disclosing their sexual orientation; Whereas, with the enactment of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 (10 U.S.C. 654 note; Public Law 111–321), Congress joined military leaders in acknowl- edging that lesbian, gay, and bisexual military service members serve the United States just as bravely and well as other military service members; Whereas the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 (10 U.S.C. 654 note; Public Law 111–321) and the 2016 pol- icy shift of the Department of Defense, which permitted transgender individuals to enlist and openly serve in the Armed Forces, made the Armed Forces stronger and more effective; Whereas, in 2023, 12 years after the repeal of the ‘‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’’ policy, the Department of Defense an- VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Jun 12, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR766.IS SR766 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 •SRES 766 IS nounced a proactive review initiative to identify veterans discharged due to their sexual orientation and assess whether an upgrade in discharge is warranted; Whereas military leaders have likewise acknowledged that, in addition to lesbian, gay, and bisexual military service members, transgender service members also serve the United States just as bravely and well as other service members; Whereas, under the pressures of the Cold War, and at the instigation and direction of Congress, the Federal Gov- ernment also pursued anti-LGBT policies, which resulted in tens of thousands of LGBT civilian employees being terminated; Whereas the Department of State began investigations into employees for alleged homosexual activity as early as the 1940s; Whereas following the targeting of gay employees in the De- partment of State by Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1950, the Senate held hearings on ‘‘The Employment of Homo- sexuals and other Sex Perverts in the Government’’, which— (1) led to the issuance of a widely read report that falsely asserted that gay people posed a security risk be- cause they could be easily blackmailed; and (2) found that gay people were unsuitable employees because ‘‘one homosexual can pollute a Government of- fice’’; Whereas, in response to allegations against gay people made by Senator McCarthy, the Department of State increased its persecution of lesbian, gay, and bisexual employees; VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Jun 12, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR766.IS SR766 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 •SRES 766 IS Whereas more than 1,000 Department of State employees were dismissed due to their sexual orientation, and many more individuals were prevented from joining the Depart- ment of State due to discriminatory hiring practices; Whereas thousands of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals served honorably in the Department of State as Foreign Service officers, Foreign Service specialists, civil servants, and contractors, upholding the values, and advancing the interests, of the United States even as the country dis- criminated against them; Whereas the effort to purge gay and lesbian employees from the Federal Government was codified in 1953 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10450 (18 Fed. Reg. 2489), which— (1) defined ‘‘perversion’’ as a security threat; and (2) mandated that every civilian employee and con- tractor pass a security clearance; Whereas, over many decades, the Federal Government, led by security officials in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Civil Service Commission (referred to in this pre- amble as the ‘‘CSC’’), and nearly every other agency of the Federal Government, investigated, harassed, interro- gated, and terminated thousands of lesbian, gay, and bi- sexual civilian employees for no other reason than the sexual orientation of those employees; Whereas these discriminatory policies by the Federal Govern- ment, the largest employer in the United States, encour- aged similar efforts at the State and local level, particu- larly in higher education and the private sector; VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Jun 12, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR766.IS SR766 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 •SRES 766 IS Whereas, in 1969, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in Norton v. Macy, 417 F.2d 1161 (1969) that— (1) ‘‘homosexual conduct’’ may never be the sole cause for dismissal of a protected civilian employee; and (2) the potential embarrassment stemming from the private conduct of a civilian employee may not affect the efficiency of the Federal civil service; Whereas, despite the decision in Norton v. Macy, the CSC continued its efforts to rid the Federal Government of gay, lesbian, and bisexual employees until 1973, when the United States District Court for the Northern District of California ruled in Society for Individual Rights, Inc. v. Hampton, 63 F.R.D. 399 (1973) that the exclusion or discharge from Federal civil service of any lesbian, gay, or bisexual person because of prejudice was prohibited; Whereas many Federal Government agencies, including the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agen- cy, and the Department of State, none of which were subject to the rules of the CSC, continued to harass and seek to exclude lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals from their ranks until 1995, when President Bill Clinton issued Executive Order 12968 (50 U.S.C. 3161 note), which barred the practice of denying a Federal Govern- ment security clearance solely on the basis of sexual ori- entation; Whereas transgender military service members, Foreign Serv- ice members, and civilian employees continued to be har- assed and excluded from Federal civil service until 2014, when President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13672 (79 Fed. Reg. 42971), which prohibited the Fed- eral Government and Federal contractors from discrimi- VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Jun 12, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR766.IS SR766 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 7 •SRES 766 IS nating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender iden- tity; Whereas, on January 9, 2017, Secretary of State John Kerry issued a formal apology for the pattern of discrimination against LGBT Foreign Service members and civilian em- ployees at the Department of State; Whereas, on January 21, 2025, Executive Order 14173 (90 Fed. Reg. 8633), rescinded Executive Order 13672 (79 Fed. Reg. 42971) and Executive Order 11246 (30 Fed. Reg. 12319), removing previous protections on the basis of gender identity for Federal employees and rescinding Federal contractor nondiscrimination protections, includ- ing on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity; Whereas, on January 21, 2025, Executive Order 14148 (90 Fed. Reg. 8237), rescinded Executive Order 13988 (86 Fed. Reg. 7023), which made it the official Government policy of the United States across agencies to combat dis- crimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity; Whereas, on January 27, 2025, Executive Order 14183 (90 Fed. Reg. 8757), was signed, implementing a ban on in- dividuals from serving in the military based on their gen- der identity; Whereas, on May 8, 2025, the Department of Defense began the process of separating thousands of transgender servicemembers from military service with the promise to continue the policy in the months and years to come; Whereas, despite persecution and systematic mistreatment by the Federal Government beginning in the early 1940s, in- cluding what historians have labeled the ‘‘Lavender VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:44 Jun 12, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR766.IS SR766 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 8 •SRES 766 IS Scare’’, LGBT individuals have never stopped honorably serving the United States; Whereas LGBT individuals continued, as always, to make significant contributions to the United States through their work as clerks and lawyers, surgeons and nurses, Purple Heart recipients and Navy Seals, translators and air traffic controllers, engineers and astronomers, teach- ers and diplomats, rangers and Postal Service workers, and advisors and policy makers; Whereas other countries throughout the world, including some of the closest allies of the United States, have apologized for similarly discriminating against LGBT military service members, Foreign Service members, and civilian employees; and Whereas, in order for the United States to heal and move forward, the Federal Government must accord all LGBT individuals who were discriminated against, wrongfully terminated, and excluded from serving in the uniformed services, the Foreign Service, and the Federal civil serv- ice the same acknowledgment and apology: Now, there- fore, be it Resolved, 1 SECTION 1. ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 2 The Senate— 3 (1) acknowledges and condemns the discrimina- 4 tion against, wrongful termination of, and exclusion 5 from the Federal civil service, the Foreign Service, 6 and the uniformed services of the thousands of les- 7 bian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (referred to in 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Jun 12, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR766.IS SR766 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 9 •SRES 766 IS this section as ‘‘LGBT’’) individuals who were af- 1 fected by the anti-LGBT policies of the Federal 2 Government; 3 (2) on behalf of the United States, apologizes 4 to— 5 (A) the affected LGBT military service 6 members, Foreign Service members, veterans, 7 and Federal civil service employees; and 8 (B) the families of those service members, 9 veterans, and Federal civil service employees; 10 (3) condemns any and all efforts within the 11 Armed Forces or any Federal agency, department, 12 office, or bureau to discriminate against LGBT indi- 13 viduals or undermine the dignity and respect to 14 which such individuals are entitled; and 15 (4) reaffirms the fundamental necessity for the 16 Federal Government to honor its commitment to 17 treat all military service members, Foreign Service 18 members, veterans, and Federal civil service employ- 19 ees and retirees, including LGBT individuals, with 20 equal respect and fairness. 21 SEC. 2. DISCLAIMER. 22 Nothing in this resolution— 23 (1) authorizes or supports any claim against 24 the United States; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Jun 12, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR766.IS SR766 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 10 •SRES 766 IS (2) serves as a settlement of any claim against 1 the United States. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:36 Jun 12, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR766.IS SR766 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB