[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1308 Engrossed Amendment Senate (EAS)]

103d CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 1308

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                               AMENDMENT
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

                  In the Senate of the United States,

                        October 27 (legislative day, October 13), 1993.
      Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 
1308) entitled ``An Act to protect the free exercise of religion'', do 
pass with the following

                               AMENDMENT:

            Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 
1993''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the framers of the Constitution, recognizing free 
        exercise of religion as an unalienable right, secured its 
        protection in the First Amendment to the Constitution;
            (2) laws ``neutral'' toward religion may burden religious 
        exercise as surely as laws intended to interfere with religious 
        exercise;
            (3) governments should not substantially burden religious 
        exercise without compelling justification;
            (4) in Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990) 
        the Supreme Court virtually eliminated the requirement that the 
        government justify burdens on religious exercise imposed by 
        laws neutral toward religion; and
            (5) the compelling interest test as set forth in prior 
        Federal court rulings is a workable test for striking sensible 
        balances between religious liberty and competing prior 
        governmental interests.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to restore the compelling interest test as set forth in 
        Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963) and Wisconsin v. Yoder, 
        406 U.S. 205 (1972) and to guarantee its application in all 
        cases where free exercise of religion is substantially 
        burdened; and
            (2) to provide a claim or defense to persons whose 
        religious exercise is substantially burdened by government.

SEC. 3. FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION PROTECTED.

    (a) In General.--Government shall not substantially burden a 
person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of 
general applicability, except as provided in subsection (b).
    (b) Exception.--Government may substantially burden a person's 
exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that application of the 
burden to the person--
            (1) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental 
        interest; and
            (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that 
        compelling governmental interest.
    (c) Judicial Relief.--A person whose religious exercise has been 
burdened in violation of this section may assert that violation as a 
claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and obtain appropriate relief 
against a government. Standing to assert a claim or defense under this 
section shall be governed by the general rules of standing under 
article III of the Constitution.

SEC. 4. ATTORNEYS FEES.

    (a) Judicial Proceedings.--Section 722 of the Revised Statutes (42 
U.S.C. 1988) is amended by inserting ``the Religious Freedom 
Restoration Act of 1993,'' before ``or title VI of the Civil Rights Act 
of 1964''.
    (b) Administrative Proceedings.--Section 504(b)(1)(C) of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of clause (ii);
            (2) by striking the semicolon at the end of clause (iii) 
        and inserting ``, and''; and
            (3) by inserting ``(iv) the Religious Freedom Restoration 
        Act of 1993;'' after clause (iii).

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``government'' includes a branch, department, 
        agency, instrumentality, and official (or other person acting 
        under color of law) of the United States, a State, or a 
        subdivision of a State;
            (2) the term ``State'' includes the District of Columbia, 
        the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and each territory and 
        possession of the United States;
            (3) the term ``demonstrates'' means meets the burdens of 
        going forward with the evidence and of persuasion; and
            (4) the term ``exercise of religion'' means the exercise of 
        religion under the First Amendment to the Constitution.

SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY.

    (a) In General.--This Act applies to all Federal and State law, and 
the implementation of that law, whether statutory or otherwise, and 
whether adopted before or after the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Federal statutory law adopted after the 
date of the enactment of this Act is subject to this Act unless such 
law explicitly excludes such application by reference to this Act.
    (c) Religious Belief Unaffected.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to authorize any government to burden any religious belief.

SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE UNAFFECTED.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect, interpret, or in 
any way address that portion of the First Amendment prohibiting laws 
respecting the establishment of religion (referred to in this section 
as the ``Establishment Clause''). Granting government funding, 
benefits, or exemptions, to the extent permissible under the 
Establishment Clause, shall not constitute a violation of this Act. As 
used in this section, the term ``granting'', used with respect to 
government funding, benefits, or exemptions, does not include the 
denial of government funding, benefits, or exemptions.

            Attest:






                                                             Secretary.