[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2232 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2232

    To protect the right to freedom of speech secured by the First 
         Amendment to the Constitution, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 9, 2014

  Mr. Toomey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To protect the right to freedom of speech secured by the First 
         Amendment to the Constitution, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``First Amendment Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
     (a) the term ``Executive agency'' has the meaning given the term 
in section 105 of title 5, United States Code; and
    (b) the term ``record'' means any item, collection, or grouping of 
information about an individual or group that is maintained by an 
Executive agency, including, but not limited to, education, financial 
transactions, medical information, tax information, address, and 
criminal or employment history and that contains his name, or the 
identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to 
the individual, such as a finger or voice print or a photograph.

SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

    (a) Cause of Action.--Any officer or employee of an Executive 
agency who in the course of an investigation, audit, decision to 
disclose any record, or decision to grant a license, permit, or 
recognition of tax exempt status, discriminates against a person or 
group on the basis of the person's or group's political or religious 
viewpoint or affiliation in violation of the First Amendment's 
guarantee of freedom of speech, shall be considered to have violated 
this Act.
    (b) Remedies.--
            (1) In general.--A person or group aggrieved of a violation 
        of this Act may bring a civil action against the officer or 
        employee, or former officer or employee, of an Executive agency 
        in an appropriate district court of the United States for 
        damages or other legal or equitable relief.
            (2) Considerations.--In determining whether to award 
        compensatory damages, other restitution, or punitive damages in 
        a civil action brought under paragraph (1), the court shall 
        consider the amount of the benefits the officer or employee of 
        the Executive agency is entitled to collect relating to service 
        as an officer or employee, including retirement benefits, and 
        may include the amount of those benefits, or a percentage of 
        the amount of those benefits, in the amount of any damages 
        awarded.
    (c) Attorney's Fees and Expert Fees.--In a civil action brought 
under subsection (b)(1), the court, in its discretion, may allow the 
prevailing party, other than the United States, a reasonable attorney's 
fees as part of the costs. In awarding an attorney's fees under this 
section, the court, in its discretion, may include expert fees as part 
of the attorney's fees.
    (d) Effects on Employment and Benefits.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, including title 5, United States Code, or any 
contract, on and at any time after the date on which a court enters 
final judgment in an action brought under subsection (b)(1) in which 
the court determines that the officer or employee violated this Act, 
the head of the Executive agency may, without prior notice, terminate 
the officer or employee without cause and may terminate any or all of 
the benefits of the officer or employee relating to service as an 
officer or employee, including retirement benefits, without cause.
    (e) Retroactive.--Subsections (a) through (d) shall apply to 
conduct that occurred before the date of enactment of this Act.
    (f) No Preemption.--The rights and remedies created by this Act 
shall be in addition to, and do not preempt, any other rights and 
remedies available at Federal or State law.
    (g) Exclusion for Employment Disputes.--This Act does not create a 
cause of action for any claim arising out of Federal employment, 
including, but not limited to, any cause of action that may be 
redressed by the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment 
Opportunity Commission, or the Federal Labor Relations Authority.

SEC. 4. PROTECTION FROM GOVERNMENT DELAY.

    Section 7428(a)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
amended by striking ``organization described in section 501(c)(3) which 
is exempt'' and inserting ``organization described in paragraph (3), 
(4), (5), or (6) of subsection (c) of section 501, which is exempt''.
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