[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2802 Introduced in House (IH)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2802
To prevent discriminatory treatment of any person on the basis of views
held with respect to marriage.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 17, 2015
Mr. Labrador (for himself, Mr. Collins of Georgia, Mr. Jones, Mr.
Sessions, Mr. Duncan of South Carolina, Mrs. Hartzler, Mr. Cramer, Mr.
Neugebauer, Mr. Pearce, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas, Mr.
Sanford, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Rothfus, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr.
Mullin, Mr. Pompeo, Mr. Smith of Texas, Mr. Pittenger, Mr. Walberg, Mr.
Jody B. Hice of Georgia, Mr. Marchant, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Jordan, Mr.
Palmer, Mr. Meadows, Mr. Allen, Mr. Huelskamp, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Graves of
Georgia, Mr. Miller of Florida, Mr. Garrett, Mr. Fincher, Mr. Salmon,
Mr. Westmoreland, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Grothman, Mr. Harris,
Mrs. Wagner, Mr. Weber of Texas, Mr. Fleming, Mr. Kelly of
Pennsylvania, Mr. Babin, Mr. Yoho, Mr. Chaffetz, Mr. Fortenberry, Mr.
Palazzo, Mr. Carter of Texas, Mr. Rouzer, Mrs. Black, Mr. Brat, Mr.
Mooney of West Virginia, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Bishop of Utah, Mrs. Love, Mr.
Gowdy, Mr. Aderholt, and Mr. Stewart) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prevent discriminatory treatment of any person on the basis of views
held with respect to marriage.
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 Defense Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Leading legal scholars concur that conflicts between
same-sex marriage and religious liberty are real and should be
legislatively addressed.
(2) As the President stated in response to the decision of
the Supreme Court on the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013,
``Americans hold a wide range of views'' on the issue of same-
sex marriage, and ``maintaining our Nation's commitment to
religious freedom'' is ``vital''.
(3) Nevertheless, in 2015, when asked whether a religious
school could lose its tax-exempt status for opposing same-sex
marriage, the Solicitor General of the United States
represented to the United States Supreme Court that ``[i]t's
certainly going to be an issue''.
(4) Protecting religious freedom from Government intrusion
is a Government interest of the highest order. Legislatively
enacted measures advance this interest by remedying, deterring,
and preventing Government interference with religious exercise
in a way that complements the protections mandated by the First
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
(5) Laws that protect the free exercise of religious
beliefs and moral convictions about marriage will encourage
private citizens and institutions to demonstrate tolerance for
those beliefs and convictions and therefore contribute to a
more respectful, diverse, and peaceful society.
SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF THE FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND MORAL
CONVICTIONS.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Federal Government shall not take any discriminatory action against a
person, wholly or partially on the basis that such person believes or
acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction that
marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one
woman, or that sexual relations are properly reserved to such a
marriage.
(b) Discriminatory Action Defined.--As used in subsection (a), a
discriminatory action means any action taken by the Federal Government
to--
(1) alter in any way the Federal tax treatment of, or cause
any tax, penalty, or payment to be assessed against, or deny,
delay, or revoke an exemption from taxation under section
501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 of, any person
referred to in subsection (a);
(2) disallow a deduction for Federal tax purposes of any
charitable contribution made to or by such person;
(3) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or otherwise deny
any Federal grant, contract, subcontract, cooperative
agreement, loan, license, certification, accreditation,
employment, or other similar position or status from or to such
person;
(4) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or otherwise deny
any benefit under a Federal benefit program from or to such
person; or
(5) otherwise discriminate against such person.
(c) Accreditation; Licensure; Certification.--The Federal
Government shall consider accredited, licensed, or certified for
purposes of Federal law any person that would be accredited, licensed,
or certified, respectively, for such purposes but for a determination
against such person wholly or partially on the basis that the person
believes or acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral
conviction that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one
man and one woman, or that sexual relations are properly reserved to
such a marriage.
SEC. 4. JUDICIAL RELIEF.
(a) Cause of Action.--A person may assert an actual or threatened
violation of this Act as a claim or defense in a judicial or
administrative proceeding and obtain compensatory damages, injunctive
relief, declaratory relief, or any other appropriate relief against the
Federal 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.
(b) Administrative Remedies Not Required.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, an action under this section may be commenced,
and relief may be granted, in a United States district court without
regard to whether the person commencing the action has sought or
exhausted available administrative remedies.
(c) Attorneys' Fees.--Section 722(b) of the Revised Statutes (42
U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended by inserting ``the First Amendment Defense
Act,'' after ``the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act
of 2000,''.
(d) Authority of United States To Enforce This Act.--The Attorney
General may bring an action for injunctive or declaratory relief
against an independent establishment described in section 104(1) of
title 5, United States Code, or an officer or employee of that
independent establishment, to enforce compliance with this Act. Nothing
in this subsection shall be construed to deny, impair, or otherwise
affect any right or authority of the Attorney General, the United
States, or any agency, officer, or employee of the United States,
acting under any law other than this subsection, to institute or
intervene in any proceeding.
SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
(a) Broad Construction.--This Act shall be construed in favor of a
broad protection of free exercise of religious beliefs and moral
convictions, to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of this Act
and the Constitution.
(b) No Preemption, Repeal, or Narrow Construction.--Nothing in this
Act shall be construed to preempt State law, or repeal Federal law,
that is equally or more protective of free exercise of religious
beliefs and moral convictions. Nothing in this Act shall be construed
to narrow the meaning or application of any State or Federal law
protecting free exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent the Federal
Government from providing, either directly or through a person not
seeking protection under this Act, any benefit or service authorized
under Federal law.
(c) Severability.--If any provision of this Act or any application
of such provision to any person or circumstance is held to be
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and the application of the
provision to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Federal benefit program.--The term ``Federal benefit
program'' has the meaning given that term in section 552a of
title 5, United States Code.
(2) Federal government.--The term ``Federal Government''
includes each authority of any branch of the Government of the
United States.
(3) Person.--The term ``person'' means a person as defined
in section 1 of title 1, United States Code, and includes any
such person regardless of religious affiliation or lack
thereof, and regardless of for-profit or nonprofit status.
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