[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8587 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8587

   To prohibit the use of funds to implement, administer, or enforce 
 measures requiring certain employees to refer to an individual by the 
 preferred pronouns of such individual or a name other than the legal 
            name of such individual, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 29, 2026

 Mr. Ogles (for himself, Ms. Boebert, Mr. Clyde, Mr. Crane, Mr. Gosar, 
   and Mr. Weber of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was 
      referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To prohibit the use of funds to implement, administer, or enforce 
 measures requiring certain employees to refer to an individual by the 
 preferred pronouns of such individual or a name other than the legal 
            name of such individual, 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 ``Safeguarding Honest Speech Act of 
2026''.

SEC. 2. NO FEDERAL FUNDS FOR COMPELLED LANGUAGE.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no 
funds may be used for the purpose of implementing, administering, or 
enforcing any rule, policy, guidance, recommendation, or memoranda 
requiring an employee or contractor of any Federal agency or Department 
to use--
            (1) another person's preferred pronouns if they are 
        incompatible with such a person's sex; or
            (2) a name other than a person's legal name when referring 
        to such a person.
    (b) Enforcement.--
            (1) In general.--All Federal agencies and Departments shall 
        ensure that, not later than 30 days following a written notice 
        from any employee or contractor regarding an alleged violation 
        of subsection (a), a formal response to the notice is issued to 
        the employee or contractor.
            (2) Private right of action.--In the case that the formal 
        response in subsection (a) does not represent a satisfactory 
        outcome for a Federal employee or contractor, any employee or 
        contractor aggrieved by a violation of subsection (a) may 
        commence a civil action against the Federal agency or 
        Department responsible for the alleged violation.
            (3) Relief.--In any action under this subsection, the court 
        may award appropriate relief, including--
                    (A) temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunctive 
                relief;
                    (B) compensatory damages;
                    (C) punitive or exemplary damages, which may not 
                exceed $100,000; and
                    (D) reasonable fees for attorneys.
            (4) Statute of limitations.--An action under this 
        subsection shall be brought not later than one year after the 
        date on which the alleged violation of subsection (a) occurred.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Female.--The term ``female'' refers to an individual 
        who has, had, will have, or would have, but for a developmental 
        or genetic anomaly or historical accident, the reproductive 
        system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes 
        eggs for fertilization.
            (2) Male.--The term ``male'' refers to an individual who 
        has, had, will have, or would have, but for a developmental or 
        genetic anomaly or historical accident, the reproductive system 
        that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for 
        fertilization.
            (3) Sex.--The term ``sex'' refers to biological sex, either 
        male or female.
            (4) Person.--The term ``person'' refers to a natural 
        person.
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