[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 177 (Wednesday, November 16, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6744-S6746]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TEXT OF AMENDMENTS

  SA 6481. Mr. CASSIDY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed 
by him to the bill H.R. 8404, to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and 
ensure respect for State regulation of marriage, and for other 
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        At the appropriate place, insert the following:

           TITLE II--RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND MORAL CONVICTIONS

     SEC. 201. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION OR SEGREGATION 
                   IN PLACES OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION.

       (a) Places of Public Accommodation.--Section 201 of the 
     Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (6); and
       (C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
       ``(4) any store, facility in a shopping center, or online 
     retailer or provider of online services that has 1 or more 
     employees in the current or preceding calendar year;
       ``(5) a social media platform provider; and'';
       (2) in subsection (c)--
       (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``paragraph (1)'' and 
     inserting ``paragraph (1) or (5)'';
       (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ``paragraph (4)'' and 
     inserting ``paragraph (6)'';
       (D) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and
       (E) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following: ``(4) 
     in the case of an establishment described in paragraph (4) of 
     subsection (b), it sells or offers to sell a product or 
     service that moves, or has moved, in commerce; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(f) The provisions of this title shall not apply to a 
     religious institution, including place of worship, religious 
     camp, or religious school.
       ``(g) For purposes of this title:
       ``(1) The term `online retailer or provider of online 
     services' means a commercial business, acting through a web 
     page that invites the general public to purchase a good or 
     service by use of a credit card or similar payment device 
     over the internet, that provides content for the web page. 
     The term does not mean a commercial business, acting through 
     a web page that gives information, including information on 
     quality, price, or availability, about a good or service but 
     does not permit such purchase directly from the web page.
       ``(2) The term `social media platform provider' means the 
     provider of a public website or internet application, 
     including a mobile internet application, social network, 
     video sharing service, advertising network, mobile operating 
     system, search engine, email service, or internet access 
     service, that promotes users posting content and others 
     consuming that content.''.
       (b) Exception.--Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 
     (42 U.S.C. 2000a et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 208. EXCEPTION FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.

       ``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `small 
     business' means an employer who does

[[Page S6745]]

     not have 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 
     20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding 
     calendar year.
       ``(b) Exception.--No small business shall be required, 
     under this title or any other Federal, State, or local law, 
     to provide a service related to a marriage of individuals of 
     the same sex, if the small business declines to provide the 
     service in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief, 
     or moral conviction, that marriage is or should be recognized 
     as a certain type of union. For purposes of this subsection, 
     services related to marriage include services for any 
     ceremony or related celebration of the marriage.''.

     SEC. 202. DETERMINATION OF TAX-EXEMPT STATUS MADE WITHOUT 
                   REGARD TO RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.

       Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``Corporations'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(A) In general.--Corporations'', and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(B) Determination made without regard to religious 
     beliefs.--
       ``(i) In general.--Any determination whether an 
     organization is organized or operated exclusively for 
     religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational 
     purposes or complies with legal standards of charity shall be 
     made without regard to the organization's religious beliefs 
     or practices concerning the validity of marriages between 
     individuals of the same sex.
       ``(ii) Religious.--For purposes of this paragraph, the term 
     `religious' includes all aspects of religious belief, 
     observance, and practice, whether or not compelled by, or 
     central to, a system of religion.''.

     SEC. 203. CHILD WELFARE PROVIDER INCLUSION ACT.

       (a) Short Title of Section.--This section may be cited as 
     the ``Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2022''.
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are as follows:
       (1) To prohibit governmental entities from discriminating 
     or taking an adverse action against a child welfare service 
     provider on the basis that the provider declines to provide a 
     child welfare service that conflicts, or under circumstances 
     that conflict, with the sincerely held religious beliefs or 
     moral convictions of the provider.
       (2) To protect child welfare service providers' exercise of 
     religion and to ensure that governmental entities will not be 
     able to force those providers, either directly or indirectly, 
     to discontinue all or some of their child welfare services 
     because they decline to provide a child welfare service that 
     conflicts, or under circumstances that conflict, with their 
     sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions.
       (3) To provide relief to child welfare service providers 
     whose rights have been violated.
       (c) Discrimination and Adverse Actions Prohibited.--
       (1) In general.--The Federal Government, and any State that 
     receives Federal funding for any program that provides child 
     welfare services under part B or E of title IV of the Social 
     Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 671 et seq.) (and any 
     subdivision, office or department of such State) shall not 
     discriminate or take an adverse action against a child 
     welfare service provider on the basis that the provider has 
     declined or will decline to provide, facilitate, or refer for 
     a child welfare service that conflicts with, or under 
     circumstances that conflict with, the provider's sincerely 
     held religious beliefs or moral convictions.
       (2) Limitation.--Paragraph (1) does not apply to conduct 
     forbidden by paragraph (18) of section 471(a) of such Act (42 
     U.S.C. 671(a)(18)).
       (d) Funds Withheld for Violation.--The Secretary of Health 
     and Human Services shall withhold from a State 15 percent of 
     the Federal funds the State receives for a program that 
     provides child welfare services under part B or E of title IV 
     of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 671 et 
     seq.) if the State violates subsection (c) when administering 
     or disbursing funds under such program.
       (e) Private Right of Action.--
       (1) In general.--A child welfare service provider aggrieved 
     by a violation of subsection (c) may assert that violation as 
     a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and obtain all 
     appropriate relief, including declaratory relief, injunctive 
     relief, and compensatory damages, with respect to that 
     violation.
       (2) Attorneys' fees and costs.--A child welfare service 
     provider that prevails in an action by establishing a 
     violation of subsection (c) is entitled to recover reasonable 
     attorneys' fees and costs.
       (3) Waiver of sovereign immunity.--By accepting or 
     expending Federal funds in connection with a program that 
     provides child welfare services under part B or E of title IV 
     of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 671 et 
     seq.), a State waives its sovereign immunity for any claim or 
     defense that is raised under this subsection.
       (f) Severability.--If any provision of this section, or any 
     application of such provision to any person or circumstance, 
     is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this section 
     and the application of the provision to any other person or 
     circumstance shall not be affected.
       (g) Effective Date.--
       (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), this 
     section shall take effect on the 1st day of the 1st fiscal 
     year beginning on or after the date of the enactment of this 
     section, and the withholding of funds authorized by 
     subsection (d) shall apply to payments under parts B and E of 
     title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 
     671 et seq.) for calendar quarters beginning on or after such 
     date.
       (2) Exception.--If legislation (other than legislation 
     appropriating funds) is required for a governmental entity to 
     bring itself into compliance with this section, the 
     governmental entity shall not be regarded as violating this 
     section before the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter 
     beginning after the 1st regular session of the legislative 
     body that begins after the date of the enactment of this 
     section. For purposes of the preceding sentence, if the 
     governmental entity has a 2-year legislative session, each 
     year of the session is deemed to be a separate regular 
     session.
       (h) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Child welfare service provider.--The term ``child 
     welfare service provider'' includes organizations, 
     corporations, groups, entities, or individuals that provide 
     or seek to provide, or that apply for or receive a contract, 
     subcontract, grant, or subgrant for the provision of, child 
     welfare services. A provider need not be engaged exclusively 
     in child welfare services to be considered a child welfare 
     service provider for purposes of this section.
       (2) Child welfare services.--The term ``child welfare 
     services'' means social services provided to or on behalf of 
     children, including assisting abused, neglected, or troubled 
     children, counseling children or parents, promoting foster 
     parenting, providing foster homes or temporary group shelters 
     for children, recruiting foster parents, placing children in 
     foster homes, licensing foster homes, promoting adoption, 
     recruiting adoptive parents, assisting adoptions, supporting 
     adoptive families, assisting kinship guardianships, assisting 
     kinship caregivers, providing family preservation services, 
     providing family support services, and providing time-limited 
     family reunification services.
       (3) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the 50 States, 
     the District of Columbia, any commonwealth, territory or 
     possession of the United States, and any political 
     subdivision thereof, and any Indian tribe, tribal 
     organization, or tribal consortium that has a plan approved 
     in accordance with section 479B of the Social Security Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 679c) or that has a cooperative agreement or 
     contract with one of the 50 States for the administration or 
     payment of funds under part B or E of title IV of the Social 
     Security Act.
       (4) Funding; funded; funds.--The terms ``funding'', 
     ``funded'', or ``funds'' include money paid pursuant to a 
     contract, grant, voucher, or similar means.
       (5) Adverse action.--The term ``adverse action'' includes, 
     but is not limited to, denying a child welfare service 
     provider's application for funding, refusing to renew the 
     provider's funding, canceling the provider's funding, 
     declining to enter into a contract with the provider, 
     refusing to renew a contract with the provider, canceling a 
     contract with the provider, declining to issue a license to 
     the provider, refusing to renew the provider's license, 
     canceling the provider's license, terminating the provider's 
     employment, or any other adverse action that materially 
     alters the terms or conditions of the provider's employment, 
     funding, contract, or license.
                                 ______
                                 
  SA 6482. Mr. LEE (for himself, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Graham, Mr. 
Hawley, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Paul, Mr. Sasse, Mr. Thune, Mr. Wicker, Mr. 
Risch, Mr. Braun, Mr. Johnson, and Mr. Scott of Florida) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 8404, to 
repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and ensure respect for State 
regulation of marriage, and for other purposes; which was ordered to 
lie on the table; as follows:

        At the end, insert the following:

           TITLE II--RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND MORAL CONVICTIONS

     SEC. 201. PROTECTION OF THE FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGIOUS 
                   BELIEFS AND MORAL CONVICTIONS.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding section 7 of title 1, 
     United States Code, section 1738C of title 28, United States 
     Code, or 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 speaks, or 
     acts, in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief, 
     or moral conviction, that marriage is or should be recognized 
     as a union of--
       (1) one man and one woman; or
       (2) two individuals as recognized under Federal law.
       (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;

[[Page S6746]]

       (3) withhold, reduce the amount or funding for, exclude, 
     terminate, or otherwise make unavailable or deny, any Federal 
     grant, contract, subcontract, cooperative agreement, 
     guarantee, loan, scholarship, license, certification, 
     accreditation, employment, or other similar position or 
     status from or to such person;
       (4) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or otherwise make 
     unavailable or deny, any entitlement or benefit under a 
     Federal benefit program, including admission to, equal 
     treatment in, or eligibility for a degree from an educational 
     program, from or to such person; or
       (5) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or otherwise make 
     unavailable or deny, access or an entitlement to Federal 
     property, facilities, educational institutions, speech fora 
     (including traditional, limited, and nonpublic fora), or 
     charitable fundraising campaigns from or to 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 speaks, or acts, in 
     accordance with a sincerely held religious belief or moral 
     conviction described in subsection (a).

     SEC. 202. JUDICIAL RELIEF.

       (a) Cause of Action.--A person may assert an actual or 
     threatened violation of this title 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 district court 
     of the United States 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 ``title 
     II of the Respect for Marriage Act,'' after ``the Religious 
     Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000,''.
       (d) Authority of United States To Enforce This Title.--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 title. 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. 203. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

       (a) No Preemption, Repeal, or Narrow Construction.--Nothing 
     in this title 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 title shall be construed to narrow the 
     meaning or application of any State or Federal law protecting 
     free exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions.
       (b) No Prevention of Providing Benefits or Services.--
     Nothing in this title shall be construed to prevent the 
     Federal Government from providing, either directly or through 
     a person not seeking protection under this title, any benefit 
     or service authorized under Federal law.
       (c) No Affirmation or Endorsement of Views.--Nothing in 
     this title shall be construed to affirm or otherwise endorse 
     a person's belief, speech, or action about marriage.
       (d) Severability.--If any provision of this title or any 
     application of such provision to any person or circumstance 
     is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this title 
     and the application of the provision to any other person or 
     circumstance shall not be affected.

     SEC. 204. DEFINITIONS.

       In this title:
       (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; federal government.--The terms ``Federal'' and 
     ``Federal Government'' relate to and include--
       (A) any department, commission, board, or other agency of 
     the Federal Government;
       (B) any officer, employee, or agent of the Federal 
     Government; and
       (C) the District of Columbia and all Federal territories 
     and possessions.
       (3) Person.--The term ``person'' means a person as defined 
     in section 1 of title 1, United States Code, except that such 
     term shall not include--
       (A) publicly traded for-profit entities;
       (B) Federal employees acting within the scope of their 
     employment;
       (C) Federal for-profit contractors acting within the scope 
     of their contract; or
       (D) hospitals, clinics, hospices, nursing homes, or other 
     medical or residential custodial facilities with respect to 
     visitation, recognition of a designated representative for 
     health care decisionmaking, or refusal to provide medical 
     treatment necessary to cure an illness or injury.

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