,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #cacc ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,september #ai1 #bjac,mr4 ,labrador 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,pitts1 ,mrs4 ,hartzler1 ,mr4 ,mc,intyre1 ,mr4 ,scalise1 ,mr4 ,franks of ,arizona1 ,mr4 ,meadows1 ,mr4 ,fleming1 ,mr4 ,lipinski1 ,mr4 ,garrett1 ,mr4 ,bridenstine1 ,mr4 ,daines1 ,mr4 ,boustany1 ,mrs4 ,bachmann1 ,mrs4 ,wagner1 ,mr4 ,brady of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,collins of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,pearce1 ,mr4 ,walberg1 ,mrs4 ,black1 ,mr4 ,hultgren1 ,mr4 ,broun of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,harper1 ,mr4 ,cassidy1 ,mr4 ,cramer1 ,mr4 ,aderholt1 ,mr4 ,mulvaney1 ,mr4 ,bishop of ,utah1 ,mr4 ,rokita1 ,mr4 ,sanford1 ,mr4 ,marino1 ,mr4 ,long1 ,mr4 ,graves of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,sessions1 ,mr4 ,flores1 ,mr4 ,duncan of ,south ,carolina1 ,mr4 ,jordan1 ,mr4 ,weber of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,huizenga of ,michigan1 ,mr4 ,stutzman1 ,mr4 ,kingston1 ,mr4 ,la,malfa1 ,mr4 ,salmon1 ,mr4 ,cotton1 ,mr4 ,kelly of ,pennsylvania1 ,mr4 ,fortenberry1 ,mr4 ,harris1 ,mr4 ,miller of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,bentivolio1 ,mr4 ,hall1 ,mr4 ,rogers of ,alabama1 ,mr4 ,lamborn1 ,mr4 ,palazzo1 ,mr4 ,rothfus1 ,mr4 ,roe of ,tennessee1 ,mr4 ,chaffetz1 ,mr4 ,gohmert1 ,mr4 ,stewart1 ,mr4 ,smith of ,new ,jersey1 ,mr4 ,chabot1 ,mr4 ,southerland1 ,mr4 ,jones1 and ,mrs4 ,lummis7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to prevent adverse treatment of any person on the basis of views held with respect to marriage4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,marriage and ,religious ,freedom ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,leading legal scholars concur that conflicts between same-sex marriage and religious liberty are real and should be legislatively addressed4 7#b7 ,as the ,president stated in response to the decision of the ,united ,states ,supreme ,court on the ,defense of ,marriage ,act in #bjac1 ,americans hold a wide range of views on the issue of same-sex marriage1 and maintaining our ,nation's commitment to religious freedom is vital4 7#c7 ,protecting religious freedom from ,government intrusion is a ,government interest of the highest order4 ,legislatively enacted measures advance this interest by remedying1 deterring1 and preventing ,government interference with religious exercise in a way that complements the protections mandated by the ,first ,amendment to the ,united ,states ,constitution4 7#d7 ,laws that protect the free exercise of religious beliefs about marriage will encourage private citizens and institutions to demonstrate similar tolerance and therefore contribute to a more respectful1 diverse1 and peaceful society4 #c4 ,protection of the free exercise of religious beliefs 7a7 ,in general ,the ,federal ,government shall not take an adverse action against a person1 on the basis that such person acts in accordance with a religious belief that marriage is or should be recognized as the union of one man and one woman1 or that sexual relations are properly reserved to such a marriage4 7b7 ,adverse action defined ,as used in subsection 7a71 an adverse action means any action taken by the ,federal ,government-- 7#a7 acting through the ,administrator of the ,internal ,revenue ,service1 to-- 7,a7 deny or revoke an exemption from taxation under section #eja of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf of such person2 or 7,b7 disallow a deduction for ,federal tax purposes of any charitable contribution made to or by such person2 7#b7 to deny or exclude such person from receiving any ,federal grant1 contract1 cooperative agreement1 loan1 license1 certification1 accreditation1 employment1 or other similar position or status2 7#c7 to deny or withhold from such person any benefit under a ,federal benefit program2 or 7#d7 to otherwise discriminate against such person4 #d4 ,judicial relief 7a7 ,cause of action ,a person may assert an actual or threatened violation of this ,act as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and obtain compensatory damages1 injunctive relief1 declaratory relief1 or any other appropriate relief against the ,federal ,government4 ,standing to assert a claim or defense under this section shall be governed by the general rules of standing under article ,,iii of the ,constitution4 7b7 ,attorneys' fees ,section #gbb7;b7 of the ,revised ,statutes 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aihh7;b77 is amended by inserting ,marriage and ,religious ,freedom ,act1 after the ,religious ,land ,use and ,institutionalized ,persons ,act of #bjjj14 7c7 ,authority of ,united ,states ,to enforce this act ,the ,attorney ,general of the ,united ,states may bring an action for injunctive or declaratory relief to enforce compliance with this ,act4 ,nothing in this subsection shall be construed to deny1 impair1 or otherwise affect any right or authority of the ,attorney ,general1 the ,united ,states1 or any agency1 officer1 or employee of the ,united ,states1 acting under any law other than this subsection1 to institute or intervene in any proceeding4 #e4 ,rules of construction 7a7 ,broad construction ,this ,act shall be construed in favor of a broad protection of religious beliefs1 to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of this ,act and the ,constitution4 7b7 ,no preemption1 repeal1 or narrow construction ,nothing in this ,act shall be construed to preempt ,state law1 or repeal ,federal law1 that is equally as protective of religious beliefs as1 or more protective of religious beliefs than1 this ,act4 ,nothing in this ,act shall be considered to construe any ,state or ,federal law protecting religious beliefs more narrowly than such law otherwise would be construed4 7c7 ,severability ,if any provision of this ,act or any application of such provision to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional1 the remainder of this ,act and the application of the provision to any other person or circumstance shall not be affected4 #f4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,federal benefit program ,the term ,federal benefit program has the meaning given that term in section #eeb;a of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#b7 ,federal ,government ,the term ,federal ,government includes a branch1 department1 agency1 instrumentality1 or official of the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,person ,the term person has the meaning given such term in section #a of title #a1 ,united ,states ,code1 and includes any person regardless of religious affiliation or lack thereof1 and regardless of for-profit or nonprofit status4