,,ii #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ahjh ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #ab 7legislative day1 ,december #aa71 #bjac,mr4 ,lee 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,vitter1 ,mr4 ,inhofe1 ,mr4 ,roberts1 ,mr4 ,coburn1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 ,mr4 ,hatch1 ,mr4 ,blunt1 ,mr4 ,wicker1 ,mr4 ,risch1 ,mr4 ,graham1 and ,mr4 ,cochran7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,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 ,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 ,constitution of the ,united ,states4 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 ,notwithstanding any other law to the contrary1 the ,federal ,government shall not take an adverse action against a person1 wholly or partially 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 to-- 7#a7 deny or revoke an exemption from taxation under section #eja7;a7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf of the person who is acting in accordance with the religious belief referred to in subsection 7a72 7#b7 disallow a deduction for ,federal tax purposes of any charitable contribution made to or by such person2 7#c7 alter in any way the ,federal tax treatment of1 or cause any tax1 penalty1 or payment to be assessed against1 such person or such person's employees with respect to any benefit provided or not provided by such person to such person's employees1 wholly or partially on the basis that the benefit is provided or not provided on account of a religious belief referred to in subsection 7a72 7#d7 deem any employee benefit plan covering employees of such person to have lost its status as a qualified plan under section #dja7;a7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 or to be in violation of any part of the ,employee ,retirement ,income ,security ,act of #aigd 7#bi ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja et seq471 wholly or partially on the basis that the benefit plan fails to provide a benefit1 right1 or feature on account of such person's religious belief referred to in subsection 7a72 7#e7 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#f7 deny or withhold from such person any benefit under a ,federal benefit program2 or 7#g7 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 the ,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 may bring an action for injunctive or declaratory relief against an independent establishment described in section #ajd7a7 of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 or an officer or employee of that independent establishment1 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 beliefs described in section #c1 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 narrow the meaning or application of any other ,state or ,federal law protecting religious beliefs4 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 each authority of any branch of the ,government of the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,person ,the term person means a person as defined in section #a of title #a1 ,united ,states ,code1 and includes any such person regardless of religious affiliation or lack thereof1 and regardless of for-profit or nonprofit status4