,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hhji  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,november #bd1       
#bjbj,mr4 ,castro of ,texas 7for        
himself1 ,mr4 ,cicilline1 ,mr4          
,mc,govern1 ,mr4 ,lowenthal1 ,ms4       
,norton1 ,ms4 ,haaland1 ,mr4 ,carson of 
,indiana1 and ,mr4 ,sherman7 introduced 
the following bill2 which was referred  
to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs  
,a ,,bill  ,to review the termination   
characterization of former employees of 
the ,department of ,state who were fired
 by reason of the sexual orientation of 
such employees1 and for other purposes4 
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,lavender ,offense ,victim      
,exoneration ,act of #bjbj or the ,,love
 ,act of #bjbj4  #b4 ,findings ,congress
 makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,as 
a consequence of the so-called ,lavender
 ,scare1 at least #a1jjj people were    
wrongfully dismissed from the           
,department of ,state for alleged       
homosexuality during the #aiejs and well

 into the #aifjs4  7#b7 ,according to   
the ,department of ,state's ,bureau of  
,diplomatic ,security1 ,department of   
,state employees were forced out of the 
,department on the grounds that their   
sexual orientation ostensibly rendered  
them vulnerable to blackmail and made   
them security risks4  7#c7 ,in addition 
to those wrongfully terminated1 many    
other patriotic ,americans were         
prevented from joining the ,department  
due to a screening process that was put 
in place to prevent the hiring of those 
who1 according to the findings of the   
,bureau of ,diplomatic ,security1 seemed
 like they might be gay or lesbian4     
7#d7 ,congress bears a special measure  
of responsibility for these             
discriminatory actions as the           
,department's actions were in part in   
response to congressional investigations
 into sex perversion of ,federal        
employees1 reports on the employment of 
moral perverts by ,government ,agencies1
 hearings and pressure placed on the    

,department through the appropriations  
process and congressional complaints    
that ,foggy ,bottom was rampant with    
homosexuals who were sympathetic to     
,communism and vulnerable to blackmail4 
7#e7 ,between #aiej and #aifi1 the      
,department of ,state was required to   
report on the number of homosexuals     
fired each year as part of their annual 
appeals before ,committees on           
,appropriations4  7#f7 ,although the    
worst effects of the ,lavender ,scare   
are behind us1 as recently as the early 
#aiijs1 the ,department of ,state's     
diplomatic security office was          
investigating ,state personnel thought  
to be gay and driving them out of       
government service as security risks4   
7#g7 ,in #aiid1 ,secretary of ,state    
,warren ,christopher issued a           
prohibition against discrimination in   
the ,department of ,state1 including    
that based on sexual orientation4  7#h7 
,in #aiih1 ,president ,william          
,jefferson ,clinton signed ,executive   

,order #acjhg barring discrimination on 
the basis of sexual orientation4  7#i7  
,on ,january #i1 #bjag1 ,secretary of   
,state ,john ,kerry issued a statement  
regarding the ,lavender ,scare1 saying1 
,on behalf of the ,department1 ,i       
apologize to those who were impacted by 
the practices of the past and reaffirm  
the ,department's steadfast commitment  
to diversity and inclusion for all our  
employees1 including members of the     
,,lgbti community44  #c4 ,secretary of  
,state review  7a7 ,review ,the         
,secretary of ,state shall-- 7#a7 review
 all ,department of ,state terminations 
of employees of the ,department that    
occurred as a consequence of the        
,lavender ,scare2 and  7#b7 identify all
 such former employees4  7b7 ,report    
,not later than #bgj days after the date
 of the enactment of this ,act1 the     
,secretary of ,state shall1 consistent  
with applicable privacy regulations1    
compile in a publicly available report  
the information reviewed under          

subsection 7a74 ,such report shall      
include historical statements made by   
officials of the ,department of ,state  
and ,members of ,congress that announced
 or described policies and actions that 
were part of the ,lavender ,scare4  #d4 
,establishment of ,reconciliation ,board
  7a7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary of 
,state shall establish an independent   
,reconciliation ,board 7in this section 
referred to as the ,board7 to review the
 cases of employees of the ,department  
of ,state identified pursuant to section
 #c7;a71 as well as employees of the    
,department who suffered discrimination 
as a consequence of the ,lavender       
,scare1 and correct the records of such 
terminated employees4  7b7 ,composition 
of board ,the ,board shall be composed  
of the following3 7#a7 ,a ,chair1 as    
selected by the ,secretary of ,state4   
7#b7 ,the ,director ,general of the     
,foreign ,service4  7#c7 ,the ,director 
of ,human ,resources of the ,department 
of ,state4  7#d7 ,the ,director of the  

,office of the ,historian of the        
,department4  7#e7 ,the ,director of the
 ,office of ,civil ,rights of the       
,department4  7#f7 ,an individual to    
represent the current employees of the  
,department who are members of the      
,,lgbtq community4  7#g7 ,other         
individuals1 as determined by the       
,secretary of ,state4  7c7 ,staff ,the  
,secretary of ,state shall assign       
additional employees of the ,department 
of ,state to serve as staff to support  
the activities of the ,board4  7d7      
,duties ,the ,board shall-- 7#a7        
consistent with applicable privacy      
regulations1 contact all individuals    
whose employment with the ,department of
 ,state was terminated as a result of   
their sexual orientation1 whether real  
or perceived1 as a consequence of the   
,lavender ,scare or1 in the case of     
deceased former employees1 the          
appropriate family members of such      
employees1 to inform such employees or  
family members that the termination of  

such employees has been determined to be
 inappropriate and that1 if desired1 the
 employment records of such employees   
can be changed to reflect such          
determination2  7#b7 receive oral       
testimony and written evidence of any   
,department employees or appropriate    
family members of deceased employees    
identified in the report required under 
section #c in order that such testimony 
and evidence may serve as an official   
record of such actions and the impact of
 such actions on the lives of ,united   
,states citizens serving their ,nation2 
and  7#c7 provide an opportunity for any
 former ,department employee not        
identified in such report1 or their     
appropriate family member1 to petition  
the ,board to identify additional       
individuals whose employment was        
terminated or who suffered              
discrimination as a result of their     
sexual orientation1 whether real or     
perceived1 as a consequence of the      
,lavender ,scare4  7e7 ,review of claims

  7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #aej 
days after receiving a petition under   
subsection 7d77#c71 the ,board shall--  
7,a7 review such petition2 and  7,b7 in 
accordance with paragraph 7#b71 make a  
determination regarding whether the     
employment termination of the individual
 who is the subject of such petition was
 a result of their sexual orientation1  
whether real or perceived1 as a         
consequence of the ,lavender ,scare4    
7#b7 ,testimony and evidence ,in making 
determinations under paragraph          
7#a77;,b71 the ,board shall consider all
 testimony and evidence under subsection
 7d7 and any pertinent information under
 paragraph 7#c74  7#c7 ,cooperation ,in 
response to a petition under subsection 
7d77#c71 the ,secretary of ,state shall 
produce pertinent information to rebut  
an assertion contained in such petition 
that an employee of the ,department was 
terminated as a consequence of the      
,lavender ,scare4  7f7 ,adjustment of   
employee records ,the ,secretary of     

,state shall adjust all employee records
 for individuals whose employment was   
terminated as a result of their sexual  
orientation1 whether real or perceived1 
as a consequence of the ,lavender       
,scare1 based on the report under       
section #c7;a7 and the ,board's         
determinations made pursuant to         
subsection 7e77#a77;,b71 to reflect the 
inappropriate nature of such            
terminations4  7g7 ,termination ,the    
,board shall terminate on the date that 
is five years after the date of the     
establishment of the ,board4  7h7       
,definition ,in this section1 the term  
appropriate family member means any     
spouse1 descendent1 parent1 grandparent1
 sibling1 legal guardian1 or partner as 
determined by the ,board1 and the       
descendants of any such partner4  #e4   
,issuance of apology  7a7 ,finding      
,secretary of ,state ,kerry delivered   
the following apology on ,january #i1   
#bjag3 ,throughout my career1 including 
as ,secretary of ,state1 ,i have stood  

strongly in support of the ,,lgbti      
community1 recognizing that respect for 
human rights must include respect for   
all individuals4 ,,lgbti employees serve
 as proud members of the ,state         
,department and valued colleagues       
dedicated to the service of our country4
 ,for the last several years1 the       
,department has pressed for the families
 of ,,lgbti officers to have the same   
protections overseas as families of     
other officers4 ,in #bjae1 to further   
promote ,,lgbti rights throughout the   
world1 ,i appointed the first ever      
,special ,envoy for the ,human ,rights  
of ,,lgbti ,persons4 ,in the past--as   
far back as the #aidjs1 but continuing  
for decades--the ,department of ,state  
was among many public and private       
employers that discriminated against    
employees and job applicants on the     
basis of perceived sexual orientation1  
forcing some employees to resign or     
refusing to hire certain applicants in  
the first place4 ,these actions were    

wrong then1 just as they would be wrong 
today4 ,on behalf of the ,department1 ,i
 apologize to those who were impacted by
 the practices of the past and reaffirm 
the ,department's steadfast commitment  
to diversity and inclusion for all our  
employees1 including members of the     
,,lgbti community44  7b7 ,congressional 
apology ,congress hereby offers a formal
 apology for its responsibility in      
encouraging the ,lavender ,scare and    
similar policies at the ,department of  
,state1 as these policies were in part a
 response to congressional              
investigations into sex perversion of   
,federal employees1 reports on the      
employment of moral perverts by         
,government ,agencies1 and hearings or  
pressure otherwise placed on the        
,department of ,state through the       
legislative process4  #f4 ,establishment
 of permanent exhibit on the ,lavender  
,scare  7a7 ,in general ,not later than 
one year after the date of the enactment
 of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state1

 working in coordination with the       
current public-private partnership      
associated with the ,department of      
,state's ,national ,museum of ,american 
,diplomacy1 shall establish in the      
,museum a permanent exhibit on the      
,lavender ,scare4  7b7 ,specifications  
,the exhibit established under          
subsection 7a7-- 7#a7 should provide    
access to the reports compiled by the   
,director ,general of the ,foreign      
,service and ,director of ,human        
,resources of the ,department of ,state 
under section #c7;b72 and  7#b7 shall   
readily display material gathered from  
oral testimony received pursuant to     
section #d7;e77#b74  #g4 ,guidance on   
issuing visas ,to demonstrate the       
,department of ,state's commitment to   
ensuring fairness for current           
,department employees1 not later than   
#ajj days after the date of the         
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of ,state shall submit to ,congress a   
report on countries not issuing spousal 

visas to the spouses of all ,foreign    
,service personnel posted overseas due  
to their sexual orientation4 ,such      
report shall include any comments or    
recommendations for actions1 including  
eliminating visa reciprocity with       
countries determined to be instituting  
such practices1 that will lead to       
ensuring that all spouses of ,foreign   
,service personnel receive spousal visas
 for the country to which their spouse  
is assigned1 regardless of sexual       
orientation4  #h4 ,establishment of     
advancement board  7a7 ,establishment   
,the ,secretary of ,state shall         
establish1 within the ,office of the    
,director ,general of the ,department of
 ,state1 an ,advancement ,board         
comprised of senior-level officials to  
address issues faced by ,,lgbtqi        
,foreign ,service personnel and their   
families4  7b7 ,hearing of testimony    
,the ,advancement ,board established    
under subsection 7a7 shall hear         
testimony from any willing ,,lgbtqi     

,foreign ,service personnel and their   
families regarding any discrimination   
they have faced due to their sexual     
orientation4  7c7 ,report  7#a7 ,in     
general ,not later than #ajj days after 
completing the collection of testimony  
under subsection 7b7 and annually       
thereafter for five years1 the          
,advancement ,board shall submit to     
,congress a report based on such        
testimony4  7#b7 ,content ,each report  
required under paragraph 7#a7 shall     
include any comments or recommendations 
included in the testimony referred to in
 such paragraph for continued actions to
 improve the ,department of ,state to   
ensure that no ,department employee or  
family member experiences discrimination
 due to the sexual orientation of such  
employee4  7#c7 ,privacy ,each report   
required under paragraph 7#a7 shall     
remain private and shall be accessible  
to only ,members of ,congress1 their    
appropriate staff1 and members of the   
,advancement ,board4  #i4 ,definitions  

,in this ,act1 the term ,lavender ,scare
 means any policy or action implemented 
by the ,department of ,state between    
,january #a1 #aiej1 and ,january #a1    
#aiid1 whether formal or informal1 that 
led to the termination of ,department   
employees or perpetuated discrimination 
against any such employees on the basis 
of sexual orientation1 whether real or  
perceived4