,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #abeb  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,april #cj1    
#bjai,mr4 ,menendez 7for himself1 ,mr4  
,cardin1 ,mr4 ,murphy1 ,mr4 ,udall1 ,mr4
 ,markey1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,mrs4          
,gillibrand1 ,mrs4 ,feinstein1 ,mr4     
,merkley1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1
 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,mr4 ,coons1 ,mrs4  
,murray1 ,ms4 ,harris1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,ms4
 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,mr4 ,schatz1
 and ,mr4 ,whitehouse7 introduced the   
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,foreign 
,relations  ,a ,,bill  ,to direct the   
,secretary of ,state to review the      
termination characterization of former  
members of the ,department of ,state who
 were fired by reason of the sexual     
orientation of the official1 and for    
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,lavender      
,offense ,victim ,exoneration ,act of   
#bjai or the ,,love ,act of #bjai4  #b4 
,findings ,congress makes the following 

findings3 7#a7 ,during 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 ,director      
,general review  7a7 ,review ,the       
,director ,general of the ,foreign      
,service and ,director of ,human        
,resources of the ,department of ,state1
 in consultation with the ,historian of 
the ,department of ,state1 shall review 
all employee terminations that occurred 
after ,january #a1 #aiej1 to determine  

who was wrongfully terminated owing to  
their sexual orientation1 whether real  
or perceived4  7b7 ,report ,not later   
than #bgj days after the date of the    
enactment of this ,act1 the ,director   
,general shall1 consistent with         
applicable privacy regulations1 compile 
the information compiled under          
subsection 7a7 in a publicly available  
report4 ,the report shall include       
historical statements made by officials 
of the ,department of ,state and        
,congress encouraging and implementing  
policies and tactics that led to the    
termination of employees due to their   
sexual orientation4  #d4 ,reports on    
reviews  7a7 ,reviews ,the ,secretary of
 ,state shall conduct reviews of the    
consistency and uniformity of the       
reviews conducted by the ,director      
,general under section #c4  7b7 ,reports
 ,not later than #bgj days after the    
date of the enactment of this ,act1 and 
annually thereafter for #b years1 the   
,secretary shall submit to ,congress a  

report on the reviews conducted under   
section #c4 ,each report shall include  
any comments or recommendations for     
continued actions4  #e4 ,establishment  
of reconciliation board  7a7            
,establishment ,the ,secretary of ,state
 shall establish1 within the ,office of 
,civil ,rights of the ,department of    
,state1 an independent ,reconciliation  
,board to review the reports released by
 the ,director ,general of the ,foreign 
,service and ,director of ,human        
,services under section #c7;b74  7b7    
,duties ,the ,reconciliation ,board     
shall-- 7#a7 consistent with applicable 
privacy regulations1 contact all        
employees found to be fired due to the  
,lavender ,scare or1 in the case of     
deceased former employees1 the family   
members of the employees1 to inform them
 that their termination from the        
,department of ,state has been deemed   
inappropriate and that1 if they wish1   
their employment record can be changed  
to reflect these findings2  7#b7        

designate a point of contact at a senior
 level position within the ,office of   
the ,director ,general of the ,foreign  
,service and ,director of ,human        
,resources to receive oral testimony of 
any employees or family members of      
deceased employees mentioned in the     
report who personally experienced       
discrimination and termination because  
of the actual or perceived sexual       
orientation in order that such testimony
 may serve as an official record of     
these discriminatory policies and their 
impact on the lives of ,united ,states  
citizens serving their ,nation2 and     
7#c7 provide an opportunity for any     
former employee not mentioned in the    
report to bring forth a grievance to the
 ,board if they believe they were       
terminated due to their sexual          
orientation4  7c7 ,review of claims     
7#a7 ,in general ,the ,board shall      
review each claim described in          
subsection 7b7 within #aej days of      
receiving the claim4 ,lack of paperwork 

may not be used as a basis for          
dismissing any claims4  7#b7            
,cooperation ,the ,department of ,state 
shall be responsible for producing      
pertinent information regarding each    
claim to prove the employee was not     
wrongfully terminated4  7d7 ,termination
 ,the ,board shall terminate #e years   
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act4  #f4 ,issuance of apology  7a7    
,finding ,secretary of ,state ,kerry    
delivered the following apology on      
,january #i1 #bjag3 8,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      
,persons48,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 today48,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 community40  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       
appropriations process4  #g4            
,establishment of permanent exhibit on  
the ,lavender ,scare  7a7 ,in general   
,the ,secretary of ,state1 working with 
the current public-private partnership  
associated with the ,department of      
,state's new ,united ,states ,diplomacy 
,center1 shall establish a permanent    
exhibit on the ,lavender ,scare in the  
museum to assure that the history of    
this discriminatory episode is not      
brushed aside4  7b7 ,specifications ,the
 exhibit-- 7#a7 shall be installed at   
the museum not later than one year after
 the date of enactment of this ,act2    

7#b7 should provide access to the       
reports compiled by the ,director       
,general of the ,foreign ,service and   
,director of ,human ,resources under    
section #c7;b72 and  7#c7 shall readily 
display material gathered from oral     
testimony received pursuant to section  
#e7;b77#b7 from employees or family     
members of deceased employees who were  
subject to these discriminatory policies
 during the ,lavender ,scare4  #h4      
,guidance on issuing visas ,to          
demonstrate the ,department of ,state's 
commitment to ensuring fairness for     
current 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 ,this report shall  
include any comments or recommendations 
for actions1 including eliminating visa 
reciprocity with countries found to be  

instituting these practices against the 
spouses of ,foreign ,service personnel1 
that will lead to ensuring that all     
spouses of ,foreign ,service personnel  
receive spousal visas for the country   
their spouse is assigned1 regardless of 
sexual orientation4  #i4 ,establishment 
of ,advancement ,board  7a7             
,establishment ,the ,secretary of ,state
 shall establish1 within the ,office of 
the ,director ,general of the           
,department of ,state1 a board comprised
 of senior-level officials to address   
the issues faced by ,,lgbtqi ,foreign   
,service employees and their families4  
7b7 ,hearing of testimony ,the          
,advancement ,board shall hear testimony
 from any willing ,,lgbtqi ,foreign     
,service employees 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        
collection of testimony described under 
subsection 7b71 and annually thereafter 

for #e years1 the ,advancement ,board   
shall submit to ,congress a report based
 on the testimony4  7#b7 ,content ,the  
report required under paragraph 7#a7    
shall include any comments or           
recommendations for continued actions to
 improve the ,department of ,state to   
ensure that no employee or their family 
members experience discrimination due to
 their sexual orientation4  7#c7        
,privacy ,the report required under     
paragraph 7#a7 shall remain private and 
will only be accessible to ,members of  
,congress1 their appropriate staff1 and 
members of the ,advancement ,board4