Safeguarding Honest Speech Act

119 S839 IS: Safeguarding Honest Speech Act U.S. Senate 2025-03-04 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. II 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 839 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 4, 2025 Mr. Cruz (for himself and Mr. Budd ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To prohibit the use of funds to implement, administer, or enforce measures requiring certain employees to refer to an individual by the preferred pronouns of such individual or a name other than the legal name of such individual, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Safeguarding Honest Speech Act . 2. No Federal funds for compelled language (a) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal funds may be used for the purpose of implementing, administering, or enforcing any rule, policy, guidance, recommendation, or memorandum requiring an employee or contractor of any Federal agency or Department to use— (1) another person’s preferred pronouns if they are incompatible with such person’s sex; or (2) a name other than a person’s legal name when referring to such person. (b) Enforcement (1) In general All Federal agencies and Departments shall ensure that, not later than 30 days following a written notice from any employee or contractor described in subsection (a) regarding an alleged violation of subsection (a), a formal response to the notice is issued to the employee or contractor. (2) Private right of action In the case that the formal response issued under paragraph (1) does not represent a satisfactory outcome for the employee or contractor, any employee or contractor described in subsection (a) and aggrieved by a violation of subsection (a) may commence a civil action against the Federal agency or Department responsible for the alleged violation. (3) Relief In any action under this subsection, the court may award appropriate relief, including— (A) temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunctive relief; (B) compensatory damages; (C) punitive or exemplary damages, which may not exceed $100,000; and (D) reasonable fees for attorneys. (4) Statute of limitations An action under this subsection shall be brought not later than 1 year after the date on which the alleged violation of subsection (a) occurred. (c) Definitions In this section: (1) Person The term person means an individual. (2) Sex The term sex means sex recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.