IIB 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2679 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2006 

Received 

NOVEMBER 13, 2006 

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

To amend the Revised Statutes of the United States to 

prevent the use of the legal system in a manner that 

extorts money from State and local governments, and 

the Federal Government, and inhibits such governments’ 

constitutional actions under the first, tenth, and fourteenth amendments. 


hmoore on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
2 

HR 2679 RFS

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans’ Memorials, 

5 Boy Scouts, Public Seals, and Other Public Expressions 

6 of Religion Protection Act of 2006’’. 

7 SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON CERTAIN LAWSUITS AGAINST 

8 STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS. 

9 (a) CIVIL ACTION FOR DEPRIVATION OF RIGHTS.— 

10 Section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States 

11 (42 U.S.C. 1983) is amended— 

12 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before the first sentence; 

13 and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(b) The remedies with respect to a claim under this 

16 section are limited to injunctive and declaratory relief 

17 where the deprivation consists of a violation of a prohibi18 tion in the Constitution against the establishment of reli19 gion, including, but not limited to, a violation resulting 

20 from— 

21 ‘‘(1) a veterans’ memorial’s containing religious 

22 words or imagery; 

23 ‘‘(2) a public building’s containing religious 

24 words or imagery; 


hmoore on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
3 

HR 2679 RFS

1 ‘‘(3) the presence of religious words or imagery 

2 in the official seals of the several States and the po3 litical subdivisions thereof; or 

4 ‘‘(4) the chartering of Boy Scout units by com5 ponents of States and political subdivisions, and the 

6 Boy Scouts’ using public buildings of States and po7 litical subdivisions.’’. 

8 (b) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—Section 722(b) of the Re9 vised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1988(b)) 

10 is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘However, 

11 no fees shall be awarded under this subsection with re12 spect to a claim described in subsection (b) of section nine13 teen hundred and seventy nine.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS ON CERTAIN LAWSUITS AGAINST THE 

15 UNITED STATES AND FEDERAL OFFICIALS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi17 sion of law, a court shall not award reasonable fees and 

18 expenses of attorneys to the prevailing party on a claim 

19 of injury consisting of the violation of a prohibition in the 

20 Constitution against the establishment of religion brought 

21 against the United States or any agency or any official 

22 of the United States acting in his or her official capacity 

23 in any court having jurisdiction over such claim, and the 

24 remedies with respect to such a claim shall be limited to 

25 injunctive and declaratory relief. 


hmoore on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
4 

HR 2679 RFS

1 (b) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term 

2 ‘‘a claim of injury consisting of the violation of a prohibi3 tion in the Constitution against the establishment of reli4 gion’’ includes, but is not limited to, a claim of injury re5 sulting from— 

6 (1) a veterans’ memorial’s containing religious 

7 words or imagery; 

8 (2) a Federal building’s containing religious 

9 words or imagery; 

10 (3) the presence of religious words or imagery 

11 in the official seal of the United States and in its 

12 currency and official Pledge; or 

13 (4) the chartering of Boy Scout units by com14 ponents of the Armed Forces of the United States 

15 and by other public entities, and the Boy Scouts’ 

16 using Department of Defense and other public in17 stallations. 

18 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

19 This Act and the amendments made by this Act take 

20 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and apply 

21 to any case that— 

22 (1) is pending on such date of enactment; or 


hmoore on PROD1PC60 with BILLS
5 

HR 2679 RFS

1 (2) is commenced on or after such date of en2 actment. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 26, 

2006. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


hmoore on PROD1PC60 with BILLS