I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1228 

To prohibit the United States Armed Forces from promoting anti-American 

and racist theories. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 

Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. LATURNER, Mr. GUEST, Mr. 

LAMBORN, Mr. BUCK, Mr. PERRY, Mr. ELLZEY, Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania, Mr. MASSIE, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. BOST, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. 

STEUBE, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. DAVIDSON, Mr. BURLISON, Mrs. BOEBERT, 

Mr. CLINE, Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana, Mr. MOOLENAAR, Mr. GOOD of 

Virginia, Mr. ROSENDALE, Mrs. LUNA, Ms. HAGEMAN, Ms. TENNEY, Mr. 

BRECHEEN, Mr. OGLES, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. ROY, Mr. ARRINGTON, 

Mr. CARL, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, and Mr. HUDSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To prohibit the United States Armed Forces from promoting 

anti-American and racist theories. 

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 ‘‘Combating Racist 

5 Training in the Military Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 1228 IH

1 (1) The founding principles of the United 

2 States include the belief, enshrined in the Declara3 tion of Independence, that ‘‘all men are created 

4 equal’’ and ‘‘are endowed by their Creator with cer5 tain unalienable Rights’’. 

6 (2) The United States commitment to the equal 

7 dignity and natural rights of all mankind is the 

8 strongest possible defense against racism and op9 pression of all kinds. 

10 (3) The mission of the United States Armed 

11 Forces is to ‘‘support and defend the Constitution of 

12 the United States against all enemies, foreign and 

13 domestic’’ and ‘‘bear true faith and allegiance to the 

14 same’’. 

15 (4) To carry out this mission, the Armed 

16 Forces must train leaders who love the United 

17 States, its citizens, and the aforementioned founding 

18 principles. 

19 (5) Anti-American and racist theories, such as 

20 ‘‘Critical Race Theory’’, teach that the United 

21 States is a fundamentally racist Nation, that the 

22 Constitution is a fundamentally racist document, 

23 and that certain races are fundamentally oppressive 

24 or oppressed. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 1228 IH

1 (6) Such theories encourage people to judge 

2 and treat others differently on the basis of their 

3 race, rather than treating them as equal citizens and 

4 human beings with equal dignity and protection 

5 under the law. 

6 (7) Anti-American and racist theories, such as 

7 Critical Race Theory, teach students to distrust and 

8 even hate their country and fellow citizens. 

9 (8) The United States Armed Forces should not 

10 promote or otherwise encourage anti-American and 

11 racist theories that demoralize and divide its mem12 bers while undermining its mission to ‘‘bear truth 

13 faith and allegiance’’ to the Constitution. 

14 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON PROMOTION OF ANTI-AMERICAN 

15 AND RACIST THEORIES. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States Armed Forces 

17 and academic institutions operated or controlled by the 

18 Department of Defense shall not promote the following 

19 anti-American and racist theories: 

20 (1) Any race is inherently superior or inferior 

21 to any other race. 

22 (2) The United States of America is a fun23 damentally racist country. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 1228 IH

1 (3) The Declaration of Independence or the 

2 United States Constitution are fundamentally racist 

3 documents. 

4 (4) An individual’s moral character or worth is 

5 determined by his or her race. 

6 (5) An individual, by virtue of his or her race, 

7 is inherently racist or oppressive, whether con8 sciously or unconsciously. 

9 (6) An individual, because of his or her race, 

10 bears responsibility for the actions committed by 

11 other members of his or her race. 

12 (b) PROMOTE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

13 ‘‘promote’’ means the following: 

14 (1) Including theories described under sub15 section (a) or materials that advocate such theories 

16 in curricula, reading lists, seminars, workshops, 

17 trainings, or other educational or professional set18 tings in a manner that could reasonably give rise to 

19 the appearance of official sponsorship, approval, or 

20 endorsement. 

21 (2) Contracting with, hiring, or otherwise en22 gaging speakers, consultants, diversity trainers, and 

23 other persons for the purpose of advocating theories 

24 described under subsection (a). 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 1228 IH

1 (3) Compelling members of the Armed Forces 

2 to affirm or profess belief in theories described 

3 under subsection (a). 

4 (4) Segregating members of the Armed Forces 

5 or other individuals by race in any setting, including 

6 educational and training sessions. 

7 (c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

8 (1) PROTECTED SPEECH NOT RESTRICTED.— 

9 Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict 

10 the protected speech of members of the Armed 

11 Forces or any individual. 

12 (2) ACCESS TO MATERIALS FOR THE PURPOSE

13 OF RESEARCH OR INDEPENDENT STUDY.—Nothing 

14 in this section shall be construed to prevent individ15 uals from accessing materials that advocate theories 

16 described under subsection (a) for the purpose of re17 search or independent study. 

18 (3) CONTEXTUAL EDUCATION.—Nothing in this 

19 section shall be construed to prevent the United 

20 States Armed Forces and academic institutions op21 erated or controlled by the Department of Defense 

22 from stating theories described under subsection (a) 

23 or assigning materials that advocate such theories 

24 for educational purposes in contexts that make clear 

25 the United States Armed Forces and Department of 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 1228 IH

1 Defense does not sponsor, approve, or endorse such 

2 theories or works. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB