I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2104 

To protect the right of elected and appointed officials to express their religious 

beliefs through public prayer. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 2, 2007 

Mr. BARRETT of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. KUHL of New York, Mr. 

ALEXANDER, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. LUCAS, Mr. MARCHANT, Mr. GARRETT

of New Jersey, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. PEARCE, 

Mr. CAMPBELL of California, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. GINGREY, Mr. 

BILBRAY, Mr. PITTS, Mr. AKIN, Mr. GOODE, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. 

CANTOR, Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. BURTON of 

Indiana, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. SHADEGG, Mrs. MUSGRAVE, Ms. FOXX, Mr. 

CONAWAY, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. 

HUNTER, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. WICKER, Mrs. EMERSON, Mr. 

EVERETT, Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, and Mr. CARTER) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To protect the right of elected and appointed officials to 

express their religious beliefs through public prayer. 

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 ‘‘Public Prayer Protec5 tion Act of 2007’’. 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

2 

•HR 2104 IH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds that— 

3 (1) The Establishment Clause of the First 

4 Amendment to the United States Constitution was 

5 intended by our Founding Fathers to prohibit one 

6 religious denomination from enjoying the exclusive 

7 backing of government and to prohibit the Federal 

8 establishment of any type of religious uniformity or 

9 orthodoxy that rewards observers and punishes viola10 tors. 

11 (2) The First Amendment guarantees the right 

12 of elected and appointed officials to express their re13 ligious beliefs through public prayer. 

14 (3) The exercise of this right does not violate 

15 the Establishment Clause. 

16 (4) The courts and the legislatures of the sev17 eral States are in the best position to protect this 

18 right. 

19 (5) Article III, Section 2, clause 2 of the United 

20 States Constitution expressly grants Congress the 

21 authority to define the appellate jurisdiction of the 

22 Federal court system. 

23 SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON APPELLATE JURISDICTION. 

24 (a) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 28.—Chapter 81 of title 

25 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

26 the following: 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

3 

•HR 2104 IH

1 ‘‘§ 1260. Matters not reviewable 

2 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, 

3 the Supreme Court shall not have jurisdiction to review, 

4 by appeal, writ of certiorari, or otherwise, any matter that 

5 relates to the alleged establishment of religion involving 

6 an entity of the Federal Government or a State or local 

7 government, or an officer or agent of the Federal Govern8 ment or a State or local government, acting in an official 

9 capacity, concerning the expression of public prayer by 

10 that entity, officer, or agent.’’. 

11 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections at 

12 the beginning of chapter 81 of title 28, United States 

13 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘1260. Matters not reviewable.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT 

15 COURTS. 

16 (a) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 28.—Chapter 85 of title 

17 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

18 of the following: 

19 ‘‘§ 1370. Limitation on jurisdiction 

20 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the dis21 trict courts shall not have jurisdiction of any matter that 

22 relates to the alleged establishment of religion involving 

23 an entity of the Federal Government or a State or local 

24 government, or an officer or agent of the Federal Govern25 ment or a State or local government, acting in an official 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

4 

•HR 2104 IH

1 capacity, concerning the expression of public prayer by 

2 that entity, officer, or agent.’’. 

3 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections at 

4 the beginning of chapter 85 of title 28, United States 

5 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘1370. Limitation on jurisdiction.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. EXTRAJURISDICTIONAL CASES NOT BINDING ON 

7 STATES. 

8 Any decision of a Federal court which has been made 

9 before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

10 to the extent that the decision relates to an issue removed 

11 from Federal jurisdiction under section 1260 or 1370 of 

12 title 28, United States Code, as added by this Act, is not 

13 binding precedent on the court of any State, the District 

14 of Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or posses15 sion of the United States, or on the court of any subdivi16 sion thereof. 

Æ 

mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS