II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 556 

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

and racist theories. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 

Mr. COTTON (for himself, Mr. DAINES, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. LEE, and Mr. 

LANKFORD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 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: 

8 (1) The founding principles of the United 

9 States include the belief, enshrined in the Declara10 tion of Independence, that ‘‘all men are created 


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1 equal’’ and ‘‘are endowed by their Creator with cer2 tain unalienable Rights’’. 

3 (2) The United States commitment to the equal 

4 dignity and natural rights of all mankind is the 

5 strongest possible defense against racism and op6 pression of all kinds. 

7 (3) The mission of the United States Armed 

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

9 the United States against all enemies, foreign and 

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

11 same’’. 

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

13 Forces must train leaders who love the United 

14 States, its citizens, and the aforementioned founding 

15 principles. 

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

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

18 States is a fundamentally racist Nation, that the 

19 Constitution is a fundamentally racist document, 

20 and that certain races are fundamentally oppressive 

21 or oppressed. 

22 (6) Such theories encourage people to judge 

23 and treat others differently on the basis of their 

24 race, rather than treating them as equal citizens and 


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1 human beings with equal dignity and protection 

2 under the law. 

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

4 Critical Race Theory, teach students to distrust and 

5 even hate their country and fellow citizens. 

6 (8) The United States Armed Forces should not 

7 promote or otherwise encourage anti-American and 

8 racist theories that demoralize and divide its mem9 bers while undermining its mission to ‘‘bear true 

10 faith and allegiance’’ to the Constitution. 

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

12 AND RACIST THEORIES. 

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

14 and academic institutions operated or controlled by the 

15 Department of Defense shall not promote the following 

16 anti-American and racist theories: 

17 (1) Any race is inherently superior or inferior 

18 to any other race. 

19 (2) The United States of America is a fun20 damentally racist country. 

21 (3) The Declaration of Independence or the 

22 United States Constitution are fundamentally racist 

23 documents. 

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

25 determined by his or her race. 


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

2 is inherently racist or oppressive, whether con3 sciously or unconsciously. 

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

5 bears responsibility for the actions committed by 

6 other members of his or her race. 

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

8 ‘‘promote’’ means the following: 

9 (1) Including theories described under sub10 section (a) or materials that advocate such theories 

11 in curricula, reading lists, seminars, workshops, 

12 trainings, or other educational or professional set13 tings in a manner that could reasonably give rise to 

14 the appearance of official sponsorship, approval, or 

15 endorsement. 

16 (2) Contracting with, hiring, or otherwise en17 gaging speakers, consultants, diversity trainers, and 

18 other persons for the purpose of advocating theories 

19 described under subsection (a). 

20 (3) Compelling members of the Armed Forces 

21 to affirm or profess belief in theories described 

22 under subsection (a). 

23 (4) Segregating members of the Armed Forces 

24 or other individuals by race in any setting, including 

25 educational and training sessions. 


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1 (c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

2 (1) PROTECTED SPEECH NOT RESTRICTED.— 

3 Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict 

4 the protected speech of members of the Armed 

5 Forces or any individual. 

6 (2) ACCESS TO MATERIALS FOR THE PURPOSE

7 OF RESEARCH OR INDEPENDENT STUDY.—Nothing 

8 in this section shall be construed to prevent individ9 uals from accessing materials that advocate theories 

10 described under subsection (a) for the purpose of re11 search or independent study. 

12 (3) CONTEXTUAL EDUCATION.—Nothing in this 

13 section shall be construed to prevent the United 

14 States Armed Forces and academic institutions op15 erated or controlled by the Department of Defense 

16 from stating theories described under subsection (a) 

17 or assigning materials that advocate such theories 

18 for educational purposes in contexts that make clear 

19 the United States Armed Forces and Department of 

20 Defense does not sponsor, approve, or endorse such 

21 theories or works. 

Æ 


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