II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1420 

To direct the Secretary of State to review the termination characterization 

of former members of the Department of State who were fired by 

reason of the sexual orientation of the official, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 22, 2017 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, 

Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. KAINE, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. COONS, Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mrs. SHAHEEN, 

Mr. WYDEN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. UDALL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of State to review the termination 

characterization of former members of the Department 

of State who were fired by reason of the sexual orientation of the official, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Lavender Offense Vic5 tim Exoneration Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘LOVE Act of 

6 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) During the so-called ‘‘Lavender Scare’’, at 

4 least 1,000 people were wrongfully dismissed from 

5 the Department of State for alleged homosexuality 

6 during the 1950s and well into the 1960s. 

7 (2) According to the Department of State’s Bu8 reau of Diplomatic Security, Department of State 

9 employees were forced out of the Department on the 

10 grounds that their sexual orientation ostensibly ren11 dered them vulnerable to blackmail and made them 

12 security risks. 

13 (3) In addition to those wrongfully dismissed, 

14 many other patriotic Americans were prevented from 

15 joining the Department due to a screening process 

16 that was put in place to prevent the hiring of those 

17 who, according to the findings of the Bureau of Dip18 lomatic Security, ‘‘seemed like they might be gay or 

19 lesbian’’. 

20 (4) Congress bears a special measure of respon21 sibility as the Department’s actions were in part in 

22 response to congressional investigations into ‘‘sex 

23 perversion of Federal employees’’, reports on the em24 ployment of ‘‘moral perverts by Government Agen25 cies’’, hearings and pressure placed on the Depart26 ment through the appropriations process and conVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:29 Jul 05, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1420.IS S1420

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1 gressional complaints that Foggy Bottom was 

2 ‘‘rampant with homosexuals who were sympathetic 

3 to Communism and vulnerable to blackmail’’. 

4 (5) Between 1950 and 1969, the Department of 

5 State was required to report on the number of ho6 mosexuals fired each year as part of their annual ap7 peals before Committees on Appropriations. 

8 (6) Although the worst effects of the ‘‘Lavender 

9 Scare’’ are behind us, as recently as the early 1990s, 

10 the Department of State’s security office was inves11 tigating State personnel thought to be gay and driv12 ing them out of government service as ‘‘security 

13 risks’’. 

14 (7) In 1994, Secretary of State Warren Chris15 topher issued a prohibition against discrimination in 

16 the Department of State, including that based on 

17 sexual orientation. 

18 (8) In 1998, President William Jefferson Clin19 ton signed Executive Order 13087 barring discrimi20 nation on the basis of sexual orientation. 

21 (9) On January 9, 2017, Secretary of State 

22 John Kerry issued a statement regarding the ‘‘Lav23 ender Scare’’, saying, ‘‘On behalf of the Department, 

24 I apologize to those who were impacted by the prac25 tices of the past and reaffirm the Department’s 


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1 steadfast commitment to diversity and inclusion for 

2 all our employees, including members of the LGBTI 

3 community.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. DIRECTOR GENERAL REVIEW. 

5 (a) REVIEW.—The Director General of the Foreign 

6 Service and Director of Human Resources of the Depart7 ment of State, in consultation with the Historian of the 

8 Department of State, shall review all employee termi9 nations that occurred after January 1, 1950, to determine 

10 who was wrongfully terminated owing to their sexual ori11 entation, whether real or perceived. 

12 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 270 days after the date 

13 of the enactment of this Act, the Director General shall, 

14 consistent with applicable privacy regulations, compile the 

15 information compiled under subsection (a) in a publicly 

16 available report. The report shall include historical state17 ments made by officials of the Department of State and 

18 Congress encouraging and implementing policies and tac19 tics that led to the termination of employees due to their 

20 sexual orientation. 

21 SEC. 4. REPORTS ON REVIEWS. 

22 (a) REVIEWS.—The Secretary of State shall conduct 

23 reviews of the consistency and uniformity of the reviews 

24 conducted by the Director General under section 3. 


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1 (b) REPORTS.—Not later than 270 days after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter 

3 for 2 years, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a re4 port on the reviews conducted under section 3. Each re5 port shall include any comments or recommendations for 

6 continued actions. 

7 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF RECONCILIATION BOARD. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State shall 

9 establish, within the Office of Civil Rights of the Depart10 ment of State, an independent Reconciliation Board to re11 view the reports released by the Director General of the 

12 Foreign Service and Director of Human Services under 

13 section 3(b). 

14 (b) DUTIES.—The Reconciliation Board shall— 

15 (1) consistent with applicable privacy regula16 tions, contact all employees found to be fired due to 

17 the ‘‘Lavender Scare’’ or, in the case of deceased 

18 former employees, the family members of the em19 ployees, to inform them that their termination from 

20 the Department of State has been deemed inappro21 priate and that, if they wish, their employment 

22 record can be changed to reflect these findings; 

23 (2) designate a point of contact at a senior level 

24 position within the Office of the Director General of 

25 the Foreign Service and Director of Human ReVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:25 Jun 30, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1420.IS S1420

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1 sources to receive oral testimony of any employees or 

2 family members of deceased employees mentioned in 

3 the report who personally experienced discrimination 

4 and termination because of the actual or perceived 

5 sexual orientation in order that such testimony may 

6 serve as an official record of these discriminatory 

7 policies and their impact on United States lives; and 

8 (3) provide an opportunity for any former em9 ployee not mentioned in the report to bring forth a 

10 grievance to the Board if they believe they were ter11 minated due to their sexual orientation. 

12 (c) REVIEW OF CLAIMS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall review each 

14 claim described in subsection (b) within 150 days of 

15 receiving the claim. Lack of paperwork may not be 

16 used as a basis for dismissing any claims. 

17 (2) COOPERATION.—The Department of State 

18 shall be responsible for producing pertinent informa19 tion regarding each claim to prove the employee was 

20 not wrongfully terminated. 

21 (d) TERMINATION.—The Board shall terminate 5 

22 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

23 SEC. 6. ISSUANCE OF APOLOGY. 

24 (a) FINDING.—Secretary of State Kerry delivered the 

25 following apology on January 9, 2017: 


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1 ‘‘Throughout my career, including as Secretary of 

2 State, I have stood strongly in support of the LGBTI com3 munity, recognizing that respect for human rights must 

4 include respect for all individuals. LGBTI employees serve 

5 as proud members of the State Department and valued 

6 colleagues dedicated to the service of our country. For the 

7 last several years, the Department has pressed for the 

8 families of LGBTI officers to have the same protections 

9 overseas as families of other officers. In 2015, to further 

10 promote LGBTI rights throughout the world, I appointed 

11 the first ever Special Envoy for the Human Rights of 

12 LGBTI Persons. 

13 ‘‘In the past—as far back as the 1940s, but con14 tinuing for decades—the Department of State was among 

15 many public and private employers that discriminated 

16 against employees and job applicants on the basis of per17 ceived sexual orientation, forcing some employees to resign 

18 or refusing to hire certain applicants in the first place. 

19 These actions were wrong then, just as they would be 

20 wrong today. 

21 ‘‘On behalf of the Department, I apologize to those 

22 who were impacted by the practices of the past and reaf23 firm the Department’s steadfast commitment to diversity 

24 and inclusion for all our employees, including members of 

25 the LGBTI community.’’ 


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1 (b) CONGRESSIONAL APOLOGY.—Congress hereby of2 fers a formal apology for its responsibility in encouraging 

3 the ‘‘Lavender Scare’’ and similar policies at the Depart4 ment of State, as these policies were in part a response 

5 to congressional investigations into ‘‘sex perversion of 

6 Federal employees’’, reports on the employment of ‘‘moral 

7 perverts by Government Agencies’’, and hearings or pres8 sure otherwise placed on the Department of State through 

9 the appropriations process. 

10 SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT OF PERMANENT EXHIBIT ON THE 

11 LAVENDER SCARE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall work 

13 with the current public-private partnership associated with 

14 the Department of State’s new United States Diplomacy 

15 Center to establish a permanent exhibit on the ‘‘Lavender 

16 Scare’’ in the museum to assure that the history of this 

17 unfortunate episode is not brushed aside. 

18 (b) SPECIFICATIONS.—The exhibit— 

19 (1) shall be installed at the museum not later 

20 than one year after the date of enactment of this 

21 Act; 

22 (2) should provide access to the reports com23 piled by the Director General of the Foreign Service 

24 and Director of Human Resources under section 

25 3(b); and 


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1 (3) shall readily display material gathered from 

2 oral testimony received pursuant to section 5(b)(2) 

3 from employees or family members of deceased em4 ployees who were subject to these discriminatory 

5 policies during the ‘‘Lavender Scare’’. 

6 SEC. 8. GUIDANCE ON ISSUING VISAS. 

7 To demonstrate the Department of State’s commit8 ment to ensuring fairness for current employees, not later 

9 than 100 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

10 the Secretary of State shall submit to Congress a report 

11 on countries not issuing visas to the spouses of all Foreign 

12 Service personnel posted overseas due to their sexual ori13 entation. This report shall include any comments or rec14 ommendations for actions, including eliminating visa reci15 procity with countries found to be instituting these prac16 tices against the spouses of Foreign Service personnel, 

17 that will lead to ensuring that all spouses of Foreign Serv18 ice personnel receive visas for the country their spouse is 

19 assigned, regardless of sexual orientation. 

20 SEC. 9. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVANCEMENT BOARD. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State shall 

22 establish, within the Office of the Director General of the 

23 Department of State, a board comprised of senior-level of24 ficials to address the issues faced by LGBTQI Foreign 

25 Service employees and their families. 


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1 (b) HEARING OF TESTIMONY.—The Advancement 

2 Board shall hear testimony from any willing LGBTQI 

3 Foreign Service employees and their families regarding 

4 any discrimination they have faced due to their sexual ori5 entation. 

6 (c) REPORT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 100 days 

8 after completing collection of testimony described 

9 under subsection (b), and annually thereafter for 5 

10 years, the Advancement Board shall submit to Con11 gress a report based on the testimony. 

12 (2) CONTENT.—The report required under 

13 paragraph (1) shall include any comments or rec14 ommendations for continued actions to improve the 

15 Department of State to ensure that no employee or 

16 their family members experience discrimination due 

17 to their sexual orientation. 

18 (3) PRIVACY.—The report required under para19 graph (1) shall remain private and will only be ac20 cessible to Members of Congress, their appropriate 

21 staff, and members of the Advancement Board. 

Æ 


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