I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1269 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana (for himself, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. 

GAETZ, Mr. POSEY, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mr. LOUDERMILK, Mr. WEBSTER of Florida, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. BANKS, Mr. BARR, Mr. 

HUIZENGA, Mr. MITCHELL, Mr. LUETKEMEYER, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. 

ROUZER, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. WENSTRUP, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. KEVIN HERN

of Oklahoma, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. RATCLIFFE, Mr. 

WRIGHT, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. FLORES, Mr. BABIN, Mr. PERRY, 

and Mr. GROTHMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

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. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘History and Tradition 

3 Protection Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON CERTAIN LAWSUITS AGAINST 

5 STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS. 

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

7 Section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States 

8 (42 U.S.C. 1983) is amended— 

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

10 and 

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

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

13 section are limited to injunctive and declaratory relief 

14 where the deprivation consists of a violation of a prohibi15 tion in the Constitution against the establishment of reli16 gion, including, but not limited to, a violation resulting 

17 from— 

18 ‘‘(1) any monument, memorial, statue, or other 

19 figure containing religious words, imagery, or sym20 bolism; 

21 ‘‘(2) a public building containing religious 

22 words, imagery, or symbolism; 

23 ‘‘(3) the presence of religious words, imagery, 

24 or symbolism in the official seals and flags of the 

25 several States and the political subdivision thereof; 

26 or 


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1 ‘‘(4) religious expression in the context of the 

2 proceedings of any deliberative body or division of 

3 any State or deliberative body or division of the sev4 eral States.’’. 

5 (b) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—Section 722(b) of the Re6 vised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1988(b)) 

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

8 no fees shall be awarded under this subsection with re9 spect to a claim described in subsection (b) of section nine10 teen hundred and seventy nine.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS ON CERTAIN LAWSUITS AGAINST THE 

12 UNITED STATES AND FEDERAL OFFICIALS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi14 sion of law, a court shall not award reasonable fees and 

15 expenses of attorneys to the prevailing party on a claim 

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

17 Constitution against the establishment of religion brought 

18 against the United States or any agency or any official 

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

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

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

22 injunctive and declaratory relief. 

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

24 ‘‘a claim of injury consisting of the violation of a prohibi25 tion in the Constitution against the establishment of reliVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Feb 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1269.IH H1269

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1 gion’’ includes, but is not limited to, a claim of injury re2 sulting from— 

3 (1) any monument, memorial, statue, or other 

4 figure containing religious words, imagery, or sym5 bolism; 

6 (2) a Federal building containing religious 

7 words, imagery, or symbolism; 

8 (3) the presence of religious words, imagery, or 

9 symbolism in the official seal of the United States 

10 and in its currency and official Pledge; or 

11 (4) religious expression in the context of the 

12 proceedings of any deliberative body or division of 

13 the Legislative or Executive branches of the United 

14 States. 

15 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

16 This Act and the amendments made by this Act take 

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

18 to any case that— 

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

20 (2) is commenced on or after such date of en21 actment. 

Æ 


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