I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2023 

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 

MAY 26, 2011 

Mr. BURTON of Indiana (for himself, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. FORBES, Mr. 

JONES, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. TERRY, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. FRANKS

of Arizona, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. GARRETT, and Mr. BARTON of Texas) 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 ‘‘Veterans’ Memorials, 

3 Boy Scouts, Public Seals, and Other Public Expressions 

4 of Religion Protection Act of 2011’’. 

5 SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS ON CERTAIN LAWSUITS AGAINST 

6 STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS. 

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

8 Section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States 

9 (42 U.S.C. 1983) is amended— 

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

11 and 

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

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

14 section are limited to injunctive and declaratory relief 

15 where the deprivation consists of a violation of a prohibi16 tion in the Constitution against the establishment of reli17 gion, including, but not limited to, a violation resulting 

18 from— 

19 ‘‘(1) a veterans’ memorial’s containing religious 

20 words or imagery; 

21 ‘‘(2) a public building’s containing religious 

22 words or imagery; 

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

24 in the official seals of the several States and the po25 litical subdivisions thereof; or 


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1 ‘‘(4) the chartering of Boy Scout units by com2 ponents of States and political subdivisions, and the 

3 Boy Scouts’ using public buildings of States and po4 litical subdivisions.’’. 

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 Mar 15 2010 03:54 Jun 02, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2023.IH H2023

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

3 (1) a veterans’ memorial’s containing religious 

4 words or imagery; 

5 (2) a Federal building’s containing religious 

6 words or imagery; 

7 (3) the presence of religious words or imagery 

8 in the official seal of the United States and in its 

9 currency and official Pledge; or 

10 (4) the chartering of Boy Scout units by com11 ponents of the Armed Forces of the United States 

12 and by other public entities, and the Boy Scouts’ 

13 using Department of Defense and other public in14 stallations. 

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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