I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8809 

To review the termination characterization of former employees of the Department of State who were fired by reason of the sexual orientation of 

such employees, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 24, 2020 

Mr. CASTRO of Texas (for himself, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 

LOWENTHAL, Ms. NORTON, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, and 

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

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To review the termination characterization of former employees of the Department of State who were fired by reason 

of the sexual orientation of such employees, 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 2020’’ or the ‘‘LOVE Act of 

6 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) As a consequence of the so-called ‘‘Lavender 

4 Scare’’, at least 1,000 people were wrongfully dis5 missed from the Department of State for alleged ho6 mosexuality during the 1950s and well into the 

7 1960s. 

8 (2) According to the Department of State’s Bu9 reau of Diplomatic Security, Department of State 

10 employees were forced out of the Department on the 

11 grounds that their sexual orientation ostensibly ren12 dered them vulnerable to blackmail and made them 

13 security risks. 

14 (3) In addition to those wrongfully terminated, 

15 many other patriotic Americans were prevented from 

16 joining the Department due to a screening process 

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

18 who, according to the findings of the Bureau of Dip19 lomatic Security, ‘‘seemed like they might be gay or 

20 lesbian’’. 

21 (4) Congress bears a special measure of respon22 sibility for these discriminatory actions as the De23 partment’s actions were in part in response to con24 gressional investigations into ‘‘sex perversion of Fed25 eral employees’’, reports on the employment of 

26 ‘‘moral perverts by Government Agencies’’, hearings 


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1 and pressure placed on the Department through the 

2 appropriations process and congressional complaints 

3 that Foggy Bottom was rampant with homosexuals 

4 who were sympathetic to Communism and vulnerable 

5 to blackmail. 

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

7 State was required to report on the number of ho8 mosexuals fired each year as part of their annual ap9 peals before Committees on Appropriations. 

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

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

12 the Department of State’s diplomatic security office 

13 was investigating State personnel thought to be gay 

14 and driving them out of government service as ‘‘se15 curity risks’’. 

16 (7) In 1994, Secretary of State Warren Chris17 topher issued a prohibition against discrimination in 

18 the Department of State, including that based on 

19 sexual orientation. 

20 (8) In 1998, President William Jefferson Clin21 ton signed Executive Order 13087 barring discrimi22 nation on the basis of sexual orientation. 

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

24 John Kerry issued a statement regarding the ‘‘Lav25 ender Scare’’, saying, ‘‘On behalf of the Department, 


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1 I apologize to those who were impacted by the prac2 tices of the past and reaffirm the Department’s 

3 steadfast commitment to diversity and inclusion for 

4 all our employees, including members of the LGBTI 

5 community.’’. 

6 SEC. 3. SECRETARY OF STATE REVIEW. 

7 (a) REVIEW.—The Secretary of State shall— 

8 (1) review all Department of State terminations 

9 of employees of the Department that occurred as a 

10 consequence of the Lavender Scare; and 

11 (2) identify all such former employees. 

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

13 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall, 

14 consistent with applicable privacy regulations, compile in 

15 a publicly available report the information reviewed under 

16 subsection (a). Such report shall include historical state17 ments made by officials of the Department of State and 

18 Members of Congress that announced or described policies 

19 and actions that were part of the Lavender Scare. 

20 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF RECONCILIATION BOARD. 

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

22 establish an independent Reconciliation Board (in this sec23 tion referred to as the ‘‘Board’’) to review the cases of 

24 employees of the Department of State identified pursuant 

25 to section 3(a), as well as employees of the Department 


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1 who suffered discrimination as a consequence of the Lav2 ender Scare, and correct the records of such terminated 

3 employees. 

4 (b) COMPOSITION OF BOARD.—The Board shall be 

5 composed of the following: 

6 (1) A Chair, as selected by the Secretary of 

7 State. 

8 (2) The Director General of the Foreign Serv9 ice. 

10 (3) The Director of Human Resources of the 

11 Department of State. 

12 (4) The Director of the Office of the Historian 

13 of the Department. 

14 (5) The Director of the Office of Civil Rights 

15 of the Department. 

16 (6) An individual to represent the current em17 ployees of the Department who are members of the 

18 LGBTQ community. 

19 (7) Other individuals, as determined by the Sec20 retary of State. 

21 (c) STAFF.—The Secretary of State shall assign addi22 tional employees of the Department of State to serve as 

23 staff to support the activities of the Board. 

24 (d) DUTIES.—The Board shall— 


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1 (1) consistent with applicable privacy regula2 tions, contact all individuals whose employment with 

3 the Department of State was terminated as a result 

4 of their sexual orientation, whether real or perceived, 

5 as a consequence of the Lavender Scare or, in the 

6 case of deceased former employees, the appropriate 

7 family members of such employees, to inform such 

8 employees or family members that the termination of 

9 such employees has been determined to be inappro10 priate and that, if desired, the employment records 

11 of such employees can be changed to reflect such de12 termination; 

13 (2) receive oral testimony and written evidence 

14 of any Department employees or appropriate family 

15 members of deceased employees identified in the re16 port required under section 3 in order that such tes17 timony and evidence may serve as an official record 

18 of such actions and the impact of such actions on 

19 the lives of United States citizens serving their Na20 tion; and 

21 (3) provide an opportunity for any former De22 partment employee not identified in such report, or 

23 their appropriate family member, to petition the 

24 Board to identify additional individuals whose em25 ployment was terminated or who suffered discrimiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Dec 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8809.IH H8809

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1 nation as a result of their sexual orientation, wheth2 er real or perceived, as a consequence of the Lav3 ender Scare. 

4 (e) REVIEW OF CLAIMS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 150 days 

6 after receiving a petition under subsection (d)(3), 

7 the Board shall— 

8 (A) review such petition; and 

9 (B) in accordance with paragraph (2), 

10 make a determination regarding whether the 

11 employment termination of the individual who 

12 is the subject of such petition was a result of 

13 their sexual orientation, whether real or per14 ceived, as a consequence of the Lavender Scare. 

15 (2) TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE.—In making 

16 determinations under paragraph (1)(B), the Board 

17 shall consider all testimony and evidence under sub18 section (d) and any pertinent information under 

19 paragraph (3). 

20 (3) COOPERATION.—In response to a petition 

21 under subsection (d)(3), the Secretary of State shall 

22 produce pertinent information to rebut an assertion 

23 contained in such petition that an employee of the 

24 Department was terminated as a consequence of the 

25 Lavender Scare. 


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1 (f) ADJUSTMENT OF EMPLOYEE RECORDS.—The 

2 Secretary of State shall adjust all employee records for 

3 individuals whose employment was terminated as a result 

4 of their sexual orientation, whether real or perceived, as 

5 a consequence of the Lavender Scare, based on the report 

6 under section 3(a) and the Board’s determinations made 

7 pursuant to subsection (e)(1)(B), to reflect the inappro8 priate nature of such terminations. 

9 (g) TERMINATION.—The Board shall terminate on 

10 the date that is five years after the date of the establish11 ment of the Board. 

12 (h) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro13 priate family member’’ means any spouse, descendent, 

14 parent, grandparent, sibling, legal guardian, or partner as 

15 determined by the Board, and the descendants of any such 

16 partner. 

17 SEC. 5. ISSUANCE OF APOLOGY. 

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

19 following apology on January 9, 2017: ‘‘Throughout my 

20 career, including as Secretary of State, I have stood 

21 strongly in support of the LGBTI community, recognizing 

22 that respect for human rights must include respect for all 

23 individuals. LGBTI employees serve as proud members of 

24 the State Department and valued colleagues dedicated to 

25 the service of our country. For the last several years, the 


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1 Department has pressed for the families of LGBTI offi2 cers to have the same protections overseas as families of 

3 other officers. In 2015, to further promote LGBTI rights 

4 throughout the world, I appointed the first ever Special 

5 Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons. In the 

6 past—as far back as the 1940s, but continuing for dec7 ades—the Department of State was among many public 

8 and private employers that discriminated against employ9 ees and job applicants on the basis of perceived sexual ori10 entation, forcing some employees to resign or refusing to 

11 hire certain applicants in the first place. These actions 

12 were wrong then, just as they would be wrong today. On 

13 behalf of the Department, I apologize to those who were 

14 impacted by the practices of the past and reaffirm the De15 partment’s steadfast commitment to diversity and inclu16 sion for all our employees, including members of the 

17 LGBTI community.’’. 

18 (b) CONGRESSIONAL APOLOGY.—Congress hereby of19 fers a formal apology for its responsibility in encouraging 

20 the Lavender Scare and similar policies at the Department 

21 of State, as these policies were in part a response to con22 gressional investigations into ‘‘sex perversion of Federal 

23 employees’’, reports on the employment of ‘‘moral perverts 

24 by Government Agencies’’, and hearings or pressure otherVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:35 Dec 02, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8809.IH H8809

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1 wise placed on the Department of State through the legis2 lative process. 

3 SEC. 6. ESTABLISHMENT OF PERMANENT EXHIBIT ON THE 

4 LAVENDER SCARE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 

7 working in coordination with the current public-private 

8 partnership associated with the Department of State’s Na9 tional Museum of American Diplomacy, shall establish in 

10 the Museum a permanent exhibit on the Lavender Scare. 

11 (b) SPECIFICATIONS.—The exhibit established under 

12 subsection (a)— 

13 (1) should provide access to the reports com14 piled by the Director General of the Foreign Service 

15 and Director of Human Resources of the Depart16 ment of State under section 3(b); and 

17 (2) shall readily display material gathered from 

18 oral testimony received pursuant to section 4(e)(2). 

19 SEC. 7. GUIDANCE ON ISSUING VISAS. 

20 To demonstrate the Department of State’s commit21 ment to ensuring fairness for current Department employ22 ees, not later than 100 days after the date of the enact23 ment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to 

24 Congress a report on countries not issuing spousal visas 

25 to the spouses of all Foreign Service personnel posted 


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1 overseas due to their sexual orientation. Such report shall 

2 include any comments or recommendations for actions, in3 cluding eliminating visa reciprocity with countries deter4 mined to be instituting such practices, that will lead to 

5 ensuring that all spouses of Foreign Service personnel re6 ceive spousal visas for the country to which their spouse 

7 is assigned, regardless of sexual orientation. 

8 SEC. 8. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVANCEMENT BOARD. 

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

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

11 Department of State, an Advancement Board comprised 

12 of senior-level officials to address issues faced by LGBTQI 

13 Foreign Service personnel and their families. 

14 (b) HEARING OF TESTIMONY.—The Advancement 

15 Board established under subsection (a) shall hear testi16 mony from any willing LGBTQI Foreign Service per17 sonnel and their families regarding any discrimination 

18 they have faced due to their sexual orientation. 

19 (c) REPORT.— 

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

21 after completing the collection of testimony under 

22 subsection (b) and annually thereafter for five years, 

23 the Advancement Board shall submit to Congress a 

24 report based on such testimony. 


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1 (2) CONTENT.—Each report required under 

2 paragraph (1) shall include any comments or rec3 ommendations included in the testimony referred to 

4 in such paragraph for continued actions to improve 

5 the Department of State to ensure that no Depart6 ment employee or family member experiences dis7 crimination due to the sexual orientation of such em8 ployee. 

9 (3) PRIVACY.—Each report required under 

10 paragraph (1) shall remain private and shall be ac11 cessible to only Members of Congress, their appro12 priate staff, and members of the Advancement 

13 Board. 

14 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act, the term ‘‘Lavender Scare’’ means any 

16 policy or action implemented by the Department of State 

17 between January 1, 1950, and January 1, 1994, whether 

18 formal or informal, that led to the termination of Depart19 ment employees or perpetuated discrimination against any 

20 such employees on the basis of sexual orientation, whether 

21 real or perceived. 

Æ 


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