II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3322 

To strengthen enforcement and clarify certain provisions of the 

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 

Absentee Voting Act, and chapter 43 of title 38, United States Code, 

and to reconcile, restore, clarify, and conform similar provisions in other 

related civil rights statutes, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 20, 2012 

Mr. BROWN of Ohio (for himself, Mr. KERRY, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. COONS, Mr. 

HARKIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. FRANKEN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To strengthen enforcement and clarify certain provisions of 

the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, the Uniformed and 

Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and chapter 43 

of title 38, United States Code, and to reconcile, restore, 

clarify, and conform similar provisions in other related 

civil rights statutes, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Servicemembers’ Protection Act of 2012’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL 

RELIEF ACT 

Sec. 101. Clarification of plaintiff affidavit filing requirement for default judgments against servicemembers. 

Sec. 102. Residency of military family members. 

Sec. 103. Increase in civil penalties. 

Sec. 104. Authority for issuance and service of civil investigative demands by 

Attorney General and retroactive application of Attorney General enforcement authority. 

Sec. 105. Retroactive application of private right of action under 

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. 

Sec. 106. Related changes to Fair Housing Act—increase in civil penalties. 

Sec. 107. Related changes to Fair Housing Act—civil investigative demands. 

Sec. 108. Related changes to Equal Credit Opportunity Act—civil investigative 

demands. 

TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE UNIFORMED AND OVERSEAS 

CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING ACT 

Sec. 201. Pre-election reporting requirements on availability and transmission 

of absentee ballots. 

Sec. 202. Transmission requirements; repeal of waiver provision. 

Sec. 203. Clarification of State responsibility, civil penalties, and private right 

of action. 

Sec. 204. Treatment of early ballot requests. 

Sec. 205. Applicability to Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

Sec. 206. Related changes to title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—clarification of prohibited discrimination, private right of action, and 

available relief. 

Sec. 207. Related changes to title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972— 

clarification of prohibited discrimination, private right of action, and available relief. 

TITLE III—AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTER 43 OF TITLE 38, UNITED 

STATES CODE 

Sec. 301. Enforcement of rights of members of uniformed services with respect 

to States and private employers. 

Sec. 302. Issuance and service of civil investigative demands by Attorney General. 

Sec. 303. Related changes to title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964—civil investigative demands. 


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1 TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE 

2 SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL RE3 LIEF ACT 

4 SEC. 101. CLARIFICATION OF PLAINTIFF AFFIDAVIT FILING 

5 REQUIREMENT FOR DEFAULT JUDGMENTS 

6 AGAINST SERVICEMEMBERS. 

7 Paragraph (1) of section 201(b) of the 

8 Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 521(b)) 

9 is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(1) PLAINTIFF TO FILE AFFIDAVIT.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any action or pro12 ceeding covered by this section, the plaintiff, be13 fore seeking a default judgment, shall file with 

14 the court an affidavit— 

15 ‘‘(i) stating whether or not the de16 fendant is in military service and showing 

17 necessary facts to support the affidavit; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) if the plaintiff is unable to deter19 mine whether or not the defendant is in 

20 military service, stating that the plaintiff is 

21 unable to determine whether or not the de22 fendant is in military service. 

23 ‘‘(B) DUE DILIGENCE.—Before filing the 

24 affidavit, the plaintiff shall conduct a diligent 

25 and reasonable investigation to determine 


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1 whether or not the defendant is in military 

2 service, including a search of available records 

3 of the Department of Defense and any other in4 formation available to the plaintiff. The affi5 davit shall set forth in the affidavit all steps 

6 taken to determine the defendant’s military sta7 tus.’’. 

8 SEC. 102. RESIDENCY OF MILITARY FAMILY MEMBERS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 705(b) of the 

10 Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 595(b)) 

11 is amended— 

12 (1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by 

13 striking ‘‘a person’’ and all that follows through 

14 ‘‘that absence’’ and inserting ‘‘a family member of 

15 a servicemember who is absent from a State because 

16 the servicemember is absent from that same State in 

17 compliance with military or naval orders shall not, 

18 solely by reason of absence, whether or not accom19 panying the servicemember’’; and 

20 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the person’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘the family member’’. 

22 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—Such Act (50 U.S.C. 

23 App. 501 et seq.) is amended— 

24 (1) in section 705 (50 U.S.C. App. 595)— 


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1 (A) in the section heading by striking 

2 ‘‘SPOUSES’’ and inserting ‘‘FAMILY MEM3 BERS’’; and 

4 (B) in the heading for subsection (b), by 

5 striking ‘‘SPOUSES’’ and inserting ‘‘FAMILY

6 MEMBERS’’; and 

7 (2) in the table of sections in section 1 (505 

8 U.S.C. App. 501), by striking the item relating to 

9 section 705 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 705. Guarantee of residency for military personnel and family members 

of military personnel.’’. 

10 SEC. 103. INCREASE IN CIVIL PENALTIES. 

11 Section 801(b)(3) of the Servicemembers Civil Relief 

12 Act (50 U.S.C. App. 597(b)(3)) is amended— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘$55,000’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘$110,000’’; and 

15 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

16 ‘‘$110,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$220,000’’. 

17 SEC. 104. AUTHORITY FOR ISSUANCE AND SERVICE OF 

18 CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMANDS BY ATTOR19 NEY GENERAL AND RETROACTIVE APPLICA20 TION OF ATTORNEY GENERAL ENFORCE21 MENT AUTHORITY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 801 of the 

23 Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. App. 597) is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(d) ISSUANCE AND SERVICE OF CIVIL INVESTIGA2 TIVE DEMANDS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever the Attorney 

4 General has reason to believe that any person may 

5 be in possession, custody, or control of any docu6 mentary material relevant to an investigation under 

7 this Act, the Attorney General may, before com8 mencing a civil action under subsection (a), issue in 

9 writing and serve upon such person, a civil investiga10 tive demand requiring— 

11 ‘‘(A) the production of such documentary 

12 material for inspection and copying; 

13 ‘‘(B) that the custodian of such documen14 tary material answer in writing written ques15 tions with respect to such documentary mate16 rial; or 

17 ‘‘(C) the production of any combination of 

18 such documentary material or answers. 

19 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES.—The provisions of section 

20 3733 of title 31, United States Code, governing the 

21 authority to issue, use, and enforce civil investigative 

22 demands shall apply with respect to the authority to 

23 issue, use, and enforce civil investigative demands 

24 under this section, except that, for purposes of ap25 plying such section 3733— 


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1 ‘‘(A) references to false claims law inves2 tigators or investigations shall be considered 

3 references to investigators or investigations 

4 under this Act; 

5 ‘‘(B) references to interrogatories shall be 

6 considered references to written questions, and 

7 answers to such need not be under oath; 

8 ‘‘(C) the definitions relating to ‘false 

9 claims law’ shall not apply; and 

10 ‘‘(D) provisions relating to qui tam rela11 tors shall not apply.’’. 

12 (b) RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY.—Section 801 of 

13 such Act (50 U.S.C. App. 597), as amended by subsection 

14 (a), shall apply as if such section were included in the en15 actment of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act of 

16 1940 (54 Stat. 1178, chapter 888) and included in the 

17 restatement of such Act in Public Law 108–189. 

18 SEC. 105. RETROACTIVE APPLICATION OF PRIVATE RIGHT 

19 OF ACTION UNDER SERVICEMEMBERS CIVIL 

20 RELIEF ACT. 

21 Section 802 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act 

22 (50 U.S.C. App. 597a) shall apply as if such section were 

23 included in the enactment of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ 

24 Civil Relief Act of 1940 (54 Stat. 1178, chapter 888) and 


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1 included in the restatement of such Act in Public Law 

2 108–189. 

3 SEC. 106. RELATED CHANGES TO FAIR HOUSING ACT—IN4 CREASE IN CIVIL PENALTIES. 

5 Section 814(d)(1)(C) of the Fair Housing Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 3614(d)(1)(C)) is amended— 

7 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ and in8 serting ‘‘$110,000’’; and 

9 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘$220,000’’. 

11 SEC. 107. RELATED CHANGES TO FAIR HOUSING ACT— 

12 CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DEMANDS. 

13 Section 814(c) of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 3614(c)) is amended— 

15 (1) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

16 ‘‘AND SERVICE OF CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DE17 MANDS’’; 

18 (2) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Attorney 

19 General’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(2)(A) Whenever the Attorney General has 

22 reason to believe that any person may be in posses23 sion, custody, or control of any documentary mate24 rial relevant to an investigation under this title, the 

25 Attorney General may, before commencing a civil acVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:35 Jun 26, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3322.IS S3322

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1 tion under subsection (a) or (b), issue in writing and 

2 serve upon such person, a civil investigative demand 

3 requiring— 

4 ‘‘(i) the production of such documentary 

5 material for inspection and copying; 

6 ‘‘(ii) that the custodian of such documen7 tary material answer, in writing, written ques8 tions with respect to such documentary mate9 rial; or 

10 ‘‘(iii) the production of any combination of 

11 such documentary material or answers. 

12 ‘‘(B) Section 3733 of title 31, United States 

13 Code, shall apply to a civil investigative demand 

14 under this paragraph, except that— 

15 ‘‘(i) such section shall be applied by sub16 stituting— 

17 ‘‘(I) the term ‘fair housing investi18 gator’ for the term ‘false claims law inves19 tigator’; 

20 ‘‘(II) the term ‘fair housing investiga21 tion’ for the term ‘false claims law inves22 tigation’; and 

23 ‘‘(III) the term ‘written questions’ for 

24 the term ‘interrogatories’; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an answer to written questions shall 

2 not be required to be made under oath; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the definition of the term ‘false 

4 claims law’ under section 3722(l)(1) shall not 

5 apply; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) the provisions relating to qui tam re7 altors shall not apply.’’. 

8 SEC. 108. RELATED CHANGES TO EQUAL CREDIT OPPOR9 TUNITY ACT—CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE DE10 MANDS. 

11 Section 706(h) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act 

12 (15 U.S.C. 1691e(h)) is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(h) AUTHORITY FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL TO

14 BRING CIVIL ACTION; JURISDICTION.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—When a matter is referred 

16 to the Attorney General pursuant to subsection (g), 

17 or whenever the Attorney General has reason to be18 lieve that one or more creditors are engaged in a 

19 pattern or practice in violation of this title, the At20 torney General may bring a civil action in any ap21 propriate United States district court for such relief 

22 as may be appropriate, including actual and punitive 

23 damages and injunctive relief. 

24 ‘‘(2) ISSUANCE AND SERVICE OF CIVIL INVES25 TIGATIVE DEMANDS.—Whenever the Attorney GenVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:42 Jun 23, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3322.IS S3322

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1 eral has reason to believe that any person may be 

2 in possession, custody, or control of any documen3 tary material relevant to an investigation under this 

4 title, the Attorney General may, before commencing 

5 a civil action under paragraph (1), issue in writing 

6 and serve upon such person, a civil investigative de7 mand requiring— 

8 ‘‘(A) the production of such documentary 

9 material for inspection and copying; 

10 ‘‘(B) that the custodian of such documen11 tary material answer in writing written ques12 tions with respect to such documentary mate13 rial; or 

14 ‘‘(C) the production of any combination of 

15 such documentary material or answers. 

16 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURES.—The provisions of law gov17 erning the authority to issue, use, and enforce civil 

18 investigative demands under section 3733 of title 31, 

19 United States Code, governing the authority to 

20 issue, use, and enforce civil investigative demands 

21 shall apply with respect to the authority to issue, 

22 use, and enforce civil investigative demands under 

23 this section, except that, for purposes of applying 

24 such section 3733— 


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1 ‘‘(A) references to false claims law inves2 tigators or investigations shall be read as ref3 erences to fair lending investigators or inves4 tigations; 

5 ‘‘(B) references to interrogatories shall be 

6 read as references to written questions, and an7 swers to such need not be under oath; 

8 ‘‘(C) the statutory definitions relating to 

9 ‘false claims law’ shall not apply; and 

10 ‘‘(D) provisions thereof relating to qui tam 

11 relators shall not apply.’’. 

12 TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE 

13 UNIFORMED AND OVERSEAS 

14 CITIZENS ABSENTEE VOTING 

15 ACT 

16 SEC. 201. PRE-ELECTION REPORTING REQUIREMENTS ON 

17 AVAILABILITY AND TRANSMISSION OF AB18 SENTEE BALLOTS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 102 of 

20 the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 

21 (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘Not later 

22 than 90 days’’ and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) PRE-ELECTION REPORT ON ABSENTEE

24 BALLOT AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 55 days be25 fore any election for Federal office held in a State, 


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1 such State shall submit a report to the Attorney 

2 General and the Presidential Designee, and make 

3 that report publicly available that same day, certi4 fying that absentee ballots are or will be available 

5 for transmission by 46 days before the election. The 

6 report shall be in a form prescribed by the Attorney 

7 General and shall require the State to certify specific 

8 information about ballot availability from each unit 

9 of local government which will administer the elec10 tion. 

11 ‘‘(2) PRE-ELECTION REPORT ON ABSENTEE

12 BALLOTS TRANSMITTED.—Not later than 43 days 

13 before any election for Federal office held in a State, 

14 such State shall submit a report to the Attorney 

15 General and the Presidential Designee, and make 

16 that report publicly available that same day, certi17 fying whether all absentee ballots validly requested 

18 by absent uniformed services voters and overseas 

19 voters whose requests were received by the 46th day 

20 before the election have been transmitted to such 

21 voters by such date. The report shall be in a form 

22 prescribed by the Attorney General and shall require 

23 the State to certify specific information about ballot 

24 transmission, including the total numbers of ballot 

25 requests received and ballots transmitted, from each 


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1 unit of local government which will administer the 

2 election. 

3 ‘‘(3) POST ELECTION REPORT ON NUMBER OF

4 ABSENTEE BALLOTS TRANSMITTED AND RE5 CEIVED.—Not later than 90 days’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading for 

7 subsection (c) of section 102 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 1973ff–1(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘REPORT ON NUM9 BER OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS TRANSMITTED AND RE10 CEIVED’’ and inserting ‘‘REPORTS ON ABSENTEE BAL11 LOTS’’. 

12 SEC. 202. TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS; REPEAL OF 

13 WAIVER PROVISION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (8) of section 102(a) 

15 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(a)) is amended to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(8) transmit a validly requested absentee bal19 lot to an absent uniformed services voter or overseas 

20 voter by the date and in the manner determined 

21 under subsection (g);’’. 

22 (b) BALLOT TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND

23 REPEAL OF WAIVER PROVISION.—Subsection (g) of sec24 tion 102 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(g)) is amended 

25 to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(g) BALLOT TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

3 (a)(8), in the case in which a valid request for an 

4 absentee ballot is received at least 46 days before an 

5 election for Federal office, the following rules shall 

6 apply: 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State shall trans8 mit the absentee ballot not later than 46 days 

9 before the election. 

10 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULES IN CASE OF FAILURE

11 TO TRANSMIT ON TIME.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the State fails 

13 to transmit any absentee ballot by the 46th 

14 day before the election as required by sub15 paragraph (A) and the absent uniformed 

16 services voter or overseas voter did not re17 quest electronic ballot submission pursuant 

18 to subsection (f), the State shall transmit 

19 such ballot by express delivery. 

20 ‘‘(ii) EXTENDED FAILURE.—If the 

21 State fails to transmit any absentee ballot 

22 by the 41st day before the election, in ad23 dition to transmitting the ballot as pro24 vided in clause (i), the State shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) in the case of absentee bal2 lots requested by absent uniformed 

3 services voters with respect to regu4 larly scheduled general elections, no5 tify such voters of the procedures es6 tablished under section 103A for the 

7 collection and delivery of marked ab8 sentee ballots; and 

9 ‘‘(II) in any other case, provide, 

10 at the State’s expense, for the return 

11 of such ballot by express delivery. 

12 ‘‘(iii) ENFORCEMENT.—A State’s 

13 compliance with this subparagraph does 

14 not bar the Attorney General from seeking 

15 additional remedies necessary to effectuate 

16 the purposes of this Act. 

17 ‘‘(2) REQUESTS RECEIVED AFTER 46TH DAY

18 BEFORE ELECTION.—For purposes of subsection 

19 (a)(8), in the case in which a valid request for an 

20 absentee ballot is received less than 46 days before 

21 an election for Federal office, the State shall trans22 mit the absentee ballot— 

23 ‘‘(A) in accordance with State law; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) if practicable and as determined ap2 propriate by the State, in a manner that expe3 dites the transmission of such absentee ballot.’’. 

4 SEC. 203. CLARIFICATION OF STATE RESPONSIBILITY, 

5 CIVIL PENALTIES, AND PRIVATE RIGHT OF 

6 ACTION. 

7 (a) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 105 (42 U.S.C. 

8 1973ff–4) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absen9 tee Voting Act is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 105. ENFORCEMENT. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may bring 

12 a civil action in an appropriate district court for such de13 claratory or injunctive relief as may be necessary to carry 

14 out this title. In any such action, the only necessary party 

15 defendant is the State and it shall not be a defense to 

16 such action that local election officials are not also named 

17 as defendants. 

18 ‘‘(b) CIVIL PENALTY.—In a civil action brought 

19 under subsection (a), if the court finds that a State vio20 lated any provision of this Act, it may, to vindicate the 

21 public interest, assess a civil penalty against the State— 

22 ‘‘(1) in an amount not exceeding $110,000, for 

23 a first violation; and 

24 ‘‘(2) in an amount not exceeding $220,000, for 

25 any subsequent violation. 


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1 ‘‘(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Decem2 ber 31 of each year, the Attorney General shall submit 

3 to Congress an annual report on any civil action brought 

4 under subsection (a) during the preceding year. 

5 ‘‘(d) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—A person who is 

6 aggrieved by a State’s violation of this Act, may bring a 

7 civil action in an appropriate district court for such declar8 atory or injunctive relief as may be necessary to carry out 

9 this Act. In any such action, the only necessary party de10 fendant is the State, and it shall not be a defense to such 

11 action that local election officials are not also named as 

12 defendants. 

13 ‘‘(e) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In a civil action under this 

14 section, the court may allow the prevailing party (other 

15 than the United States) reasonable attorney’s fees, includ16 ing litigation expenses, and costs.’’. 

17 (b) REPEAL OF CLARIFICATION REGARDING DELE18 GATION OF STATE RESPONSIBILITY.—Section 576 of the 

19 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 1973ff–1 note) is repealed. 

21 SEC. 204. TREATMENT OF EARLY BALLOT REQUESTS. 

22 (a) APPLICATION OF PROHIBITION OF REFUSAL OF

23 APPLICATIONS ON GROUNDS OF EARLY SUBMISSION TO

24 OVERSEAS VOTERS.—Section 104 of the Uniformed and 


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1 Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff– 

2 3) is amended— 

3 (1) by inserting ‘‘or overseas voter’’ after ‘‘sub4 mitted by an absent uniformed services voter’’; and 

5 (2) by inserting ‘‘or who do not reside outside 

6 the United States’’ after ‘‘who are not members of 

7 the uniformed services’’. 

8 (b) USE OF SINGLE APPLICATION FOR SUBSEQUENT

9 ELECTIONS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 104 of the Uni11 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–3) is amended— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘A State’’ and inserting 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION OF REFUSAL OF APPLICATIONS

16 ON GROUNDS OF EARLY SUBMISSION.—A State’’, and 

17 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

18 subsections: 

19 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION TREATED AS VALID FOR SUBSE20 QUENT ELECTIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a State accepts and 

22 processes a request for an absentee ballot by an ab23 sent uniformed services voter or overseas voter and 

24 the voter requests that the application be considered 

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1 quent election for Federal office held in the State 

2 through the next regularly scheduled general election 

3 for Federal office (including any runoff elections 

4 which may occur as a result of the outcome of such 

5 general election), the State shall provide an absentee 

6 ballot to the voter for each such subsequent election. 

7 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR VOTERS CHANGING REG8 ISTRATION.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply with re9 spect to a voter registered to vote in a State for any 

10 election held after the voter notifies the State that 

11 the voter no longer wishes to be registered to vote 

12 in the State or after the State determines that the 

13 voter has registered to vote in another State.’’. 

14 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading 

15 of section 104 of such Act is amended by striking 

16 ‘‘PROHIBITION OF REFUSAL OF APPLICATIONS

17 ON GROUNDS OF EARLY SUBMISSION’’ and in18 serting ‘‘TREATMENT OF EARLY BALLOT RE19 QUESTS’’. 

20 SEC. 205. APPLICABILITY TO COMMONWEALTH OF THE 

21 NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS. 

22 Paragraph (6) and (8) of section 107 of the Uni23 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 1973ff–6(6)) are each amended by striking ‘‘and 


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1 American Samoa’’ and inserting ‘‘American Samoa, and 

2 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’’. 

3 SEC. 206. RELATED CHANGES TO TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL 

4 RIGHTS ACT OF 1964—CLARIFICATION OF 

5 PROHIBITED DISCRIMINATION, PRIVATE 

6 RIGHT OF ACTION, AND AVAILABLE RELIEF. 

7 (a) CLARIFICATION OF PROHIBITED DISCRIMINA8 TION.—Section 601 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

9 U.S.C. 2000d) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘No’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) No’’; 

11 and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub13 section: 

14 ‘‘(b)(1) Discrimination based on disparate impact 

15 with respect to a program or activity is established under 

16 this section only if— 

17 ‘‘(A) a Federal department or agency, or any 

18 person aggrieved, demonstrates that an entity sub19 ject to this title has a policy or practice with respect 

20 to the program or activity that causes a disparate 

21 impact on the basis of race, color, or national origin; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B)(i) the entity fails to demonstrate that the 

24 challenged policy or practice is related to, and nec25 essary to achieve, the substantial and legitimate 


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1 nondiscriminatory goals of the program or activity; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the Federal department or agency, or the 

4 person aggrieved, demonstrates that a less discrimi5 natory alternative policy or practice exists, and the 

6 entity refuses to adopt such alternative policy or 

7 practice. 

8 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘demonstrates’ 

9 means meets the burdens of production and persuasion.’’. 

10 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION AND AVAILABLE RE11 LIEF.—Section 602 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

12 U.S.C. 2000d–1) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘Each’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) 

14 Each’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub16 section: 

17 ‘‘(b) Any person aggrieved by the failure of an entity 

18 to comply with section 601 may bring a civil action in any 

19 Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction to enforce 

20 such person’s rights and may recover equitable relief, rea21 sonable attorney’s fees, and costs. The aggrieved person 

22 may also recover legal relief (including compensatory and, 

23 from nongovernmental entities, punitive damages) in the 

24 case of noncompliance that is intentional discrimination. 


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1 ‘‘(c) Nothing in subsection (b) limits the authority 

2 of a Federal department or agency to enforce section 

3 601.’’. 

4 SEC. 207. RELATED CHANGES TO TITLE IX OF THE EDU5 CATION AMENDMENTS OF 1972—CLARIFICA6 TION OF PROHIBITED DISCRIMINATION, PRI7 VATE RIGHT OF ACTION, AND AVAILABLE RE8 LIEF. 

9 (a) CLARIFICATION OF PROHIBITED DISCRIMINA10 TION.—Section 901 of the Education Amendments of 

11 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub13 section (d); and 

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol15 lowing new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(c)(1) Subject to the conditions described in para17 graphs (1) through (9) of subsection (a), discrimination 

18 based on disparate impact with respect to a program or 

19 activity is established under this section only if— 

20 ‘‘(A) a Federal department or agency, or any 

21 person aggrieved, demonstrates that an entity sub22 ject to this title has a policy or practice with respect 

23 to the program or activity that causes a disparate 

24 impact on the basis of sex; and 


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1 ‘‘(B)(i) the entity fails to demonstrate that the 

2 challenged policy or practice is related to, and nec3 essary to achieve, the substantial and legitimate 

4 nondiscriminatory goals of the program or activity; 

5 or 

6 ‘‘(ii) the Federal department or agency, or the 

7 person aggrieved, demonstrates that a less discrimi8 natory alternative policy or practice exists, and the 

9 entity refuses to adopt such alternative policy or 

10 practice. 

11 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘demonstrates’ 

12 means meets the burdens of production and persuasion.’’. 

13 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION AND AVAILABLE RE14 LIEF.—Section 902 of the Education Amendments of 

15 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1682) is amended— 

16 (1) in the section heading, by adding at the end 

17 the following: ‘‘; PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION AND

18 AVAILABLE RELIEF’’; 

19 (2) by striking ‘‘Each’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) 

20 Each’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub22 section: 

23 ‘‘(b) Any person aggrieved by the failure of an entity 

24 to comply with section 901 may bring a civil action in any 

25 Federal or State court of competent jurisdiction to enforce 


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1 such person’s rights and may recover equitable relief, rea2 sonable attorney’s fees, and costs. The aggrieved person 

3 may also recover legal relief (including compensatory and, 

4 from nongovernmental entities, punitive damages) in the 

5 case of noncompliance that is intentional discrimination. 

6 ‘‘(c) Nothing in subsection (b) limits the authority 

7 of a Federal department or agency to enforce section 

8 901.’’. 

9 TITLE III—AMENDMENTS TO 

10 CHAPTER 43 OF TITLE 38, 

11 UNITED STATES CODE 

12 SEC. 301. ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF UNI13 FORMED SERVICES WITH RESPECT TO 

14 STATES AND PRIVATE EMPLOYERS. 

15 (a) ACTION FOR RELIEF.—Subsection (a) of section 

16 4323 of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘appear on behalf of, and 

19 act as attorney for, the person on whose behalf 

20 the complaint is submitted and’’; 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘for such person’’; 

22 (C) by striking the fourth sentence; and 

23 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘The person on whose behalf the complaint is 

25 referred may, upon timely application, intervene 


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1 in such action, and may obtain such appro2 priate relief as is provided in subsections (d) 

3 and (e).’’; 

4 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

5 following new paragraph (2): 

6 ‘‘(2)(A) Not later than 60 days after the date the 

7 Attorney General receives a referral under paragraph (1), 

8 the Attorney General shall transmit, in writing, to the per9 son on whose behalf the complaint is submitted— 

10 ‘‘(i) if the Attorney General has made a deci11 sion to commence an action for relief under para12 graph (1) relating to the complaint of the person, 

13 notice of the decision; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) if the Attorney General has not made such 

15 a decision, notice of when the Attorney General ex16 pects to make such a decision. 

17 ‘‘(B) If the Attorney General notifies a person that 

18 the Attorney General expects to make a decision under 

19 subparagraph (A)(ii), the Attorney General shall, not later 

20 than 30 days after the date on which the Attorney General 

21 makes such decision, notify, in writing, the person of such 

22 decision.’’; 

23 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para24 graph (4); 


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1 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol2 lowing new paragraph (3): 

3 ‘‘(3) Whenever the Attorney General has reasonable 

4 cause to believe that a State (as an employer) or a private 

5 employer is engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance 

6 to the full enjoyment of any of the rights and benefits pro7 vided for under this chapter, and that the pattern or prac8 tice is of such a nature and denies the full exercise of such 

9 rights and benefits, the Attorney General may commence 

10 an action for relief under this chapter.’’; and 

11 (5) in paragraph (4), as redesignated by para12 graph (3), by striking subparagraph (C) and insert13 ing the following new subparagraph (C): 

14 ‘‘(C) has been notified by the Attorney General 

15 that the Attorney General does not intend to com16 mence an action for relief under paragraph (1) with 

17 respect to the complaint under such paragraph.’’. 

18 (b) STANDING.—Subsection (f) of such section is 

19 amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(f) STANDING.—An action under this chapter may 

21 be initiated only by the Attorney General or by a person 

22 claiming rights or benefits under this chapter under sub23 section (a).’’. 

24 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (h)(2) 

25 of such section is amended by striking ‘‘under subsection 


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1 (a)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘under paragraph (1) or (4) of sub2 section (a)’’. 

3 SEC. 302. ISSUANCE AND SERVICE OF CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE 

4 DEMANDS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL. 

5 Section 4323 of title 38, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection 

8 (j); and 

9 (2) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol10 lowing new subsection (i): 

11 ‘‘(i) ISSUANCE AND SERVICE OF CIVIL INVESTIGA12 TIVE DEMANDS.—(1) Whenever the Attorney General has 

13 reason to believe that any person may be in possession, 

14 custody, or control of any documentary material relevant 

15 to an investigation under this subchapter, the Attorney 

16 General may, before commencing a civil action under sub17 section (a), issue in writing and serve upon such person, 

18 a civil investigative demand requiring— 

19 ‘‘(A) the production of such documentary mate20 rial for inspection and copying; 

21 ‘‘(B) that the custodian of such documentary 

22 material answer in writing written questions with re23 spect to such documentary material; or 

24 ‘‘(C) the production of any combination of such 

25 documentary material or answers. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The provisions of section 3733 of title 31 gov2 erning the authority to issue, use, and enforce civil inves3 tigative demands shall apply with respect to the authority 

4 to issue, use, and enforce civil investigative demands under 

5 this section, except that, for purposes of applying such sec6 tion 3733— 

7 ‘‘(A) references to false claims law investigators 

8 or investigations shall be considered references to in9 vestigators or investigations under this subchapter; 

10 ‘‘(B) references to interrogatories shall be con11 sidered references to written questions, and answers 

12 to such need not be under oath; 

13 ‘‘(C) the definitions relating to ‘false claims 

14 law’ shall not apply; and 

15 ‘‘(D) provisions relating to qui tam relators 

16 shall not apply.’’. 

17 SEC. 303. RELATED CHANGES TO TITLE VII OF CIVIL 

18 RIGHTS ACT OF 1964—CIVIL INVESTIGATIVE 

19 DEMANDS. 

20 (a) Section 707 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

21 U.S.C. 2000e–6) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (e) 

23 as subsections (c) through (f), respectively; and 

24 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(b)(1) Whenever the Attorney General has reason 

2 to believe that any person may be in possession, custody, 

3 or control of any documentary material relevant to an in4 vestigation under this title, the Attorney General may, be5 fore commencing a civil action under subsection (a), issue 

6 in writing and cause to be served upon such person, a civil 

7 investigative demand requiring— 

8 ‘‘(A) the production of such documentary mate9 rial for inspection and copying; 

10 ‘‘(B) that the custodian of such documentary 

11 material answer in writing written questions with re12 spect to such documentary material; or 

13 ‘‘(C) the production of any combination of such 

14 documentary material or answers. 

15 ‘‘(2) The statutory provisions of section 3733 of title 

16 31, United States Code, governing the authority to issue, 

17 use, and enforce civil investigative demands shall apply 

18 with respect to the authority to issue, use, and enforce 

19 civil investigative demands under this section, except that, 

20 for purposes of applying that section 3733— 

21 ‘‘(A) references to false claims law investigators 

22 or investigations shall be considered to be references 

23 to employment discrimination investigators or inves24 tigations under this title; 


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1 ‘‘(B) references to interrogatories shall be con2 sidered to be references to written questions, and 

3 answers to such need not be under oath; 

4 ‘‘(C) the statutory definition relating to ‘false 

5 claims law’ shall not apply; and 

6 ‘‘(D) provisions relating to qui tam relators 

7 shall not apply.’’; 

8 (3) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para9 graph (1), by striking ‘‘subsections (d) and (e)’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘subsections (e) and (f)’’; and 

11 (4) in subsection (e), as redesignated by para12 graph (1), by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘subsection (d)’’. 

Æ 


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