II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2232 

To protect the right to freedom of speech secured by the First Amendment 

to the Constitution, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 9, 2014 

Mr. TOOMEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To protect the right to freedom of speech secured by the 

First Amendment to the Constitution, 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 ‘‘First Amendment Pro5 tection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 

8 (a) the term ‘‘Executive agency’’ has the meaning 

9 given the term in section 105 of title 5, United States 

10 Code; and 

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1 (b) the term ‘‘record’’ means any item, collection, or 

2 grouping of information about an individual or group that 

3 is maintained by an Executive agency, including, but not 

4 limited to, education, financial transactions, medical infor5 mation, tax information, address, and criminal or employ6 ment history and that contains his name, or the identi7 fying number, symbol, or other identifying particular as8 signed to the individual, such as a finger or voice print 

9 or a photograph. 

10 SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH. 

11 (a) CAUSE OF ACTION.—Any officer or employee of 

12 an Executive agency who in the course of an investigation, 

13 audit, decision to disclose any record, or decision to grant 

14 a license, permit, or recognition of tax exempt status, dis15 criminates against a person or group on the basis of the 

16 person’s or group’s political or religious viewpoint or affili17 ation in violation of the First Amendment’s guarantee of 

18 freedom of speech, shall be considered to have violated this 

19 Act. 

20 (b) REMEDIES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person or group aggrieved 

22 of a violation of this Act may bring a civil action 

23 against the officer or employee, or former officer or 

24 employee, of an Executive agency in an appropriate 

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1 district court of the United States for damages or 

2 other legal or equitable relief. 

3 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining whether 

4 to award compensatory damages, other restitution, 

5 or punitive damages in a civil action brought under 

6 paragraph (1), the court shall consider the amount 

7 of the benefits the officer or employee of the Execu8 tive agency is entitled to collect relating to service as 

9 an officer or employee, including retirement benefits, 

10 and may include the amount of those benefits, or a 

11 percentage of the amount of those benefits, in the 

12 amount of any damages awarded. 

13 (c) ATTORNEY’S FEES AND EXPERT FEES.—In a 

14 civil action brought under subsection (b)(1), the court, in 

15 its discretion, may allow the prevailing party, other than 

16 the United States, a reasonable attorney’s fees as part of 

17 the costs. In awarding an attorney’s fees under this sec18 tion, the court, in its discretion, may include expert fees 

19 as part of the attorney’s fees. 

20 (d) EFFECTS ON EMPLOYMENT AND BENEFITS.— 

21 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including title 

22 5, United States Code, or any contract, on and at any 

23 time after the date on which a court enters final judgment 

24 in an action brought under subsection (b)(1) in which the 

25 court determines that the officer or employee violated this 

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1 Act, the head of the Executive agency may, without prior 

2 notice, terminate the officer or employee without cause 

3 and may terminate any or all of the benefits of the officer 

4 or employee relating to service as an officer or employee, 

5 including retirement benefits, without cause. 

6 (e) RETROACTIVE.—Subsections (a) through (d) shall 

7 apply to conduct that occurred before the date of enact8 ment of this Act. 

9 (f) NO PREEMPTION.—The rights and remedies cre10 ated by this Act shall be in addition to, and do not pre11 empt, any other rights and remedies available at Federal 

12 or State law. 

13 (g) EXCLUSION FOR EMPLOYMENT DISPUTES.—This 

14 Act does not create a cause of action for any claim arising 

15 out of Federal employment, including, but not limited to, 

16 any cause of action that may be redressed by the Merit 

17 Systems Protection Board, the Equal Employment Oppor18 tunity Commission, or the Federal Labor Relations Au19 thority. 

20 SEC. 4. PROTECTION FROM GOVERNMENT DELAY. 

21 Section 7428(a)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code 

22 of 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘organization described 

23 in section 501(c)(3) which is exempt’’ and inserting ‘‘orgamstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 nization described in paragraph (3), (4), (5), or (6) of sub2 section (c) of section 501, which is exempt’’. 

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