I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1524 

To provide for equal protection of the law and to prohibit discrimination 

and preferential treatment on the basis of race, color, or national origin 

in Federal actions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2023 

Mr. TIFFANY (for himself, Mr. OWENS, Mrs. STEEL, and Mr. DONALDS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Accountability, Education and the Workforce, and House Administration, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide for equal protection of the law and to prohibit 

discrimination and preferential treatment on the basis 

of race, color, or national origin in Federal actions, 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 ‘‘Fairness, Anti-dis5 crimination and Individual Rights Act of 2023’’ or ‘‘FAIR 

6 Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION AND 

2 PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT. 

3 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither 

4 the Federal Government nor any officer, employee, or 

5 agent of the Federal Government shall— 

6 (1) intentionally discriminate against, or grant 

7 a preference to, any person or group based in whole 

8 or in part on race, color, or national origin, in con9 nection with— 

10 (A) a Federal contract or subcontract; 

11 (B) Federal employment; or 

12 (C) any other federally conducted program 

13 or activity; or 

14 (2) require or encourage a Federal contractor 

15 or subcontractor, or the recipient of a license or fi16 nancial assistance, to discriminate intentionally 

17 against, or grant a preference to, any person or 

18 group based in whole or in part on race, color, or 

19 national origin, in connection with any Federal con20 tract or subcontract or Federal license or financial 

21 assistance. 

22 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION RELATING TO RECIPIENTS OF FED23 ERAL AID. 

24 A State or private entity that receives Federal finan25 cial assistance may not discriminate against, or grant a 

26 preference to, any person or group based in whole or in 


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1 part on race, color, or national origin, in connection 

2 with— 

3 (1) any contract or subcontract; 

4 (2) employment; or 

5 (3) admission to any educational institution. 

6 SEC. 4. CONSTRUCTION. 

7 This Act does not affect any law governing immigra8 tion or nationality, or the administration of any such law. 

9 SEC. 5. COMPLIANCE REVIEW OF POLICIES AND REGULA10 TIONS. 

11 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

12 of this Act, the head of each department or agency of the 

13 Federal Government, in consultation with the Attorney 

14 General, shall review all existing policies and regulations 

15 that such department or agency head is charged with ad16 ministering, modify such policies and regulations to con17 form to the requirements of this Act, and report to the 

18 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representa19 tives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 

20 the results of the review and any modifications to the poli21 cies and regulations. 

22 SEC. 6. REMEDIES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any person aggrieved by a viola24 tion of section 2 or 3 may, in a civil action against the 

25 violator (including a violator that is a governmental entiVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:01 Mar 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1524.IH H1524

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1 ty), obtain appropriate relief (which may include back 

2 pay). A prevailing plaintiff in a civil action under this sec3 tion shall be awarded a reasonable attorney’s fee as part 

4 of the costs. 

5 (b) CONSTRUCTION.—This section does not affect 

6 any remedy available under any other law. 

7 SEC. 7. EFFECT ON PENDING MATTERS. 

8 (a) PENDING CASES.—This Act does not affect any 

9 case pending on the date of enactment of this Act. 

10 (b) PENDING CONTRACTS AND SUBCONTRACTS.— 

11 This Act does not affect any contract or subcontract in 

12 effect on the date of enactment of this Act, including any 

13 option exercised under such contract or subcontract before 

14 or after such date of enactment. 

15 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

17 (1) FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Fed18 eral Government’’ means executive and legislative 

19 branches of the Government of the United States. 

20 (2) PREFERENCE.—The term ‘‘preference’’ 

21 means an advantage of any kind, and includes a 

22 quota, set-aside, numerical goal, timetable, or other 

23 numerical objective. 

Æ 


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