I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4364 
To protect the right of elected and appointed officials to express their religious 
beliefs through public prayer. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 17, 2005 
Mr. BARRETT of South Carolina (for himself and Mr. BROWN of South Caro-
lina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To protect the right of elected and appointed officials to 
express their religious beliefs through public prayer. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Prayer Protec-
tion Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that— 
(1) The Establishment Clause of the First 
Amendment to the United States Constitution was 
intended by our Founding Fathers to prohibit one
religious denomination from enjoying the exclusive 
backing of government and to prohibit the Federal 
establishment of any type of religious uniformity or 
orthodoxy that rewards observers and punishes viola-
tors. 
(2) The First Amendment guarantees the right 
of elected and appointed officials to express their re-
ligious beliefs through public prayer. 
(3) The exercise of this right does not violate 
the Establishment Clause. 
(4) The courts and the legislatures of the sev-
eral States are in the best position to protect this 
right. 
(5) Article III, Section 2, clause 2 of the United 
States Constitution expressly grants Congress the 
authority to define the appellate jurisdiction of the 
Federal court system. 
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON APPELLATE JURISDICTION. 
(a) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 28.—Chapter 81 of title 
28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘§ 1260. Matters not reviewable 
‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, 
the Supreme Court shall not have jurisdiction to review, 
by appeal, writ of certiorari, or otherwise, any matter that
relates to the alleged establishment of religion involving 
an entity of the Federal Government or a State or local 
government, or an officer or agent of the Federal Govern-
ment or a State or local government, acting in an official 
capacity, concerning the expression of public prayer by 
that entity, officer, or agent.’’. 
(b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections at 
the beginning of chapter 81 of title 28, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘1260. Matters not reviewable.’’. 
SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT 
COURTS. 
(a) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 28.—Chapter 85 of title 
28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
of the following: 
‘‘§ 1370. Limitation on jurisdiction 
‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the dis-
trict courts shall not have jurisdiction of any matter that 
relates to the alleged establishment of religion involving 
an entity of the Federal Government or a State or local 
government, or an officer or agent of the Federal Govern-
ment or a State or local government, acting in an official 
capacity, concerning the expression of public prayer by 
that entity, officer, or agent.’’.
(b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections at 
the beginning of chapter 85 of title 28, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘1370. Limitation on jurisdiction.’’. 
SEC. 5. EXTRAJURISDICTIONAL CASES NOT BINDING ON 
STATES. 
Any decision of a Federal court which has been made 
before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
to the extent that the decision relates to an issue removed 
from Federal jurisdiction under section 1260 or 1370 of 
title 28, United States Code, as added by this Act, is not 
binding precedent on the court of any State, the District 
of Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or posses-
sion of the United States, or on the court of any subdivi-
sion thereof. 
Æ