Title: No Religious Registry Act of 2017
Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues

Summary:
No Religious Registry Act of 2017
This bill prohibits U.S. government officers or employees from collecting information or utilizing a registry or database to classify or surveil on the basis of religious affiliation: (1) U.S. nationals, (2) aliens lawfully present in the United States, or (3) aliens who apply for a visa or seek admission to the United States or on whose behalf a petition under the immigration laws is submitted. The bill also prohibits studies related to the collection of such information or the establishment or utilization of such a registry or database.
Nothing in such prohibition may be construed to prohibit the collection of information that is provided voluntarily, and from which personally identifiable information is removed, to be used strictly for statistical purposes that do not violate this bill.
Federal entities are prohibited from: (1) awarding a contract to an entity to collect information or establish a registry that would violate this bill, or (2) purchasing information on religious affiliation from a nonfederal entity for such purposes.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 489 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 489

  To prohibit the collection of information and the establishment or 
     utilization of a registry for the purposes of classifying or 
surveilling certain United States persons and other individuals on the 
        basis of religious affiliation, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 12, 2017

Ms. DelBene (for herself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Cohen, 
Ms. Judy Chu of California, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Carson of Indiana, and Ms. 
   Matsui) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit the collection of information and the establishment or 
     utilization of a registry for the purposes of classifying or 
surveilling certain United States persons and other individuals on the 
        basis of religious affiliation, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``No Religious Registry Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The National Security Entry-Exit System (hereinafter 
        referred to as ``NSEERS''), which was active from 2002 through 
        2011, registered and tracked individuals on the basis of their 
        religion by targeting majority-Muslim countries in an attempt 
        to thwart terrorism.
            (2) NSEERS tracked approximately 80,000 men and boys, and 
        resulted in zero terrorist convictions from 2002 through 2011.
            (3) Mass surveillance of certain religious groups is 
        inherently incompatible with American values as enshrined in 
        the U.S. Constitution, does not improve U.S. national security, 
        and has the potential to weaken national security by alienating 
        crucial allies in the fight against terrorism.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION.

    (a) In General.--No United States Government officer or employee 
may collect information or establish or otherwise utilize a database, 
or similar for the purpose of classifying or surveilling, on the basis 
of religious affiliation, a United States national, an alien who is 
lawfully present in the United States, or any alien who applies for a 
visa or seeks admission to the United States or on whose behalf a 
petition under the immigration laws is submitted, or conduct any study 
related to the collection of such information or the establishment or 
utilization of such a registry, database, or similar.
    (b) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
as prohibiting the collection of information that is voluntarily 
provided and from which personally identifiable information is removed, 
to be used strictly for statistical purposes, including those permitted 
under section 9 of title 13, United States Code, that do not violate 
section 2 above.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON SOLICITATION AND PURCHASE.

    (a) Procurement.--A Federal entity may not solicit or award a 
contract to any entity for such entity to collect information or 
establish a registry that would violate section 3.
    (b) Collection of Certain Information.--A Federal entity may not 
purchase or solicit any information on religious affiliation from a 
non-Federal entity for purposes that would violate section 3.
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