Combating Racist Training in the Military Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 968 To prohibit the United States Armed Forces from promoting anti-American and racist theories. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 25, 2021 Mr. COTTON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To prohibit the United States Armed Forces from promoting anti-American and racist theories. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Combating Racist 4 Training in the Military Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 (1) The founding principles of the United 8 States include the belief, enshrined in the Declara- 9 tion of Independence, that ‘‘all men are created 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S968.IS S968 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 968 IS equal’’ and ‘‘are endowed by their Creator with cer- 1 tain unalienable Rights’’. 2 (2) The United States commitment to the equal 3 dignity and natural rights of all mankind is the 4 strongest possible defense against racism and op- 5 pression of all kinds. 6 (3) The mission of the United States Armed 7 Forces is to ‘‘support and defend the Constitution of 8 the United States against all enemies, foreign and 9 domestic’’ and ‘‘bear true faith and allegiance to the 10 same’’. 11 (4) To carry out this mission, the Armed 12 Forces must train leaders who love the United 13 States, its citizens, and the aforementioned founding 14 principles. 15 (5) Anti-American and racist theories, such as 16 ‘‘Critical Race Theory’’, teach that the United 17 States is a fundamentally racist Nation, that the 18 Constitution is a fundamentally racist document, 19 and that certain races are fundamentally oppressive 20 or oppressed. 21 (6) Such theories encourage people to judge 22 and treat others differently on the basis of their 23 race, rather than treating them as equal citizens and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:54 Apr 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S968.IS S968 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 968 IS human beings with equal dignity and protection 1 under the law. 2 (7) Anti-American and racist theories, such as 3 Critical Race Theory, teach students to distrust and 4 even hate their country and fellow citizens. 5 (8) The United States Armed Forces should not 6 promote or otherwise encourage anti-American and 7 racist theories that demoralize and divide its mem- 8 bers while undermining its mission to ‘‘bear true 9 faith and allegiance’’ to the Constitution. 10 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON PROMOTION OF ANTI-AMERICAN 11 AND RACIST THEORIES. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States Armed Forces 13 and academic institutions operated or controlled by the 14 Department of Defense shall not promote the following 15 anti-American and racist theories: 16 (1) Any race is inherently superior or inferior 17 to any other race. 18 (2) The United States of America is a fun- 19 damentally racist country. 20 (3) The Declaration of Independence or the 21 United States Constitution are fundamentally racist 22 documents. 23 (4) An individual’s moral character or worth is 24 determined by his or her race. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S968.IS S968 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 968 IS (5) An individual, by virtue of his or her race, 1 is inherently racist or oppressive, whether con- 2 sciously or unconsciously. 3 (6) An individual, because of his or her race, 4 bears responsibility for the actions committed by 5 other members of his or her race. 6 (b) PROMOTE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 7 ‘‘promote’’ means the following: 8 (1) Including theories described under sub- 9 section (a) or materials that advocate such theories 10 in curricula, reading lists, seminars, workshops, 11 trainings, or other educational or professional set- 12 tings in a manner that could reasonably give rise to 13 the appearance of official sponsorship, approval, or 14 endorsement. 15 (2) Contracting with, hiring, or otherwise en- 16 gaging speakers, consultants, diversity trainers, and 17 other persons for the purpose of advocating theories 18 described under subsection (a). 19 (3) Compelling members of the Armed Forces 20 to affirm or profess belief in theories described 21 under subsection (a). 22 (4) Segregating members of the Armed Forces 23 or other individuals by race in any setting, including 24 educational and training sessions. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S968.IS S968 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 968 IS (c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 1 (1) PROTECTED SPEECH NOT RESTRICTED.— 2 Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict 3 the protected speech of members of the Armed 4 Forces or any individual. 5 (2) ACCESS TO MATERIALS FOR THE PURPOSE 6 OF RESEARCH OR INDEPENDENT STUDY.—Nothing 7 in this section shall be construed to prevent individ- 8 uals from accessing materials that advocate theories 9 described under subsection (a) for the purpose of re- 10 search or independent study. 11 (3) CONTEXTUAL EDUCATION.—Nothing in this 12 section shall be construed to prevent the United 13 States Armed Forces and academic institutions op- 14 erated or controlled by the Department of Defense 15 from stating theories described under subsection (a) 16 or assigning materials that advocate such theories 17 for educational purposes in contexts that make clear 18 the United States Armed Forces and Department of 19 Defense does not sponsor, approve, or endorse such 20 theories or works. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:04 Apr 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S968.IS S968 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS