What This Bill Does
This bill prohibits the United States Armed Forces and Department of Defense schools from promoting certain theories that the bill describes as anti-American and racist. The bill aims to prevent these institutions from teaching ideas that suggest some races are superior to others or that individuals are responsible for actions of others based on their race.
Who It Affects
The United States Armed Forces, academic institutions operated or controlled by the Department of Defense, members of the Armed Forces, speakers and consultants hired by these institutions, and individuals in educational and training settings run by the Department of Defense.
Key Provisions
• The Armed Forces and Department of Defense schools cannot promote six specific theories, including the idea that any race is inherently superior or inferior to another, or that an individual's moral worth is determined by their race (Sec. 3(a))
• "Promote" means including these theories in curricula, reading lists, seminars, workshops or trainings in ways that appear to have official approval, or hiring speakers to advocate these theories (Sec. 3(b))
• The Armed Forces cannot force members to affirm belief in these theories and cannot segregate members by race in any educational or training setting (Sec. 3(b))
• Nothing in the bill restricts protected speech of Armed Forces members or prevents people from accessing materials about these theories for research or independent study (Sec. 3(c))
• The bill allows Department of Defense institutions to teach about these theories for educational purposes if they make clear the institution does not approve of them (Sec. 3(c))
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, the Armed Forces and Department of Defense schools would be prohibited from including six specific theories in their official training and educational programs, and would be forbidden from hiring speakers or consultants to advocate these theories.
Important Definitions
The bill defines "promote" as including theories in educational materials in ways that appear officially approved, hiring people to advocate these theories, forcing members to affirm these theories, or separating members by race in educational settings (Sec. 3(b)).
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 556
To prohibit the United States Armed Forces from promoting anti-American
and racist theories.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 28, 2023
Mr. COTTON (for himself, Mr. DAINES, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. LEE, and Mr.
LANKFORD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re-
ferred 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 2023’’.
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
01:12 Mar 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S556.IS
S556
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2
•S 556 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
01:12 Mar 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S556.IS
S556
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3
•S 556 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
01:12 Mar 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S556.IS
S556
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4
•S 556 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
01:12 Mar 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S556.IS
S556
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5
•S 556 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
01:12 Mar 08, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\S556.IS
S556
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS