Combatting Racist Training in the Military Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3134 To prohibit the United States Armed Forces from promoting anti-American and racist theories. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 12, 2021 Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. JACOBS of New York, Mr. ROY, Mr. OWENS, Ms. HERRELL, Mr. GALLAGHER, Mr. BIGGS, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. BUDD, Mr. GOOD of Virginia, Mr. MAST, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. WALTZ, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mrs. BOEBERT, Mrs. GREENE of Georgia, Mr. BROOKS, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. PERRY, Mr. TIFFANY, Mr. BUCK, Mr. ROSENDALE, Mr. RESCHENTHALER, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. BABIN, Mrs. LESKO, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. WENSTRUP, Mr. CLOUD, Mr. MOORE of Alabama, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, Mrs. MCCLAIN, Mr. HUDSON, Mr. RICE of South Carolina, Mr. HICE of Georgia, Mr. JACK- SON, Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania, and Mr. ROUZER) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was 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 ‘‘Combatting Racist 4 Training in the Military Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3134.IH H3134 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3134 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) The founding principles of the United 3 States include the belief, enshrined in the Declara- 4 tion of Independence, that ‘‘all men are created 5 equal’’ and ‘‘are endowed by their Creator with cer- 6 tain unalienable Rights’’. 7 (2) The United States commitment to the equal 8 dignity and natural rights of all mankind is the 9 strongest possible defense against racism and op- 10 pression of all kinds. 11 (3) The mission of the United States Armed 12 Forces is to ‘‘support and defend the Constitution of 13 the United States against all enemies, foreign and 14 domestic’’ and ‘‘bear true faith and allegiance to the 15 same’’. 16 (4) To carry out this mission, the Armed 17 Forces must train leaders who love the United 18 States, its citizens, and the aforementioned founding 19 principles. 20 (5) Anti-American and racist theories, such as 21 ‘‘Critical Race Theory’’, teach that the United 22 States is a fundamentally racist Nation, that the 23 Constitution is a fundamentally racist document, 24 and that certain races are fundamentally oppressive 25 or oppressed. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:45 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3134.IH H3134 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3134 IH (6) Such theories encourage people to judge 1 and treat others differently on the basis of their 2 race, rather than treating them as equal citizens and 3 human beings with equal dignity and protection 4 under the law. 5 (7) Anti-American and racist theories, such as 6 Critical Race Theory, teach students to distrust and 7 even hate their country and fellow citizens. 8 (8) The United States Armed Forces should not 9 promote or otherwise encourage anti-American and 10 racist theories that demoralize and divide its mem- 11 bers while undermining its mission to ‘‘bear truth 12 faith and allegiance’’ to the Constitution. 13 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON PROMOTION OF ANTI-AMERICAN 14 AND RACIST THEORIES. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States Armed Forces 16 and academic institutions operated or controlled by the 17 Department of Defense shall not promote the following 18 anti-American and racist theories: 19 (1) Any race is inherently superior or inferior 20 to any other race. 21 (2) The United States of America is a fun- 22 damentally racist country. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3134.IH H3134 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3134 IH (3) The Declaration of Independence or the 1 United States Constitution are fundamentally racist 2 documents. 3 (4) An individual’s moral character or worth is 4 determined by his or her race. 5 (5) An individual, by virtue of his or her race, 6 is inherently racist or oppressive, whether con- 7 sciously or unconsciously. 8 (6) An individual, because of his or her race, 9 bears responsibility for the actions committed by 10 other members of his or her race. 11 (b) PROMOTE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 12 ‘‘promote’’ means the following: 13 (1) Including theories described under sub- 14 section (a) or materials that advocate such theories 15 in curricula, reading lists, seminars, workshops, 16 trainings, or other educational or professional set- 17 tings in a manner that could reasonably give rise to 18 the appearance of official sponsorship, approval, or 19 endorsement. 20 (2) Contracting with, hiring, or otherwise en- 21 gaging speakers, consultants, diversity trainers, and 22 other persons for the purpose of advocating theories 23 described under subsection (a). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3134.IH H3134 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3134 IH (3) Compelling members of the Armed Forces 1 to affirm or profess belief in theories described 2 under subsection (a). 3 (4) Segregating members of the Armed Forces 4 or other individuals by race in any setting, including 5 educational and training sessions. 6 (c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 7 (1) PROTECTED SPEECH NOT RESTRICTED.— 8 Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict 9 the protected speech of members of the Armed 10 Forces or any individual. 11 (2) ACCESS TO MATERIALS FOR THE PURPOSE 12 OF RESEARCH OR INDEPENDENT STUDY.—Nothing 13 in this section shall be construed to prevent individ- 14 uals from accessing materials that advocate theories 15 described under subsection (a) for the purpose of re- 16 search or independent study. 17 (3) CONTEXTUAL EDUCATION.—Nothing in this 18 section shall be construed to prevent the United 19 States Armed Forces and academic institutions op- 20 erated or controlled by the Department of Defense 21 from stating theories described under subsection (a) 22 or assigning materials that advocate such theories 23 for educational purposes in contexts that make clear 24 the United States Armed Forces and Department of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3134.IH H3134 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3134 IH Defense does not sponsor, approve, or endorse such 1 theories or works. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:38 Jun 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3134.IH H3134 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS