CIVIL Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3902 To amend the Insurrection Act to curtail violations against the civil liberties of the people of the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 4, 2020 Mr. BLUMENTHAL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To amend the Insurrection Act to curtail violations against the civil liberties of the people of the United States, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Curtailing Insurrection 4 act Violations of Individuals’ Liberties Act’’ or the 5 ‘‘CIVIL Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FEDERAL AID FOR STATE GOVERNMENTS. 7 Section 251 of title 10, United States Code, is 8 amended to read as follows: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Jun 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3902.IS S3902 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3902 IS ‘‘§ 251. Federal aid for State governments 1 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—Whenever there is an insurrection 2 in any State against its government, the President may, 3 upon the request of the governor of the State concerned, 4 call into Federal service such of the militia of the other 5 States, in the number requested by the governor of the 6 State concerned, and use such of the armed forces, as the 7 President considers necessary to suppress the insurrec- 8 tion. 9 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—The President 10 may not invoke the authority under this section unless the 11 President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney 12 General certify to Congress that the governor of the State 13 concerned has requested the aid described in subsection 14 (a) to suppress an insurrection.’’. 15 SEC. 3. USE OF MILITIA AND ARMED FORCES TO ENFORCE 16 FEDERAL AUTHORITY. 17 Section 252 of title 10, United States Code, is 18 amended to read as follows: 19 ‘‘§ 252. Use of militia and armed forces to enforce 20 Federal authority 21 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—Whenever unlawful obstructions, 22 combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the au- 23 thority of the United States, make it impracticable to en- 24 force the laws of the United States in any State by the 25 ordinary course of judicial proceedings, the President may 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3902.IS S3902 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3902 IS call into Federal service such of the militia of any State, 1 and use such of the armed forces, as the President con- 2 siders necessary to enforce those laws or to suppress the 3 rebellion. 4 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.— 5 ‘‘(1) The President may not invoke the author- 6 ity under this section unless the President, the Sec- 7 retary of Defense, and the Attorney General certify 8 to Congress that the State concerned is unable or 9 unwilling to suppress an unlawful obstruction, com- 10 bination, or assemblage, or rebellion against the au- 11 thority of the United States described in subsection 12 (a). 13 ‘‘(2) A certification under paragraph (1) shall 14 include the following: 15 ‘‘(A) A description of the circumstances 16 necessitating the invocation of the authority 17 under this section. 18 ‘‘(B) Demonstrable evidence that the State 19 concerned is unable or unwilling to suppress 20 such unlawful obstruction, combination, or as- 21 semblage, or rebellion against the authority of 22 the United States, and a legal justification for 23 resorting to the authority under this section to 24 so suppress. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3902.IS S3902 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3902 IS ‘‘(C) A description of the mission, scope, 1 and duration of use of members of the armed 2 forces under this section.’’. 3 SEC. 4. INTERFERENCE WITH STATE AND FEDERAL LAW. 4 Section 253 of title 10, United States Code, is 5 amended to read as follows: 6 ‘‘§ 253. Interference with State and Federal law 7 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—(1) The President, by using the 8 militia or the armed forces, or both, or by any other 9 means, shall take such measures as he considers necessary 10 to suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic vio- 11 lence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy, if it— 12 ‘‘(A) so hinders the execution of the laws of 13 that State, and of the United States within the 14 State, that any part or class of its people is deprived 15 of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named 16 in the Constitution and secured by law, and the con- 17 stituted authorities of that State are unable, fail, or 18 refuse to protect that right, privilege, or immunity, 19 or to give that protection; or 20 ‘‘(B) opposes or obstructs the execution of the 21 Federal or State laws to protect the civil rights of 22 the people of the United States under the Constitu- 23 tion and impedes the course of justice under those 24 laws. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3902.IS S3902 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3902 IS ‘‘(2) In any situation covered by paragraph (1)(A), 1 the State shall be considered to have denied the equal pro- 2 tection of the laws secured by the Constitution. 3 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.— 4 ‘‘(1) The President may not invoke the author- 5 ity under this section unless the President, the Sec- 6 retary of Defense, and the Attorney General certify 7 to Congress that the State concerned is unable or 8 unwilling to suppress an insurrection, domestic vio- 9 lence, an unlawful combination, or a conspiracy de- 10 scribed in subsection (a). 11 ‘‘(2) A certification under paragraph (1) shall 12 include the following: 13 ‘‘(A) A description of the circumstances 14 necessitating the invocation of the authority 15 under this section. 16 ‘‘(B) Demonstrable evidence that the State 17 concerned is unable or unwilling to suppress 18 such insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful 19 combination, or conspiracy, and a legal jus- 20 tification for resorting to the authority under 21 this section to so suppress. 22 ‘‘(C) A description of the mission, scope, 23 and duration of use of members of the armed 24 forces under this section.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3902.IS S3902 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3902 IS SEC. 5. CONSULTATION WITH CONGRESS. 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 13 of title 10, 2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 3 end the following new section: 4 ‘‘§ 256. Consultation 5 ‘‘The President, in every possible instance, shall con- 6 sult with Congress before invoking the authority under 7 section 251, 252, or 253.’’. 8 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND- 9 MENT.—The table of sections at the beginning of 10 chapter 13 of title 10, United States Code, is 11 amended by adding at the end the following: 12 ‘‘256. Consultation.’’. SEC. 6. TERMINATION AND EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY 13 UNDER THE INSURRECTION ACT. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 13 of title 10, United 15 States Code, as amended by section 5, is further amended 16 by adding at the end the following new section: 17 ‘‘§ 257. Termination of authority and expedited proce- 18 dures for extension by joint resolution of 19 Congress 20 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 21 ‘‘(1) 14-DAY PERIOD.—With respect to an invo- 22 cation of authority under section 251, 252, or 253, 23 the term ‘14-day period’ means, as applicable— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3902.IS S3902 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3902 IS ‘‘(A) in the case of an invocation of au- 1 thority on a date on which Congress is in ses- 2 sion, the period beginning on the date on which 3 the President invokes such authority and end- 4 ing on the date that is 14 calendar days after 5 the date of such invocation; or 6 ‘‘(B) in the case of an invocation of au- 7 thority on a date on which Congress is ad- 8 journed, the period beginning on the date on 9 which the next session of Congress commences 10 and ending on the date that is 14 calendar days 11 after the date of such commencement. 12 ‘‘(2) JOINT RESOLUTION.—The term ‘joint res- 13 olution’ means a joint resolution— 14 ‘‘(A) that is introduced with respect to the 15 invocation of authority under section 251, 252, 16 or 253 during the 14-day period; 17 ‘‘(B) which does not have a preamble; 18 ‘‘(C) the title of which is as follows: ‘Joint 19 resolution relating to the extension of authority 20 for purposes of lllll of title 10, United 21 States Code’, the blank space being filled in 22 with whether the extension relates to the provi- 23 sion of Federal aid for State governments 24 under section 251, the use of militia and armed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3902.IS S3902 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3902 IS forces to enforce Federal authority under sec- 1 tion 252, or the suppression of interference 2 with State and Federal law under section 253; 3 and 4 ‘‘(D) the matter after the resolving clause 5 of which is as follows: ‘That Congress extends 6 the authority to llllll, invoked by the 7 President on llllll .’, the first blank 8 space being filled in with whether the extension 9 relates to the provision of Federal aid for State 10 governments, the use of militia and armed 11 forces to enforce Federal authority, or the sup- 12 pression of interference with State and Federal 13 law, and the second blank space being filled in 14 with the date on which the President invoked 15 such authority. 16 ‘‘(b) JOINT RESOLUTION ENACTED.—Notwith- 17 standing any other provision of this section, if, not later 18 than the last day of the 14-day period, there is enacted 19 into law a joint resolution, the period of such authority 20 shall be extended for a period to be determined by Con- 21 gress and expressed in the joint resolution. 22 ‘‘(c) JOINT RESOLUTION NOT ENACTED.—Notwith- 23 standing any other provision of this section, if a joint reso- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3902.IS S3902 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3902 IS lution is not enacted on or before the last day of the 14- 1 day period— 2 ‘‘(1) such authority invoked by the President 3 shall terminate; and 4 ‘‘(2) the President may not, at any time after 5 the 14-day period, re-invoke authority under section 6 251, 252, or 253, unless there has been a material 7 and significant change in factual circumstances, and 8 such circumstances are provided in a new certifi- 9 cation to Congress. 10 ‘‘(d) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF 11 REPRESENTATIVES.— 12 ‘‘(1) RECONVENING.—Upon invocation by the 13 President of the authority under section 251, 252, 14 or 253, the Speaker of the House of Representa- 15 tives, if the House of Representatives would other- 16 wise be adjourned, shall notify the Members of the 17 House of Representatives that, pursuant to this sec- 18 tion, the House of Representatives shall convene not 19 later than 3 calendar days after the date of such in- 20 vocation. 21 ‘‘(2) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—Any com- 22 mittee of the House of Representatives to which a 23 joint resolution is referred shall report it to the 24 House of Representatives not later than 7 calendar 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3902.IS S3902 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3902 IS days after the last day of the 14-day period, there 1 is enacted into law a joint resolution. If a committee 2 fails to report the joint resolution within that period, 3 the committee shall be discharged from further con- 4 sideration of the joint resolution and the joint reso- 5 lution shall be referred to the appropriate calendar. 6 ‘‘(3) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After each committee 8 authorized to consider a joint resolution reports 9 it to the House of Representatives or has been 10 discharged from its consideration, it shall be in 11 order, not later than 7 calendar days after the 12 last day of the 14-day period, to move to pro- 13 ceed to consider the joint resolution in the 14 House of Representatives. 15 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.—For a motion to pro- 16 ceed to consider a joint resolution— 17 ‘‘(i) all points of order against the 18 motion are waived; 19 ‘‘(ii) such a motion shall not be in 20 order after the House of Representatives 21 has disposed of a motion to proceed on the 22 joint resolution; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3902.IS S3902 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3902 IS ‘‘(iii) the previous question shall be 1 considered as ordered on the motion to its 2 adoption without intervening motion; 3 ‘‘(iv) the motion shall not be debat- 4 able; and 5 ‘‘(v) a motion to reconsider the vote 6 by which the motion is disposed of shall 7 not be in order. 8 ‘‘(4) CONSIDERATION.—If the House of Rep- 9 resentatives proceeds to consideration of a joint res- 10 olution— 11 ‘‘(A) the joint resolution shall be consid- 12 ered as read; 13 ‘‘(B) all points of order against the joint 14 resolution and against its consideration are 15 waived; 16 ‘‘(C) the previous question shall be consid- 17 ered as ordered on the joint resolution to its 18 passage without intervening motion except 10 19 hours of debate equally divided and controlled 20 by the proponent and an opponent; 21 ‘‘(D) an amendment to the joint resolution 22 shall not be in order; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3902.IS S3902 ctelli on DSK30NT082PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3902 IS ‘‘(E) a motion to reconsider the vote on 1 passage of the joint resolution shall not be in 2 order. 3 ‘‘(e) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION IN SENATE.— 4 ‘‘(1) RECONVENING.—Upon invocation by the 5 President of the authority under section 251, 252, 6 or 253, if the Senate has adjourned or recessed for 7 more than 2 calendar days, the majority leader of 8 the Senate, after consultation with the minority 9 leader of the Senate, shall notify the Members of the 10 Senate that, pursuant to this section, the Senate 11 shall convene not later than 3 calendar days after 12 the date of such invocation. 13 ‘‘(2) PLACEMENT ON CALENDAR.—Upon intro- 14 duction in the Senate, the joint resolution shall be 15 placed immediately on the calendar. 16 ‘‘(3) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwiths [Text truncated for display. 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