CIVIL Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7135 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 8, 2020 Ms. OMAR (for herself, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. POCAN, Ms. ESCOBAR, Ms. NOR- TON, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. KENNEDY, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, and Mrs. NAPOLITANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 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 ‘‘CIVIL 5 Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7135.IH H7135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7135 IH SEC. 2. FEDERAL AID FOR STATE GOVERNMENTS. 1 Section 251 of title 10, United States Code, is 2 amended to read as follows: 3 ‘‘§ 251. Federal aid for State governments 4 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—Whenever there is an insurrection 5 in any State against its government, the President may, 6 upon the request of the governor of the State concerned, 7 call into Federal service such of the militia of the other 8 States, in the number requested by the governor of the 9 State concerned, and use such of the armed forces, as the 10 President considers necessary to suppress the insurrec- 11 tion. 12 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—The President 13 may not invoke the authority under this section unless the 14 President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney 15 General certify to Congress that the governor of the State 16 concerned has requested the aid described in subsection 17 (a) to suppress an insurrection.’’. 18 SEC. 3. USE OF MILITIA AND ARMED FORCES TO ENFORCE 19 FEDERAL AUTHORITY. 20 Section 252 of title 10, United States Code, is 21 amended to read as follows: 22 ‘‘§ 252. Use of militia and armed forces to enforce 23 Federal authority 24 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—Whenever unlawful obstructions, 25 combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the au- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7135.IH H7135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7135 IH thority of the United States, make it impracticable to en- 1 force the laws of the United States in any State by the 2 ordinary course of judicial proceedings, the President may 3 call into Federal service such of the militia of any State, 4 and use such of the armed forces, as the President con- 5 siders necessary to enforce those laws or to suppress the 6 rebellion. 7 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.— 8 ‘‘(1) The President may not invoke the author- 9 ity under this section unless the President, the Sec- 10 retary of Defense, and the Attorney General certify 11 to Congress that the State concerned is unable or 12 unwilling to suppress an unlawful obstruction, com- 13 bination, or assemblage, or rebellion against the au- 14 thority of the United States described in subsection 15 (a). 16 ‘‘(2) A certification under paragraph (1) shall 17 include the following: 18 ‘‘(A) A description of the circumstances 19 necessitating the invocation of the authority 20 under this section. 21 ‘‘(B) Demonstrable evidence that the State 22 concerned is unable or unwilling to suppress 23 such unlawful obstruction, combination, or as- 24 semblage, or rebellion against the authority of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7135.IH H7135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7135 IH the United States, and a legal justification for 1 resorting to the authority under this section to 2 so suppress. 3 ‘‘(C) A description of the mission, scope, 4 and duration of use of members of the armed 5 forces under this section.’’. 6 SEC. 4. INTERFERENCE WITH STATE AND FEDERAL LAW. 7 Section 253 of title 10, United States Code, is 8 amended to read as follows: 9 ‘‘§ 253. Interference with State and Federal law 10 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—(1) The President, by using the 11 militia or the armed forces, or both, or by any other 12 means, shall take such measures as he considers necessary 13 to suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic vio- 14 lence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy, if it— 15 ‘‘(A) so hinders the execution of the laws of 16 that State, and of the United States within the 17 State, that any part or class of its people is deprived 18 of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named 19 in the Constitution and secured by law, and the con- 20 stituted authorities of that State are unable, fail, or 21 refuse to protect that right, privilege, or immunity, 22 or to give that protection; or 23 ‘‘(B) opposes or obstructs the execution of the 24 Federal or State laws to protect the civil rights of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7135.IH H7135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7135 IH the people of the United States under the Constitu- 1 tion and impedes the course of justice under those 2 laws. 3 ‘‘(2) In any situation covered by paragraph (1)(A), 4 the State shall be considered to have denied the equal pro- 5 tection of the laws secured by the Constitution. 6 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.— 7 ‘‘(1) The President may not invoke the author- 8 ity under this section unless the President, the Sec- 9 retary of Defense, and the Attorney General certify 10 to Congress that the State concerned is unable or 11 unwilling to suppress an insurrection, domestic vio- 12 lence, an unlawful combination, or a conspiracy de- 13 scribed in subsection (a). 14 ‘‘(2) A certification under paragraph (1) shall 15 include the following: 16 ‘‘(A) A description of the circumstances 17 necessitating the invocation of the authority 18 under this section. 19 ‘‘(B) Demonstrable evidence that the State 20 concerned is unable or unwilling to suppress 21 such insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful 22 combination, or conspiracy, and a legal jus- 23 tification for resorting to the authority under 24 this section to so suppress. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7135.IH H7135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7135 IH ‘‘(C) A description of the mission, scope, 1 and duration of use of members of the armed 2 forces under this section.’’. 3 SEC. 5. CONSULTATION WITH CONGRESS. 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 13 of title 10, 5 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 6 end the following new section: 7 ‘‘§ 256. Consultation 8 ‘‘The President, in every possible instance, shall con- 9 sult with Congress before invoking the authority under 10 section 251, 252, or 253.’’. 11 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND- 12 MENT.—The table of sections at the beginning of 13 chapter 13 of title 10, United States Code, is 14 amended by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘256. Consultation.’’. SEC. 6. TERMINATION AND EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY 16 UNDER THE INSURRECTION ACT. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 13 of title 10, United 18 States Code, as amended by section 5, is further amended 19 by adding at the end the following new section: 20 ‘‘§ 257. Termination of authority and expedited proce- 21 dures for extension by joint resolution of 22 Congress 23 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7135.IH H7135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7135 IH ‘‘(1) 14-DAY PERIOD.—With respect to an invo- 1 cation of authority under section 251, 252, or 253, 2 the term ‘14-day period’ means, as applicable— 3 ‘‘(A) in the case of an invocation of au- 4 thority on a date on which Congress is in ses- 5 sion, the period beginning on the date on which 6 the President invokes such authority and end- 7 ing on the date that is 14 calendar days after 8 the date of such invocation; or 9 ‘‘(B) in the case of an invocation of au- 10 thority on a date on which Congress is ad- 11 journed, the period beginning on the date on 12 which the next session of Congress commences 13 and ending on the date that is 14 calendar days 14 after the date of such commencement. 15 ‘‘(2) JOINT RESOLUTION.—The term ‘joint res- 16 olution’ means a joint resolution— 17 ‘‘(A) that is introduced with respect to the 18 invocation of authority under section 251, 252, 19 or 253 during the 14-day period; 20 ‘‘(B) which does not have a preamble; 21 ‘‘(C) the title of which is as follows: ‘Joint 22 resolution relating to the extension of authority 23 for purposes of lllll of title 10, United 24 States Code’, the blank space being filled in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7135.IH H7135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7135 IH with whether the extension relates to the provi- 1 sion of Federal aid for State governments 2 under section 251, the use of militia and armed 3 forces to enforce Federal authority under sec- 4 tion 252, or the suppression of interference 5 with State and Federal law under section 253; 6 and 7 ‘‘(D) the matter after the resolving clause 8 of which is as follows: ‘That Congress extends 9 the authority to llllll, invoked by the 10 President on llllll .’, the first blank 11 space being filled in with whether the extension 12 relates to the provision of Federal aid for State 13 governments, the use of militia and armed 14 forces to enforce Federal authority, or the sup- 15 pression of interference with State and Federal 16 law, and the second blank space being filled in 17 with the date on which the President invoked 18 such authority. 19 ‘‘(b) JOINT RESOLUTION ENACTED.—Notwith- 20 standing any other provision of this section, if, not later 21 than the last day of the 14-day period, there is enacted 22 into law a joint resolution, the period of such authority 23 shall be extended for a period to be determined by Con- 24 gress and expressed in the joint resolution. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7135.IH H7135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7135 IH ‘‘(c) JOINT RESOLUTION NOT ENACTED.—Notwith- 1 standing any other provision of this section, if a joint reso- 2 lution is not enacted on or before the last day of the 14- 3 day period— 4 ‘‘(1) such authority invoked by the President 5 shall terminate; and 6 ‘‘(2) the President may not, at any time after 7 the 14-day period, re-invoke authority under section 8 251, 252, or 253, unless there has been a material 9 and significant change in factual circumstances, and 10 such circumstances are provided in a new certifi- 11 cation to Congress. 12 ‘‘(d) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION IN HOUSE OF 13 REPRESENTATIVES.— 14 ‘‘(1) RECONVENING.—Upon invocation by the 15 President of the authority under section 251, 252, 16 or 253, the Speaker of the House of Representa- 17 tives, if the House of Representatives would other- 18 wise be adjourned, shall notify the Members of the 19 House of Representatives that, pursuant to this sec- 20 tion, the House of Representatives shall convene not 21 later than 3 calendar days after the date of such in- 22 vocation. 23 ‘‘(2) REPORTING AND DISCHARGE.—Any com- 24 mittee of the House of Representatives to which a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7135.IH H7135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7135 IH joint resolution is referred shall report it to the 1 House of Representatives not later than 7 calendar 2 days after the last day of the 14-day period, there 3 is enacted into law a joint resolution. If a committee 4 fails to report the joint resolution within that period, 5 the committee shall be discharged from further con- 6 sideration of the joint resolution and the joint reso- 7 lution shall be referred to the appropriate calendar. 8 ‘‘(3) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After each committee 10 authorized to consider a joint resolution reports 11 it to the House of Representatives or has been 12 discharged from its consideration, it shall be in 13 order, not later than 7 calendar days after the 14 last day of the 14-day period, to move to pro- 15 ceed to consider the joint resolution in the 16 House of Representatives. 17 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.—For a motion to pro- 18 ceed to consider a joint resolution— 19 ‘‘(i) all points of order against the 20 motion are waived; 21 ‘‘(ii) such a motion shall not be in 22 order after the House of Representatives 23 has disposed of a motion to proceed on the 24 joint resolution; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:41 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7135.IH H7135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7135 IH ‘‘(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 18:41 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7135.IH H7135 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7135 IH ‘‘(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 lea [Text truncated for display. 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