[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 140 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 140
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 14, 2023
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend title 5, United States Code, to prohibit Federal employees
from advocating for censorship of viewpoints in their official
capacity, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Speech from Government
Interference Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL EMPLOYEE CENSORSHIP.
(a) In General.--Chapter 73 of title 5, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``SUBCHAPTER VIII--PROHIBITION ON FEDERAL EMPLOYEE CENSORSHIP
``Sec. 7381. Policy regarding Federal employee censorship
``It is the policy of the Congress that employees acting in their
official capacity should neither take action within their authority or
influence to promote the censorship of any lawful speech, nor advocate
that a third party, including a private entity, censor such speech.
``Sec. 7382. Prohibition on Federal employee censorship
``(a) In General.--An employee may not--
``(1) use the employee's official authority to censor any
private entity, including outside of normal duty hours and
while such employee is away from the employee's normal duty
post; or
``(2) engage in censorship of a private entity--
``(A) while the employee is on duty;
``(B) in any room or building occupied in the
discharge of official duties by an individual employed
or holding office in the Government of the United
States or any agency or instrumentality thereof;
``(C) while wearing a uniform or official insignia
identifying the office or position of the employee;
``(D) while using any vehicle owned or leased by
the Government of the United States or any agency or
instrumentality thereof; or
``(E) while using any information system or
information technology (as defined under section 11101
of title 40).
``(b) Exceptions for Law Enforcement Functions and Reporting
Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prohibit an employee from engaging in lawful
actions against unlawful speech within the official authority
of such employee for the purpose of exercising legitimate law
enforcement functions.
``(2) Reporting.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 72 hours before
an employee exercises a legitimate law enforcement
function under paragraph (1) to take any action to
censor any unlawful speech (in this paragraph referred
to as a `censorship action'), and consistent with
subparagraph (D), the head of the agency that employs
the employee shall submit, to the Office of Special
Counsel and the chair and ranking member of the
committees of Congress described under subparagraph
(B), a report that includes--
``(i) an overview of the action, or
actions, to be taken, including a summary of
the action being taken and the rationale for
why a censorship action is necessary;
``(ii) the name of the entity which the
action is being requested of;
``(iii) the person and entity targeted by
the censorship action, including the associated
name or number of any account used or
maintained by the entity and a description of
the specific speech content targeted;
``(iv) the agency's legal authority for
exercising the law enforcement function;
``(v) the agency employee or employees
involved in the censorship action, including
their position and any direct supervisor;
``(vi) a list of other agencies that have
been involved, consulted, or communicated with
in coordination with the censorship action; and
``(vii) a classified annex, if the agency
head deems it appropriate.
``(B) Committees.--The committees of Congress
described under this subparagraph are the following:
``(i) The Committee on Oversight and
Accountability, the Committee on the Judiciary,
the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence,
and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives.
``(ii) The Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on the
Judiciary, Select Committee on Intelligence,
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate.
``(C) Clarification of office of special counsel
reporting requirements.--The reporting requirements in
this paragraph do not apply to the Office of Special
Counsel's advisory and enforcement functions under
subchapter II of chapter 12.
``(D) Reporting requirements for certain actions.--
``(i) Any censorship action relating to
combating child pornography and exploitation,
human trafficking, or the illegal transporting
of or transacting in controlled substances
shall be exempt from the reporting requirement
under this paragraph.
``(ii) With respect to any censorship
action related to safeguarding, or preventing
the unlawful dissemination of, properly
classified national security information,
subparagraph (A) shall be applied by
substituting `Not later than 72 hours after'
for `Not later than 72 hours before'.
``(c) Penalties.--
``(1) In general.--An employee who violates this section
shall be subject to--
``(A) disciplinary action consisting of removal,
reduction in grade, debarment from Federal employment
for a period not to exceed 10 years, suspension, or
reprimand;
``(B) an assessment of a civil penalty not to
exceed $1,000; or
``(C) any combination of the penalties described in
subparagraph (A) or (B).
``(2) Application to senior government officials.--
Paragraph (1)(B) shall be applied by substituting `$50,000' for
`$1,000' for any employee who is--
``(A) paid from an appropriation for the White
House Office; or
``(B) appointed by the President, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate.
``(d) Enforcement.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2) and
subsection (c)(2), this section shall be enforced in the same
manner as subchapter III of this chapter.
``(2) Application.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, including section 1215(b), the Special Counsel may, in
lieu of sending a report to the President under section
1215(b), seek civil monetary penalties under subsection (c)(2)
pursuant to section 1215(a). This paragraph shall not be
construed to limit or otherwise affect the President's
authority to enforce any disciplinary action against an
employee described under subsection (c)(2).
``(e) Report.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 240 days after the date
of the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the
Attorney General, in consultation with the Assistant Attorney
General for Civil Rights and the Office of Special Counsel,
shall submit to the committees of Congress described in
subsection (b)(2)(B) a report evaluating the compliance by the
Federal Government with this section, including a description
of any action by the head of an agency or department in the
executive branch to--
``(A) consult with any third parties about
censorship by employees in the executive branch; or
``(B) engage in any activity prohibited under this
section.
``(2) Sunset.--This subsection shall terminate on the date
that is 10 years after the date of the enactment of this
subsection.
``(f) Annual Training.--Not less than annually, the head of each
employing agency shall provide mandatory training on this section and
the requirements of this section to each agency employee.
``(g) Definitions.--In this subchapter--
``(1) the term `censor' or `censorship' means influencing
or coercing, or directing another to influence or coerce, for--
``(A) the removal or suppression of lawful speech,
in whole or in part, from or on any interactive
computer service;
``(B) the addition of any disclaimer, information,
or other alert to lawful speech being expressed on an
interactive computer service; or
``(C) the removal or restriction of access of any
person or entity on an interactive computer service
generally available to the public, unless such person
or entity is engaged in unlawful speech or criminal
activities on such service;
``(2) the term `employee' has the meaning given that term
in section 7322;
``(3) the term `interactive computer service' has the
meaning given that term in section 230(f) of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f));
``(4) the term `lawful speech' means speech protected by
the First Amendment of the Constitution; and
``(5) the term `unlawful speech' means speech not protected
by the First Amendment of the Constitution.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 73 of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``subchapter viii--prohibition on federal employee censorship
``7381. Policy regarding Federal employee censorship.
``7382. Prohibition on Federal employee censorship.''.
(c) Including Censorship Activities Under Jurisdiction of Office of
Special Counsel.--Strike paragraph (1) of section 1216(a) of title 5,
United States Code, and insert the following:
``(1) political activity and censorship prohibited under
subchapter III and subchapter VIII of chapter 73, relating to
political and censorship activities, respectively, by Federal
employees;''.
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act or any amendment
made by this Act should be interpreted as prohibiting a lawful action
by a Federal agency to enforce a Federal law or regulation (including
any action to enforce a Federal law or regulation addressing obscene
matters), to establish or enforce the terms and conditions of Federal
financial assistance, or to prohibit a Federal employee from using an
official Federal account on an interactive computer service to
communicate an official policy position, and relevant information, to
the public, or provide information through normal press and public
affairs relations.
(e) Severability.--If any provision of this Act or any amendment
made by this Act, or the application of a provision of this Act or an
amendment made by this Act to any person or circumstance, is held to be
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, and the application of the
provisions to any person or circumstance, shall not be affected by the
holding.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that inspectors general should not less than
annually for the next seven years publicly report the number of
complaints and tips received, the number of investigations opened, and
statistics on how investigations were managed and their disposition by
that inspector general related to compliance with this Act and the
amendments made by this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives March 9, 2023.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.