HR 914 · 113th Congress 2013–2015, ended

Military Religious Freedom Protection Act

Introduced Feb 28, 2013 Originated House Sponsor Tim Huelskamp R-KS

Latest action · Mar 14, 2013 Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedFeb 28, 2013
Passed HouseNot reached
Passed SenateNot reached
To the PresidentNot reached
Became lawNot reached

Summary

Military Religious Freedom Protection Act - Requires the sincerely held religious or moral beliefs of a member of the Armed Forces concerning the appropriate and inappropriate expression of human sexuality to be accommodated and not the basis of any adverse personnel action, discrimination, or denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment (adverse actions).

Prohibits a military chaplain from being directed, ordered, or required to perform any duty, rite, ritual, ceremony, service, or function (ceremony) that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs (beliefs) of the chaplain or the chaplain's faith group. Prohibits the refusal of a chaplain to perform a ceremony that is contrary to such beliefs from being the basis of any adverse actions.

Requires the Secretary of Defense to issue regulations setting forth guidance to implement such requirements and prohibitions.

Prohibits a military installation or other property owned, rented, or otherwise under the jurisdiction or control of the Department of Defense (DOD) from being used to officiate, solemnize, or perform a marriage or marriage-like ceremony involving anything other than the union of one man with one woman.

Cosponsors 16

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 28, 2013 to Dec 4, 2013; 6 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
R-CA	Doug LaMalfa	Original	Feb 28, 2013
R-OH	Jim Jordan	Original	Feb 28, 2013
R-TX	Louie Gohmert	Original	Feb 28, 2013
R-IA	Steve King	Original	Feb 28, 2013
R-MI	Tim Walberg	Original	Feb 28, 2013
R-MO	Vicky Hartzler	Original	Feb 28, 2013
R-GA	Lynn A. Westmoreland		Mar 4, 2013
R-TX	Randy K. Weber, Sr.		Mar 4, 2013
R-TX	Randy Neugebauer		Mar 4, 2013
R-MI	Kerry L. Bentivolio		Mar 12, 2013
R-NC	Walter B. Jones		Mar 12, 2013
R-OH	Brad R. Wenstrup		Apr 18, 2013
R-OK	Jim Bridenstine		May 14, 2013
R-TX	Kenny Marchant		Jun 13, 2013
R-MD	Andy Harris		Jun 27, 2013
R-NM	Stevan Pearce		Dec 4, 2013

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

Chamber	Committee	What it did
House	Armed Services Committee	Referred Feb 28, 2013
	Military Personnel Subcommittee	Referred Mar 14, 2013

Actions 3

Everything that happened, newest first.

Mar 14, 2013Referred to the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Feb 28, 2013Introduced in House
Feb 28, 2013Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: This legislation is introduced under the authority of Article 1, Section 8, Clause 14, which grants Congress the power to ``make Rules for the Government and Regulation of land and naval Forces,''; Article 1, Section 8, Clause 16, which grants Congress the power to ``provide for the organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States''; and the ``free exercise'' clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which ensures the right to freely exercise one's religion.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H817.

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced: To amend title 10, United States Code, to require that implementation of the repeal of the former Department of Defense policy concerning homosexual behavior in the Armed Forces not infringe upon the free exercise of religion by and the rights of conscience of members of the Armed Forces, including chaplains, and for other purposes.
Short Titles as Introduced: Military Religious Freedom Protection Act

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

Feb 28, 2013Introduced in House

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.