[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8206 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8206
To repeal Executive Order 13988 and prohibit the Secretary of
Agriculture from carrying out certain requirements relating to sexual
orientation and gender identity for participation in school meal
programs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 23, 2022
Mr. Grothman (for himself, Mrs. Harshbarger, Mr. Biggs, Mr. Gohmert,
Mr. Norman, Mrs. Miller of Illinois, Mrs. Cammack, Mr. Tiffany, Mr.
Rosendale, and Mr. Higgins of Louisiana) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To repeal Executive Order 13988 and prohibit the Secretary of
Agriculture from carrying out certain requirements relating to sexual
orientation and gender identity for participation in school meal
programs, 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 ``Stop Wrongs to Our Kids' Educational
Meals (W.O.K.E.) Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In enacting title IX of the Education Amendments of
1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), after careful deliberation and
debate and more than 250 educational proposals leading up to
the introduction and enactment of title IX, Congress explicitly
envisioned a prohibition against ``discrimination on the basis
of sex,'' to mean any discrimination based on biological
distinctions between male and female. This is supported by the
plain and ordinary meaning of the statutory text, by the
Congressional Record, and by title IX's enacting regulations.
(2) Executive branch administrative or regulatory actions,
policies, or guidances, from the U.S. Department of Education,
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or other agencies or
entities, that seek to rewrite or reinterpret the plain and
unambiguous language of title IX as having meaning beyond
``sex'' as the biological distinctions between male and
female--including such constructs as ``sexual orientation and
gender identity''--not only inappropriately misconstrue title
IX's plain and clear statutory language, but they also
contravene congressional intent behind its enactment, and
misapply Supreme Court precedent on sex discrimination.
Additionally and importantly, any such administrative actions
by fiat usurp and circumvent legislative powers that are the
sole province of Congress under article I, section 1 of the
Constitution.
(3) In its 2020 decision Bostock v. Clayton County, 140 S.
Ct. (2020), the U.S. Supreme Court expressly limited its
decision to and narrowly addressed employment issues, did not
construe title IX, and expressly disclaimed application to
``other federal or state laws that prohibit sex
discrimination''. Thus, it is altogether and entirely improper,
inappropriate, and misguided to construe Bostock as applying to
title IX.
SEC. 3. REPEAL OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 13988.
(a) Repeal.--Executive Order 13988, 86 Fed. Reg. 7023 (January 25,
2021), is hereby repealed.
(b) Related Action.--Any regulations, guidance, or other agency
action related to such Executive order shall not have any force or
effect and are hereby repealed or revoked, as applicable.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO SEXUAL
ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY FOR PARTICIPATION IN
SCHOOL MEAL PROGRAMS.
In carrying out the school lunch program authorized under the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.)
and the school breakfast program established by section 4 of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773), the Secretary of Agriculture
shall not require a State or local agency, program operator, or sponsor
that participates in such programs to--
(1) investigate allegations of discrimination based on
gender identity or sexual orientation; or
(2) update non-discrimination policies and signage to
include prohibitions against discrimination based on gender
identity and sexual orientation.
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