Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2019

Summary

Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2019 This bill prohibits discrimination or adverse action against a child welfare provider that declines to provide services due to the provider's sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions. The prohibition applies to the federal government and any state, tribal, or local government that receives federal funding for child and family services or foster care and adoption assistance. However, government entities may still take adverse action against a provider that denies adoption or foster care placement based on the prospective parent or child's race, color, or national origin. If a state, tribal, or local entity engages in such prohibited actions, the Department of Health and Human Services shall withhold 15% of the federal funds the entity would have received to provide child and family services or foster care and adoption. The bill also provides a private right of action for child welfare providers to sue the government entity for such discrimination, and a prevailing provider shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs. A government entity that accepts federal funding for child and family services or foster care and adoption assistance shall have waived sovereign entity as a defense to such discrimination allegations.

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Timeline

1. 30 January 2019

   Introduced

   Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

   Source: IntroReferral

2. 30 January 2019

   Introduced

   Introduced in Senate

   Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

• Introduced in Senate · 30 January 2019 · Official file

Documents

3 official files

• Introduced in Senate (text)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 30 January 2019

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in Senate (PDF)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 30 January 2019

  ViewDownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 30 January 2019

  Open at official source

Sponsors

• Sen. Enzi, Michael B. [R-WY] · R · Sponsor
• Sen. Blunt, Roy [R-MO] · R · Sponsor
• John Cornyn · R · Sponsor
• Tom Cotton · R · Sponsor
• Steve Daines · R · Sponsor
• Joni Ernst · R · Sponsor
• Rep. Inhofe, James M. [R-OK-1] · R · Sponsor
• James Lankford · R · Sponsor
• Mike Lee · R · Sponsor
• James Risch · R · Sponsor
• Sen. Sasse, Ben [R-NE] · R · Sponsor
• Tim Scott · R · Sponsor
• Bill Cassidy · R · Sponsor
• John Kennedy · R · Sponsor
• Marsha Blackburn · R · Sponsor
• Josh Hawley · R · Sponsor
• Ted Cruz · R · Sponsor
• Roger Wicker · R · Cosponsor
• Sen. Braun, Mike [R-IN] · R · Cosponsor
• Sen. Loeffler, Kelly [R-GA] · R · Cosponsor
• · ssfi00 · Standing

Related records

• related to ← Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2019
• related to ← Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2017