H.R. 8809: LOVE Act of 2020
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H.R. 8809: LOVE Act of 2020
116th Congress · introduced 2020-11-24 · International Affairs · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2020-11-24 · official record
- Who proposed it: Rep. Castro, Joaquin [D-TX-20] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
LOVE Act of 2020
Plain summary
Lavender Offense Victim Exoneration Act of 2020 or the LOVE Act of 2020 This bill offers a formal apology from Congress for encouraging policies at the Department of State such as the Lavender Scare, which resulted in the wrongful termination of at least 1,000 people for alleged homosexuality. The State Department must (1) review all employee terminations that occurred as a consequence of the Lavender Scare to identify who was wrongfully terminated for their real or perceived sexual orientation, and (2) issue a public report on the findings. The State Department shall establish an independent Reconciliation Board to contact any employee (or a family member of a deceased employee) improperly terminated during the Lavender Scare and offer to change the employee's record to reflect this finding. The board shall accept and review petitions from former employees who believe they were terminated due to sexual orientation. The State Department shall establish a board of senior-level officials to address issues that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) Foreign Service employees and their families face. The board shall report comments on or recommendations for improving State Department policies to prevent sexual orientation discrimination. The State Department shall report on (1) countries that do not issue spousal visas for Foreign Service employee spouses due to sexual orientation, and (2) recommendations on how to address this.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.
A “Nay” vote
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Rep. Castro, Joaquin [D-TX-20] · 19 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
James P. McGovern (D-MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), André Carson (D-IN), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), Judy Chu (D-CA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Jared Huffman (D-CA)
Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Castro, Joaquin [D-TX-20] reported raising $592,416 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (1)
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116hr8809.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/hr>
Record fed-us-cong116-hr8809 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116