S. 1252: LOVE Act of 2019

116th Congress · introduced 2019-04-30 · International Affairs · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2019-04-30 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. 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.

What does this mean?

Official title

LOVE Act of 2019

Plain summary

Lavender Offense Victim Exoneration Act of 2019 or the LOVE Act of 2019 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 and Foreign Service shall (1) review all employee terminations since January 1, 1950, to determine who was wrongfully terminated for their real or perceived sexual orientation; and (2) issue a public report on the findings. The State Department shall periodically report to Congress on recommendations for continued actions. 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 such a finding. The board shall accept and review grievances 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 to Congress comments on or recommendations for improving State Department policies to prevent sexual orientation discrimination. The State Department shall report to Congress 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 the issue.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

LOVE Act of 2019

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ] · 21 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)

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 Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s1252.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>

Record fed-us-cong116-s1252 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116