Sponsors (20)
Introduced February 4, 2025 by Eric Stephen Schmitt · Last progress February 4, 2025
The bill sharply restricts federal funding, offices, and compelled trainings related to DEI—reducing government spending and some administrative burdens and protecting federal employees from compulsory trainings—while increasing legal uncertainty, creating liability risks, causing job losses in DEI roles, and reducing government and institutional capacity to identify and remediate workplace and programmatic discrimination.
Federal employees are protected from being compelled to take DEI/critical theory/sexual orientation/gender-identity trainings or punished for refusing them.
People with disabilities and employees retain historically organized Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and ADA enforcement offices, preserving established nondiscrimination processes and accommodation protections.
Taxpayers may see reduced federal spending on DEI offices and certain trainings as agencies and grant programs lose authorization to fund those activities.
Marginalized employees (racial and ethnic minorities, women, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities) will have reduced agency capacity to identify and address workplace discrimination and systemic disparities as DEI offices, data collection, and targeted programs are eliminated or curtailed.
Employees and contractors who staff DEI offices or provide DEI-related trainings face job losses, contract reductions, or program eliminations.
Broad bans and vague definitions of 'prohibited DEI practices' create substantial legal uncertainty and increased litigation risk for agencies, contractors, colleges, accreditors, and nonprofits, driving compliance costs and potential suits.
Based on analysis of 19 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits federal funding and requirements for DEI offices, positions, programs, and specified DEI/“critical theory” trainings across agencies, contracts, grants, and advisory committees, and creates private enforcement with monetary penalties.
Bans federal agencies, contractors, grantees, accrediting bodies, and advisory committees from operating or funding diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEI) offices, positions, programs, or specified DEI‑related trainings; orders wind‑down of covered federal offices and programs on short timelines; removes or repeals many statutory DEI authorities across federal agencies; and creates a broad private right of action with minimum monetary penalties and other remedies for violations. The bill preserves traditional Equal Employment Opportunity and ADA enforcement offices and allows use of non‑Federal funds for activities barred by Federal funding rules.