WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced the Safeguarding Honest Speech Act. This legislation prohibits the federal government from forcing federal employees or contractors to use so-called “preferred pronouns” incompatible with a person’s sex at birth.
Upon introduction, Sen. Cruz said, “The Biden administration stretched anti-discrimination and anti-harassment guidance to coerce federal employees into using other employees’ ‘preferred pronouns,’ in contradiction of biological reality, freedom of conscience, and freedom of speech. The Trump administration put an end to that absurdity, but Congress should take action to ensure it never happens again.”
Read the bill text here.
BACKGROUND
Sen. Cruz previously introduced this legislation in 2023.
In 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a new “Gender Identity Non-Discrimination and Inclusion Policy for Employees and Applicants.” Among many other harmful changes, this policy compelled speech by requiring employees and contractors with HHS to call other employees by their “preferred pronouns,” even if those pronouns do not align with biological reality. In 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidance that defined sex-based discrimination under Title VII as including “repeated and intentional use of a name or pronoun inconsistent with the individual’s known gender identity (misgendering).”
