# 117-hr-8072: LOVE Act of 2022

117-hr-8072, LOVE Act of 2022, is a 117th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Castro, Joaquin [D-TX-20] (D-TX); status Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hr-8072
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 117-hr-8072
- Congress: 117
- Title: LOVE Act of 2022
- Status: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
- Introduced: 2022-06-15
- Sponsor: Rep. Castro, Joaquin [D-TX-20] (D-TX)
- Cosponsors: 9
- Policy area: International Affairs
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## Summary

Lavender Offense Victim Exoneration Act of 2022 or the LOVE Act of 2022 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, and addresses related issues. The State Department must (1) review all employee terminations that occurred as a consequence of the Lavender Scare to identify those who were wrongfully terminated, and (2) issue a public report on the findings. The State Department must establish an independent Reconciliation Board to contact any employee (or a family member of a deceased employee) wrongfully terminated during the Lavender Scare and offer to change the employee's record to reflect this finding. The board must accept and review petitions from former employees who believe they were terminated due to sexual orientation. The State Department must 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 must report on improving State Department policies to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics. The State Department must report on (1) countries that do not issue spousal visas for Foreign Service employee spouses due to sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics; and (2) recommendations for State Department responses, such as eliminating visa reciprocity for such countries.

## Cosponsors (9)

- Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1] (D-RI), 2022-06-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1] (D-NV), 2022-06-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Scanlon, Mary Gay [D-PA-5] (D-PA), 2022-06-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2022-06-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] (D-NJ), 2022-06-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2] (D-CA), 2022-06-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jones, Mondaire [D-NY-17] (D-NY), 2022-07-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2] (D-MA), 2022-07-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D-CA-40] (D-CA), 2022-07-12T00:00:00.000Z

## Related bills

- 117-hr-2471: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022
- 117-hr-263: Big Cat Public Safety Act
- 117-hr-1842: Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act
- 117-hr-8297: Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act
- 117-hr-7910: Protecting Our Kids Act
- 117-hr-6860: Latonya Reeves Freedom Act of 2022

## Sources
- [117-hr-8072 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/8072)

## Related
- [117-hr-2471: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hr-2471)
- [117-hr-263: Big Cat Public Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hr-263)
- [117-hr-1842: Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hr-1842)
- [117-hr-8297: Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hr-8297)
- [117-hr-7910: Protecting Our Kids Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hr-7910)
- [117-hr-6860: Latonya Reeves Freedom Act of 2022](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hr-6860)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/117-hr-8072 (as of 2025-11-18).