# 119-hr-9103: Merit Restoration Act

119-hr-9103, Merit Restoration Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Norman, Ralph [R-SC-5] (R-SC); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-04).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9103
- As of: 2026-09-04
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-9103
- Congress: 119
- Title: Merit Restoration Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-06-02
- Sponsor: Rep. Norman, Ralph [R-SC-5] (R-SC)
- Cosponsors: 13
- Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-04

## Summary

**This bill would ban certain diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices from being used in connection with federal research grants.** It would let Federal research agencies freeze grant funds and require recipients to repay funds when a recipient is found to have used a prohibited DEI practice. - Research institutions and grant recipients would be barred from requiring employees to take trainings or sign statements that claim a race, ethnicity, religion, biological sex, color, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior as a condition of employment, promotion, speaking, or submitting materials. - The definition of a Federal research grant would cover systematic research projects, training that uses the same facilities as research, and subgrants. It would not cover direct cash assistance to individuals, subsidies, loans, loan guarantees, or insurance. - Federal research agencies would be required to freeze grant payments when a prohibited DEI practice is alleged and to recover funds if they determine a violation occurred. The ban would apply to grant agreements entered into on or after the date of enactment of the Act.

## Cosponsors (13)

- Rep. Steube, W. Gregory [R-FL-17] (R-FL), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carter, Earl L. "Buddy" [R-GA-1] (R-GA), 2026-06-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Biggs, Sheri [R-SC-3] (R-SC), 2026-06-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Self, Keith [R-TX-3] (R-TX), 2026-06-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Burchett, Tim [R-TN-2] (R-TN), 2026-06-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-9] (R-AZ), 2026-06-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fine, Randy [R-FL-6] (R-FL), 2026-06-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Clyde, Andrew S. [R-GA-9] (R-GA), 2026-06-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fulcher, Russ [R-ID-1] (R-ID), 2026-06-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Harrigan, Pat [R-NC-10] (R-NC), 2026-06-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fuller, Clay [R-GA-14] (R-GA), 2026-06-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3] (R-LA), 2026-07-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Harris, Mark [R-NC-8] (R-NC), 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- New DEI limits for research grants: mixed, low. This bill would bar certain diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in federal research grants. Federal research agencies would not be able to use those DEI practices when they award, review, or continue research grants. Grant recipients would also be barred from using those DEI practices…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act
- 119-hr-6466: Forced Abortion Prevention and Accountability Act
- 119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act
- 119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7296: SAVE America Act
- 119-hr-722: Life at Conception Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-9103 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9103)

## Related
- [119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-987)
- [119-hr-6466: Forced Abortion Prevention and Accountability Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6466)
- [119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-425)
- [119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-38)
- [119-hr-7296: SAVE America Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7296)
- [119-hr-722: Life at Conception Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-722)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9103 (as of 2026-09-04).