# 119-s-839: Safeguarding Honest Speech Act

119-s-839, Safeguarding Honest Speech Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-839
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-839
- Congress: 119
- Title: Safeguarding Honest Speech Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-03-04
- Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX] (R-TX)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**Bars federal funding for rules that force federal employees or contractors to use someone else's preferred pronouns or a name that is not that person's legal name when that conflicts with the person's sex.** It would create a complaint process, a private right to sue, and define 'sex' by reproductive biology and genetics at birth. - Federal employees and contractors: Employees and contractors who say a rule forced them to use incompatible pronouns or a non-legal name can file a complaint and sue. Remedies can include injunctive relief, compensatory damages, punitive damages up to $100,000, and attorney fees. - Federal agencies and departments: Agencies would have to issue a formal response to a written notice of alleged violation within 30 days. - Legal definitions and timing: The bill defines "sex" as based solely on reproductive biology and genetics at birth and requires suits to be filed within 1 year of the alleged violation. The text also preserves a notation "<all>" in the bill.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC] (R-NC), 2025-03-04T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Federal employees: limits on pronoun rules: mixed, high. If enacted, this bill would bar using Federal funds to force federal employees or contractors to use pronouns that conflict with a person's sex. It would also bar using a name other than a person's legal name when referring to them. Agencies would have 30 days to issue a formal reply to a written c…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026
- 119-s-524: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-s-4668: Protect College Sports Act of 2026
- 119-s-2975: PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025
- 119-s-278: Kids Off Social Media Act

## Sources
- [119-s-839 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/839)

## Related
- [119-s-1071: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1071)
- [119-s-524: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-524)
- [119-s-3923: Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3923)
- [119-s-4668: Protect College Sports Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4668)
- [119-s-2975: PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2975)
- [119-s-278: Kids Off Social Media Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-278)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-839 (as of 2025-12-21).