To prohibit Federal funding for entities that employ individuals who condone and celebrate political violence and domestic terrorism, and for other purposes.
H.R. 5352, introduced in the House by Mr. Van Orden on September 15, 2025 and referred to the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, would prohibit the use of federal funds for any entity that employs individuals who condone and celebrate political violence and domestic terrorism. The prohibition applies to funds that are “obligated, expended, or otherwise disbursed” to such entities and uses the definition of domestic terrorism as set forth in 18 U.S.C. 2331. In short, if an organization has employees who condone or celebrate acts of political violence or domestic terrorism, the bill would block federal funding to that organization. The text provided includes only Section 1 and does not specify exemptions, procedural protections, or enforcement details beyond the basic funding ban. As written, the measure would rely on federal fund-disbursing agencies to determine compliance, and it could affect a broad range of recipients that receive federal money, including contractors, grantees, and possibly state or local governments, depending on how “entity” is interpreted in implementation.
Key Points
- 1Core prohibition: No federal funds may be obligated, expended, or disbursed to any entity that employs individuals who condone and celebrate political violence and domestic terrorism, as defined in 18 U.S.C. 2331.
- 2Definition reference: The bill uses the definition of domestic terrorism from 18 U.S.C. 2331 to determine what constitutes violence and terrorism for the purposes of the prohibition.
- 3Scope of funding: The prohibition applies to all federal funds flowing to the entity (including grants, contracts, loans, and other disbursed funds).
- 4Enforcement and implementation: The text assigns enforcement to federal funding mechanisms but does not provide specifics on how compliance would be determined, what processes would be used, or what due-process protections might apply.
- 5Open questions and potential concerns: The bill does not include explicit exemptions or safe harbors, nor does it define “condone and celebrate” in detail within this text. This raises questions about vagueness, potential First Amendment implications, administrative burden for recipients, and how determinations would be made and challenged.