S.J.Res. 42 explained  ·  118th Congress  ·  Not enacted (118th Congress ended)

A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Food and Nutrition Service relating to "Application of Bostock v. Clayton County to Program Discrimination Complaint Processing-Policy Update".

Create a free account or sign in to follow S.J.Res. 42 and get alerts. Policy area: Agriculture and Food Create a free account or sign in to follow the Agriculture and Food policy area and get alerts. ▲ 1089 days since action Sponsor: Roger Marshall, KS-Senate, R → Congress.gov

Cosponsors: 19 (0 D, 19 R) · per Congress.gov, 2026-10-11

Introduced: 2023-07-27

Latest action (2023-10-26): Failed of passage in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 47 - 50. Record Vote Number: 272.

What S.J.Res. 42 does, in plain terms

This joint resolution nullifies the policy update issued by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) on May 5, 2022, related to discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) deemed the policy update a rule on June 5, 2023, and therefore subject to the Congressional Review Act (CRA) requirement that a rule must be submitted to Congress and the GAO before it can take effect. The CRA also permits Congress to review and disapprove rules using specified procedures. In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Bostock v. Clayton County that, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the prohibition on sex discrimination in employment includes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The FNS determined that the Bostock analysis also applies to certain FNS-enforced requirements under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 because the requirements are sufficiently similar to those in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The FNS rule concludes that the prohibitions against sex discrimination in the FNS-enforced statutes prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. The rule also directs state agencies and program operators to handle complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation as complaints of prohibited sex discrimination.

Official summary by the Congressional Research Service, via Congress.gov.

Constitution Index

“VFA Constitution grade”

Not graded yet

S.J.Res. 42 has not been graded yet. New measures with an official summary are graded daily under the published rubric.

What should pass

“VFA SI Solution”

No solution yet

A sourced SI draft appears here once it passes automated checks (Constitution citation, source verification, independent SI critic). How publication works.

Share card

1200×675 PNG for X, Threads, LinkedIn and messages. Free to share with a link back to this page.

For journalists and bloggers

“Embed this grade”

Free to use with the link back. The badge and card update when the grade changes. Embed terms →

VFA Constitution grade for S.J.Res. 42

← Back to the Republic