S. 334 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Jan 30, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryExpands restrictions on foreign aid for abortion
This bill strengthens rules about how the U.S. can use foreign assistance money. Right now, some parts of foreign aid have restrictions on paying for or promoting abortions and involuntary sterilization. The bill would expand those restrictions to cover all foreign assistance. It would also ban funds from going to organizations that support coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization, and prevent money from being used to lobby on abortion issues. For the Peace Corps specifically, it would make permanent a rule that Peace Corps funding cannot pay for abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or when the mother's life is at risk.
How it affects you
This mainly affects how the U.S. government spends money on international programs. If you work in foreign aid or international development, your organization's funding rules could change. Most Americans won't directly notice a difference in their daily lives, but those who care about how U.S. tax dollars are used overseas may see this as affecting which international health programs receive American support.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Jan 30, 2025)
American Values Act
This bill expands restrictions on using U.S. foreign assistance to pay for or promote abortions, involuntary sterilizations, or other related activities.
Specifically, the bill expands existing prohibitions, including prohibitions against using foreign assistance to pay for abortions or involuntary sterilization for family planning, to apply to all assistance provided under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA). (Currently, these prohibitions apply to only certain parts of the FAA.)
Furthermore, assistance provided under the FAA may not be made available to (1) pay for lobbying for or against abortion, or (2) any organization that supports a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization. (These prohibitions have typically been in appropriations acts, but the bill would make the prohibitions a permanent part of the FAA.)
The bill also makes permanent a prohibition against using funds made available to the Peace Corps to pay for abortions except when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or when the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 334
A BILL
American Values Act
Sponsor: Sen. James E. Risch (R-ID) · Introduced Jan 30, 2025 · International Affairs · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jan 30, 2025: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.”