To permanently enact certain appropriations Act restrictions on the use of funds for abortions and involuntary sterilizations, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Risch (for himself, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Paul, Mr. Scott …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The American Values Act permanently bans federal funds from being used for abortions, involuntary sterilizations, and related activities in foreign aid programs and Peace Corps operations. Currently, these restrictions are renewed annually through spending bills; this legislation would make them permanent law by writing them directly into the Foreign Assistance Act and Peace Corps Act.
Who Benefits and How
Pro-life advocacy organizations and religious groups benefit by securing permanent protections against federal funding of abortion overseas, eliminating the need to fight annual appropriations battles. International family planning organizations that do not provide abortion services gain a competitive advantage, as they become eligible for U.S. funding while organizations offering comprehensive reproductive health services (including abortion) are disqualified.
Who Bears the Burden and How
International NGOs that provide abortion services or comprehensive reproductive health care face permanent loss of U.S. foreign aid funding, forcing them to either eliminate abortion services or reject all U.S. government support. Biomedical researchers studying family planning methods involving abortion or sterilization lose access to federal research grants. Federal agencies like USAID and the State Department face increased compliance requirements to ensure no funds flow to prohibited activities. Peace Corps health programs must implement new restrictions preventing any abortion-related services.
Key Provisions
• Prohibits Foreign Assistance Act funds from paying for abortions as family planning, motivating or coercing abortion, involuntary sterilization, or providing financial incentives for sterilization
• Bans federal funding for biomedical research related to abortion or involuntary sterilization as family planning methods
• Prohibits funds for lobbying for or against abortion
• Blocks funding to any organization that "supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization" as determined by the President
• Extends similar abortion funding restrictions to Peace Corps programs
• Makes all restrictions permanent rather than requiring annual renewal through appropriations bills
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Permanently enacts appropriations restrictions that prohibit federal funds from being used for abortions, involuntary sterilizations, and related activities in foreign assistance and Peace Corps programs
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Convert temporary appropriations riders into permanent law by codifying abortion funding restrictions directly into authorizing statutes"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Pro-life advocacy organizations
- Religious organizations opposed to abortion
- Conservative policy groups
Likely Burden Bearers
- International family planning organizations
- NGOs providing comprehensive reproductive health services
- Peace Corps health programs
- Foreign aid recipients seeking abortion services
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_president"
- → President of the United States
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
All federal funds allocated for Foreign Assistance Act and Peace Corps Act programs, subject to permanent restrictions on abortion and sterilization funding
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology