# American Values Act (S. 334) - Plain Language Summary

## What This Bill Does

The American Values Act would make permanent certain restrictions on how the U.S. government can spend foreign aid money. Specifically, it prohibits federal funds from being used to pay for abortions, involuntary sterilizations, or related research when providing international assistance. Currently, these restrictions exist in annual appropriations bills (yearly spending legislation), but this bill would make them permanent law that doesn't need to be renewed each year.

## Key Provisions

The bill establishes five main restrictions on foreign aid spending:

1. **No abortion funding** - U.S. funds cannot pay for abortions as a family planning method or be used to pressure anyone into having an abortion
2. **No involuntary sterilization** - Funds cannot pay for sterilization procedures used as family planning or coerce people into being sterilized
3. **No related research** - Funds cannot support biomedical research on abortion or involuntary sterilization methods
4. **No abortion lobbying** - Funds cannot be used to advocate for or against abortion policies
5. **No support for coercive programs** - Funds cannot go to organizations that support or manage programs involving coercive abortion or sterilization

The bill also extends these restrictions to Peace Corps activities.

## Who Is Affected

These restrictions would primarily affect international health and development organizations that receive U.S. foreign aid. The bill could impact how the U.S. provides family planning assistance to developing countries and which organizations can receive American funding for health programs abroad.

American Values Act

Risch, James E.

American Values ActThis 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&nbsp;when the pregnancy is the result of rape or&nbsp;incest or when the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term.