I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5288 

To make further improvements relating to women’s rights and protections, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 25, 2023 

Mr. SANTOS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Education and the Workforce, the Judiciary, Energy and Commerce, and 

Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To make further improvements relating to women’s rights 

and protections, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing Women’s 

5 Independence For Today Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘SWIFT 

6 Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO HEALTH EDUCATION CUR2 RICULUM. 

3 (a) HEALTH EDUCATION IN HIGH SCHOOLS.—The 

4 Secretary of Education shall encourage each public high 

5 school in each State to implement health education cur6 riculum that includes information on the prevention of 

7 rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment. 

8 (b) HEALTH EDUCATION IN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGH9 ER EDUCATION.—Section 487(a) of the Higher Education 

10 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(30) The institution will— 

13 ‘‘(A) implement health education cur14 riculum that includes information on the pre15 vention of rape, sexual assault, and sexual har16 assment; and 

17 ‘‘(B) require each student enrolled at such 

18 institution to complete such curriculum.’’. 

19 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) HIGH SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘high school’’ 

21 has the meaning given such term in section 8101 of 

22 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

23 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

24 (2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

25 the 50 States. 


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1 SEC. 3. COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM TO IM2 PROVE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM WITH RESPECT 

3 TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL AS4 SAULT. 

5 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con6 gress that there should be a national effort to educate first 

7 responders and healthcare workers on how to engage with 

8 victims of sexual assault and violence. 

9 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE EDU10 CATION PROGRAM DESCRIBED.—Not later than the 13th 

11 of December after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

12 the Attorney General, in coordination and consultation 

13 with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall 

14 implement a comprehensive education program to improve 

15 the healthcare system in the United States and ensure 

16 that responses to domestic violence and sexual assault con17 tinually improve. 

18 (c) COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM DE19 SCRIBED.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The comprehensive edu21 cation program shall include— 

22 (A) enhanced training for covered employ23 ees, including— 

24 (i) training that considers mental 

25 health and encourages empathy; 


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1 (ii) training on taking and maintain2 ing diligent records; 

3 (iii) training on the proper handling 

4 of evidence; and 

5 (iv) any other type of training relating 

6 to mental health that is recommended by 

7 the Secretary of Health and Human Serv8 ices; 

9 (B) real world situational modules de10 scribed in subsection (d). 

11 (2) REQUIREMENT TO PARTICIPATE.—The com12 prehensive education program shall be available to 

13 any covered employee. A covered employee shall 

14 complete the comprehensive education program with15 in the first three months of hire and again at least 

16 every two years. Such participation shall be man17 aged and required by the executive of each covered 

18 entity. 

19 (3) E-CERTIFICATION.—Covered employees who 

20 have completed the comprehensive education pro21 gram shall be issued an e-certificate which qualifies 

22 such an employee to interact with victims of sexual 

23 assault, sexual violence, or domestic violence. 

24 (d) REAL WORLD SITUATIONAL MODULES DE25 SCRIBED.—The comprehensive education program deVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Sep 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5288.IH H5288

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1 scribed under subsection (c)(1) shall include at minimum 

2 the following 13 modules: 

3 (1) A module detailing intake procedures for an 

4 individual documenting sexual assault. 

5 (2) A module detailing intake procedures for an 

6 individual documenting domestic violence. 

7 (3) A module detailing how to respond to a 

8 scene of domestic violence. 

9 (4) A module detailing how to respond to a 

10 scene of sexual assault. 

11 (5) A module on emotional support and empa12 thy training. 

13 (6) A module on conflict de-escalation. 

14 (7) A module on reporting and associated pro15 cedures necessary for law enforcement efforts to in16 vestigate and prosecute perpetrators of sexual as17 sault, sexual violence, or domestic violence. 

18 (8) A module on suicide prevention, de-esca19 lation, and emergency response procedures, including 

20 how to interact with an individual dealing with suici21 dal thoughts or history. 

22 (9) A module on how to provide services to and 

23 handle the needs of victims who are minors. 


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1 (10) A module on Federal, State, and local laws 

2 and policies related to sexual assault and domestic 

3 violence. 

4 (11) A module on physical evidence collection 

5 and record taking procedures for law enforcement, 

6 including mandatory reporting requirements for in7 formation reported by a victim. 

8 (12) A module on social services references and 

9 resources for helping victims in an individualized 

10 context. 

11 (13) A module on costs a victim may expect to 

12 be associated with care and costs associated with 

13 mental health resources and care. 

14 (e) LOSS OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—Any covered entity 

15 that does not comply with the requirements of this section 

16 shall not be eligible for any Federal funding for the fol17 lowing year. 

18 (f) FINE.—A covered entity found to have covered 

19 employees in violation of this section shall be fined 

20 $50,000 a month per employee who has not completed the 

21 requirements of this section. 

22 (g) REDUCING NATIONAL DEBT.—Any fines col23 lected pursuant to subsection (f) shall on December 13th 

24 of each year be deposited into the general fund of the 


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1 Treasury for the sole purpose of reducing the national 

2 debt. 

3 (h) APPROPRIATIONS.—There is appropriated 

4 $13,000,000 per State for the Attorney General to carry 

5 out this section, to be derived from the unobligated bal6 ances of amounts previously appropriated as follows: 

7 (1) The unobligated balance of all amounts 

8 made available to the Attorney General to prevent, 

9 prepare for, or respond to the coronavirus as of the 

10 date of the enactment of the ‘‘Swift Act of 2023’’. 

11 (2) To the extent the unobligated balances de12 scribed in paragraph (1) do not exceed 

13 $650,000,000, an additional amount representing 

14 the difference between the amount described in para15 graph (1) and $650,000,000, derived from the unob16 ligated balances of amounts appropriated by Public 

17 Law 117–169 (commonly referred to as the Inflation 

18 Reduction Act of 2022) for the Internal Revenue 

19 Service. 

20 (3) To the extent the unobligated balances de21 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2) do not exceed 

22 $650,000,000, an additional amount representing 

23 the difference between the amount described in para24 graphs (1) and (2) and $650,000,000, derived from 

25 the unobligated balances of amounts appropriated to 


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1 pay any interest or debt owed by the United States 

2 to the People’s Republic of China, or from any 

3 amounts made available to provide United States as4 sistance to the People’s Republic of China. 

5 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘covered 

7 employee’’ includes any employee of any covered en8 tity who directly, or has the potential to directly, 

9 interact with an individual who has been a victim of 

10 sexual assault, sexual violence, or domestic violence, 

11 including nurses, doctors, physician assistants, law 

12 enforcement officers, and first responders. 

13 (2) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en14 tity’’ includes any entity that employs a covered em15 ployee. 

16 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR 

17 FOREIGN COUNTRIES THAT CRIMINALIZE OR 

18 DISCRIMINATE BASED ON GENDER. 

19 (a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in subsection 

20 (b), no Federal funds may be obligated or expended to 

21 provide assistance, directly or indirectly, to a country de22 scribed in subsection (c) for five calendar years. 

23 (b) EXCEPTION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may author25 ize an obligation or expenditure of Federal funds to 


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1 assist a country described in subsection (c) only if 

2 the President determines, on a case-by-case basis, 

3 that such proposed obligation or expenditure is vital 

4 to the national security interests of the United 

5 States. 

6 (2) BRIEFING.—Upon making a determination 

7 under paragraph (1), the President, acting through 

8 the Secretary of State, shall provide to the appro9 priate congressional committees and congressional 

10 leadership a briefing on such determination. 

11 (c) COUNTRIES DESCRIBED.—A country described in 

12 this subsection is a foreign country the government of 

13 which the President determines has enacted or established 

14 and is implementing any provision of law, or provision 

15 which has the force and effect of law, that criminalizes 

16 or discriminates on the basis of gender, including through 

17 such provisions that, on the basis of gender— 

18 (1) limit or prohibit women from— 

19 (A) enrolling in or attending any edu20 cational institution, school, or other program of 

21 instruction, or otherwise seeking or receiving 

22 education activities; 

23 (B) operating a vehicle; 

24 (C) freely exercising any religion; or 


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1 (D) walking or otherwise traveling without 

2 a male escort; or 

3 (2) authorize (including as a form of punish4 ment) female genital mutilation, sexual abuse, be5 heading, or any other practice that targets the lives 

6 of women. 

7 (d) PAY OFF THE NATIONAL DEBT.—Any Federal 

8 funds not obligated or expended to provide assistance, di9 rectly or indirectly, to a country described in subsection 

10 (c) pursuant to subsection (a) or any Federal funds re11 maining for that fiscal year or previous years for such pur12 pose shall be used to pay off the national debt. 

13 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT15 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com16 mittees’’ means the following: 

17 (A) The Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

18 the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 

19 of the House of Representatives. 

20 (B) The Committee on Foreign Relations 

21 and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 

22 Senate. 

23 (2) CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP.—The term 

24 ‘‘congressional leadership’’ means the following: 


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1 (A) The Speaker of the House of Rep2 resentatives. 

3 (B) The minority leader of the House of 

4 Representatives. 

5 (C) The majority leader of the Senate. 

6 (D) The minority leader of the Senate. 

7 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall take effect on 

8 the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment 

9 of this Act. 

10 SEC. 5. FUNDING FOR PREVENTION AND RESPONSE TO 

11 SEXUAL VIOLENCE. 

12 There is appropriated $13,000,000 for the Director 

13 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to carry 

14 out the Rape Prevention and Education Program, to be 

15 derived from the unobligated balances of amounts pre16 viously appropriated as follows: 

17 (1) The unobligated balance of all amounts 

18 made available Director of the Centers for Disease 

19 Control and Prevention to prevent, prepare for, or 

20 respond to the coronavirus as of the date of the en21 actment of the ‘‘Swift Act of 2023’’. 

22 (2) To the extent the unobligated balances de23 scribed in paragraph (1) do not exceed $13,000,000, 

24 an additional amount representing the difference be25 tween the amount described in paragraph (1) and 


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1 $13,000,000, derived from the unobligated balances 

2 of amounts appropriated by Public Law 117–169 

3 (commonly referred to as the Inflation Reduction 

4 Act of 2022) for the Internal Revenue Service. 

5 (3) To the extent the unobligated balances de6 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2) do not exceed 

7 $13,000,000, an additional amount representing the 

8 difference between the amount described in para9 graphs (1) and (2) and $13,000,000, derived from 

10 the unobligated balances of amounts appropriated to 

11 pay any interest or debt owed by the United States 

12 to the People’s Republic of China, or from any 

13 amounts made available to provide United States as14 sistance to the People’s Republic of China. 

Æ 


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