I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4303 
To establish a Special Envoy for Humanitarian Aid Workers, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 7, 2025 
Ms. PINGREE (for herself, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. DEAN 
of Pennsylvania, Ms. TLAIB, and Mr. POCAN) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To establish a Special Envoy for Humanitarian Aid Workers, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR HUMANITARIAN AID 
WORKERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1 of the State Depart-
ment Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(p) SPECIAL
ENVOY
FOR
HUMANITARIAN
AID 
WORKERS.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:36 Jul 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4303.IH
H4303
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be a Spe-
cial Envoy for Humanitarian Aid Workers, who shall 
be appointed by the President and shall report to 
the Secretary of State. 
‘‘(2) RANK
AND
STATUS
OF
AMBASSADOR.— 
The Special Envoy shall have the rank and status of 
ambassador. 
‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Special Envoy shall be re-
sponsible for— 
‘‘(A) inquiring into the death, fatal injury, 
or detention of any aid worker in the course of 
providing assistance as part of a humanitarian 
mission supported by the United States; 
‘‘(B) advocating for the robust coordina-
tion and deconfliction between humanitarian 
missions supported by the United States, inter-
national bodies, and relevant foreign security 
forces; 
‘‘(C) advocating for foreign countries to 
adopt best practices, including security for aid 
workers, to enable nongovernmental organiza-
tions to freely deliver humanitarian aid and as-
sistance; 
‘‘(D) developing and advocating, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of State, best prac-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:36 Jul 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4303.IH
H4303
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
tices for foreign countries to work with humani-
tarian nongovernmental organizations and civil 
society organizations; and 
‘‘(E) advocating for any other matter that 
supports the efforts of nongovernmental organi-
zations to provide humanitarian assistance 
without the interference of the security of a for-
eign country. 
‘‘(4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 
year after the date of the enactment of this section, 
and annually thereafter, the Special Envoy shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a report regarding the working environment of the 
conflict areas in which humanitarian aid workers op-
erate to provide humanitarian assistance as part of 
a humanitarian mission supported by the United 
States, including— 
‘‘(A) any security challenges that non-
governmental organizations face in providing 
United States humanitarian assistance; 
‘‘(B) the effectiveness of the United Na-
tions Office for the Coordination of Humani-
tarian Affairs in deconflicting between non-
governmental organizations providing humani-
tarian assistance and parties to conflict; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:36 Jul 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4303.IH
H4303
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(C) how much humanitarian assistance 
the United States has distributed in the pre-
ceding 1-year period; and 
‘‘(D) any policy recommendations. 
‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(A) AID WORKER.—The term ‘aid worker’ 
means an individual who provides humanitarian 
assistance to those in need outside the United 
States. 
‘‘(B) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COM-
MITTEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional 
committees’ means— 
‘‘(i) the Committees on Appropria-
tions of the House of Representatives and 
Senate; 
‘‘(ii) the Committee on Foreign Af-
fairs of the House of Representatives; and 
‘‘(iii) the Committee on Foreign Rela-
tions of the Senate.’’. 
(b) REPORT ON OCHA.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this section, the Special 
Envoy for Humanitarian Aid Workers shall, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of State, submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report re-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:36 Jul 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4303.IH
H4303
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
garding the effectiveness of the efforts of the United 
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humani-
tarian Affairs with respect to coordination and 
deconfliction between humanitarian nongovernmental 
organizations and foreign countries as part of a hu-
manitarian response supported by the United States. 
(2) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘ap-
propriate congressional committees’’ means— 
(A) the Committees on Appropriations of 
the Senate and House of Representatives; 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
the House of Representatives; and 
(C) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
the Senate. 
SEC. 2. INVESTIGATIONS INTO ANY KILLING OR FATAL IN-
JURY OF HUMANITARIAN AID WORKERS. 
Chapter 1 of part III of the Foreign Assistance Act 
of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2351 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:36 Jul 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4303.IH
H4303
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘SEC. 620N. PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE TO COUNTRIES 
THAT UNLAWFULLY KILL OR FATALLY IN-
JURE HUMANITARIAN AID WORKERS. 
‘‘(a) PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE TO COUNTRIES 
THAT UNLAWFULLY KILL OR FATALLY INJURE HUMANI-
TARIAN AID WORKERS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No security assistance (as 
such term is defined in section 502B) and no de-
fense article or defense service subject to the re-
quirements of section 36 of the Arms Export Con-
trol Act may be furnished to any foreign country if 
the Secretary of State certifies to the appropriate 
congressional committees that such foreign country 
has unlawfully killed or fatally injured humanitarian 
aid workers or refused reasonable requests to fur-
nish relevant information to the Secretary of the 
United States, unless the Secretary of State also 
certifies to the appropriate congressional committees 
that, in the determination of the Secretary, such for-
eign country— 
‘‘(A) has taken sufficient action to inves-
tigate previous violations, adopt corrective ac-
tions, take effective steps to bring the respon-
sible members of the security force unit to jus-
tice, and coordinate active humanitarian aid 
missions; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:36 Jul 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4303.IH
H4303
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(B) will enable humanitarian aid workers 
to participate in such missions without being 
unlawfully killed or fatally injured. 
‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—A certification under 
paragraph (1) shall be submitted not later than 15 
days before the entry into effect of such certifi-
cation. 
‘‘(b) 
AID
WORKER
INDEPENDENT
INQUIRY 
GROUP.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days 
after appointment of the Special Envoy for Humani-
tarian Aid Workers, the President shall establish an 
interagency group, to be known as the Aid Worker 
Independent Inquiry Group (in this section referred 
to as the ‘Group’), to assess and analyze the death 
or detention of any individual participating in an ac-
tive humanitarian aid mission after the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Group shall be led by 
the Special Envoy and consist of such number of 
representatives as the Special Envoy may determine 
appropriate from— 
‘‘(A) the Department of Justice; 
‘‘(B) the Department of State, including— 
‘‘(i) relevant embassies; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:36 Jul 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4303.IH
H4303
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(ii) the Office of Foreign Assistance; 
and 
‘‘(iii) relevant offices under the Un-
dersecretary for Political Affairs; 
‘‘(C) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 
‘‘(D) the Office of the Director of National 
Intelligence; and 
‘‘(E) any other Federal department or 
agency that the Special Envoy may determine 
appropriate. 
‘‘(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 
90 days after the incidence of a death or detention 
described in paragraph (1), the Special Envoy, in co-
ordination with the Group, shall submit to Congress 
a report that includes— 
‘‘(A) the cause of such death or detention; 
‘‘(B) with respect to a death— 
‘‘(i) a description of the events leading 
up to such death; 
‘‘(ii) if the military of a foreign coun-
try is responsible for causing the death of 
any such aid worker; 
‘‘(iii) an assessment of the cir-
cumstances surrounding such death, in-
cluding the information available to and in-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:36 Jul 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4303.IH
H4303
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
tentions of the unit of such military in-
volved; 
‘‘(iv) information on the source of 
such death, including the type of munitions 
used in connection with such death, if any; 
‘‘(v) whether it is more likely than not 
that any defense article used was trans-
ferred from the United States or pur-
chased by the perpetrator from United 
States assistance; and 
‘‘(vi) any other detail that the Special 
Envoy determines relevant to the cir-
cumstances of the death; 
‘‘(C) with respect to a detention, informa-
tion on the grounds for such detention, includ-
ing any criminal charges and evidence against 
the detainee; 
‘‘(D) an assessment of the degree of co-
operation with the investigation of the death or 
detention by the relevant foreign country, in-
cluding whether such country has furnished all 
requested information; and 
‘‘(E) a final assessment as to whether such 
death or detention was consistent with the laws 
of the international community, of the host 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:36 Jul 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4303.IH
H4303
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
country, and the Department of Defense’s Law 
of War Manual. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ACTIVE
HUMANITARIAN
AID
MISSION.— 
The term ‘active humanitarian aid mission’ means 
an ongoing, organized effort outside the United 
States where United States humanitarian assistance 
is being delivered or administered by the inter-
national community, individual countries, or inter-
national organizations to prevent and control non- 
political and non-military crises and to mitigate their 
effects. 
‘‘(2) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’ means— 
‘‘(A) the Committees on Appropriations of 
the House of Representatives and Senate; 
‘‘(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
the House of Representatives; and 
‘‘(C) the Committee on Foreign Relations 
of the Senate. 
‘‘(3) HUMANITARIAN AID WORKER.—The term 
‘humanitarian aid worker’ means an individual par-
ticipating in an active humanitarian aid mission to 
provide assistance and resources to those in need. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:36 Jul 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4303.IH
H4303
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(4) UNLAWFUL KILLING.—The term ‘unlawful 
killing’ means the use of lethal force by a govern-
ment or its agents that— 
‘‘(A) if in a state of armed conflict, is in-
consistent with the requirements of inter-
national humanitarian law that are enshrined 
as principles in the United States Department 
of Defense Law of War Manual; or 
‘‘(B) if outside of a state of armed conflict, 
would constitute homicide as defined in section 
1111 or 1112 of title 18, United States Code.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:36 Jul 15, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H4303.IH
H4303
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB