Title: HER Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Global Health, Empowerment, and Rights Act or the HER Act
This bill states that foreign nongovernmental organizations shall not be ineligible for U.S. international development assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 solely on the basis of health or medical services provided by such organizations with non-U.S. government funds if such services do not violate the laws of the country in which they are being provided and would not violate U.S. federal law if provided in the United States. Such organizations also shall not be subject to requirements relating to the use of non-U.S. government funds for advocacy and lobbying activities other than those that apply to U.S. nongovernmental organizations receiving such assistance under such Act.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 671 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 671

    To prohibit the application of certain restrictive eligibility 
 requirements to foreign nongovernmental organizations with respect to 
the provision of assistance under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act 
                                of 1961.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 24, 2017

Mrs. Lowey (for herself, Ms. Lee, Mr. Connolly, Miss Rice of New York, 
Mr. Engel, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Slaughter, Mr. Hastings, Ms. Norton, Mrs. 
 Napolitano, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. DelBene, Ms. 
 Moore, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Smith 
 of Washington, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, Ms. Titus, Mr. Welch, Mr. 
 Heck, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. McCollum, Mr. 
Garamendi, Mr. Bera, Mr. Kildee, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Speier, Mr. Khanna, 
  Ms. Eshoo, Ms. Tsongas, Ms. DeLauro, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Crowley, Mr. 
Loebsack, Mr. Deutch, Mr. Keating, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. 
  Sinema, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New 
    York, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Aguilar, Mr. Richmond, Mr. Pocan, Mrs. 
     Lawrence, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Foster, Ms. Brownley of 
California, Ms. Matsui, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Beyer, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Nadler, 
Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Norcross, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Price 
of North Carolina, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Schiff, Ms. 
  Velazquez, Mr. Levin, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Ms. 
Roybal-Allard, Mrs. Davis of California, Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of 
New Mexico, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Frankel 
   of Florida, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Polis, Mr. Cardenas, Mr. Thompson of 
California, Mr. Takano, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Panetta, Ms. Eddie 
 Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Sean Patrick 
Maloney of New York, Mr. Rush, Mr. Yarmuth, Ms. Meng, Ms. Shea-Porter, 
   Mr. Peters, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Higgins of New York, Ms. Esty, Mrs. 
Torres, Mr. Ruiz, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. DeSaulnier, Ms. Hanabusa, Mr. Walz, 
 Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, 
Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Schneider, Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Ms. Judy Chu of 
  California, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Soto, Mr. 
Veasey, Mr. Evans, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Michael F. 
Doyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Kihuen, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Schrader, Ms. Bass, 
   Mr. Sherman, Mr. Courtney, Ms. Fudge, Mrs. Demings, Ms. Kelly of 
 Illinois, Mr. Himes, and Mrs. Beatty) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To prohibit the application of certain restrictive eligibility 
 requirements to foreign nongovernmental organizations with respect to 
the provision of assistance under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act 
                                of 1961.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Global Health, Empowerment, and 
Rights Act'' or the ``HER Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) It is a fundamental principle of American medical 
        ethics and practice that health care providers should, at all 
        times, deal honestly and openly with patients. Any attempt to 
        subvert the private and sensitive physician-patient 
        relationship would be intolerable in the United States and is 
        an unjustifiable intrusion into the practices of health care 
        providers when attempted in other countries.
            (2) Freedom of speech is a fundamental American value. The 
        ability to exercise the right to free speech, which includes 
        the ``right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to 
        petition the government for a redress of grievances'' is 
        essential to a thriving democracy and is protected under the 
        United States Constitution.
            (3) The promotion of democracy is a principal goal of 
        United States foreign policy and critical to achieving 
        sustainable development. It is enhanced through the 
        encouragement of democratic institutions and the promotion of 
        an independent and politically active civil society in 
        developing countries.
            (4) Limiting eligibility for United States development and 
        humanitarian assistance upon the willingness of a foreign 
        nongovernmental organization to forgo its right to use its own 
        funds to address, within the democratic process, a particular 
        issue affecting the citizens of its own country directly 
        undermines a key goal of United States foreign policy and would 
        violate the United States Constitution if applied to United 
        States-based organizations.
            (5) Similarly, limiting the eligibility for United States 
        assistance on a foreign nongovernmental organization's 
        willingness to forgo its right to provide, with its own funds, 
        medical services that are legal in its own country and would be 
        legal if provided in the United States constitutes 
        unjustifiable interference with the ability of independent 
        organizations to serve the critical health needs of their 
        fellow citizens and demonstrates a disregard and disrespect for 
        the laws of sovereign nations as well as for the laws of the 
        United States.

SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR FOREIGN NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS UNDER PART 
              I OF THE FOREIGN ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, regulation, or policy, 
in determining eligibility for assistance authorized under part I of 
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), foreign 
nongovernmental organizations--
            (1) shall not be ineligible for such assistance solely on 
        the basis of health or medical services, including counseling 
        and referral services, provided by such organizations with non-
        United States Government funds if such services do not violate 
        the laws of the country in which they are being provided and 
        would not violate United States Federal law if provided in the 
        United States; and
            (2) shall not be subject to requirements relating to the 
        use of non-United States Government funds for advocacy and 
        lobbying activities other than those that apply to United 
        States nongovernmental organizations receiving assistance under 
        part I of such Act.
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