Bill Details
S.676 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-02-20 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Introduced Date
2025-02-20
Policy Area
International Affairs
Committees
View committees (1)
Sponsors
6
0
0
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would stop the U.S. government from giving federal assistance to foreign governments that punish religious freedom with extreme criminal penalties. It focuses on countries that use laws to threaten people with death or life in prison for leaving a religion, criticizing religion, or marrying someone of a different faith. The bill also requires the President to report to Congress on which foreign governments have these kinds of laws, based on credible information, so that U.S. aid can be blocked for those governments.
- The President would have 120 days after the bill becomes law to send Congress a report naming the foreign governments covered by the bill.
- The report would include governments that impose death sentences or life imprisonment for apostasy laws, blasphemy laws, or laws against interfaith marriage.
- Once a government is listed in the report, the U.S. government would be barred from using federal funds to provide assistance to that government.
- The goal is to use U.S. foreign aid to push back against severe religious repression and human rights abuses.
Official Summaries
No summaries available
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 676 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 676
To prohibit assistance to foreign governments that violate human rights
with respect to religious freedom.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 20, 2025
Mr. Paul introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit assistance to foreign governments that violate human rights
with respect to religious freedom.
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 ``Stop Funding Religiously Oppressive
Regimes Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. IDENTIFICATION OF COUNTRIES WITH LAWS IMPOSING SEVERE CRIMINAL
PENALTIES FOR APOSTASY, BLASPHEMY, OR INTERFAITH.
Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the President shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives that lists each foreign government that the
President determines, based on credible information, imposes a death
sentence or life imprisonment on the basis of--
(1) anti-apostasy laws that explicitly prohibit
disaffiliation from a particular religion;
(2) anti-blasphemy laws; or
(3) laws prohibiting marriage between individuals of
different religious faiths.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS THAT VIOLATE
HUMAN RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO RELIGION.
The United States Government is prohibited from obligating or
expending any Federal funds to provide assistance to the government of
any country identified in the report submitted by the President
pursuant to section 2.
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