Support UNFPA Funding Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3938 To authorize contributions to the United Nations Population Fund, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 16, 2021 Ms. HOULAHAN (for herself, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALO- NEY of New York, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Ms. JACOBS of California, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Mr. BERA, Mr. CON- NOLLY, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. KEATING, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. CARSON, Mr. COHEN, Ms. MANNING, Ms. MENG, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. PHILLIPS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. EVANS, Mr. TONKO, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Ms. TITUS, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Ms. DEAN, Ms. SE- WELL, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. CHU, Mr. POCAN, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. ROSS, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. NADLER, Mr. RYAN, Miss RICE of New York, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. KILMER, Mr. WELCH, Mr. SCHNEI- DER, Mr. CASE, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. BASS, Mr. HIMES, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. COOPER, Mr. ALLRED, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. COSTA, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms. SCHRIER, Ms. WILD, Ms. SHERRILL, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. LEVIN of California, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Ms. BOURDEAUX, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. WEXTON, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. TRONE, Ms. OMAR, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. SIRES, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. KAHELE, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. LIEU, Mr. CROW, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. CARBAJAL, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. LAMB, Mr. PALLONE, Ms. KUSTER, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. TAKANO, Mrs. TORRES of California, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. GAR- CIA of Texas, Mr. KIND, Mr. SOTO, and Ms. JAYAPAL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3938.IH H3938 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3938 IH A BILL To authorize contributions to the United Nations Population Fund, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Support UNFPA 4 Funding Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The United Nations Population Fund 8 (UNFPA) is the United Nations reproductive health 9 agency. 10 (2) UNFPA was founded with the leadership of 11 the United States 50 years ago and works in more 12 than 150 countries to end preventable maternal 13 deaths, the unmet need for contraception, and gen- 14 der-based violence and other harmful practices, in- 15 cluding female genital mutilation and child mar- 16 riage. 17 (3) UNFPA also ensures access to health care 18 and essential supplies for women and families im- 19 pacted by emergencies. 20 (4) All UNFPA programming is guided by 21 principles adopted by 179 governments, including 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3938.IH H3938 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3938 IH the United States, at the 1994 International Con- 1 ference for Population and Development. The prin- 2 ciples include that ‘‘reproductive health care pro- 3 grams should provide the widest range of services 4 without any form of coercion. All couples and indi- 5 viduals have the basic right to decide freely and re- 6 sponsibly the number and spacing of their children 7 and to have the information, education and means to 8 do so.’’. 9 (5) UNFPA is currently working to address the 10 needs of the following: 11 (A) The 810 women and adolescent girls 12 who die each day from preventable causes re- 13 lated to pregnancy and childbirth, 99 percent of 14 which deaths occur in developing countries and 15 more than half of which occur in fragile and 16 humanitarian settings. 17 (B) The more than 218,000,000 women of 18 reproductive age in low- and middle-income 19 countries who want to avoid pregnancy and are 20 not using a modern contraceptive method. 21 (C) The estimated 1 in 3 women who expe- 22 rience gender-based violence. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3938.IH H3938 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3938 IH (D) The estimated 200,000,000 women 1 who have survived some form of female genital 2 mutilation. 3 (E) The estimated 15,000,000 girls who 4 are forcibly married before the age of 18 each 5 year. 6 (6) In recent years, the United States has been 7 the third-largest overall donor to UNFPA, and its 8 second-largest donor for humanitarian response. 9 (7) UNFPA, which works in three times as 10 many countries as the United States Agency for 11 International Development, extends the impact of 12 United States foreign assistance by reaching people 13 in politically unstable regions. UNFPA also plays a 14 pivotal role in meeting protection and health care 15 needs in countries experiencing humanitarian emer- 16 gencies like Syria, Yemen, and Iraq. 17 (8) Voluntary family planning is central to gen- 18 der equality and women’s empowerment, and it is a 19 key factor in reducing poverty. 20 (9) UNFPA is responding to the needs of 21 women and girls affected by the COVID–19 out- 22 break by focusing on countries that have weak public 23 health and social support systems to limit potential 24 increases in unmet need for family planning, gender 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3938.IH H3938 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3938 IH based violence, female genital mutilation, and child 1 marriage. 2 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 3 It is the policy of the United States as follows: 4 (1) Improving the status of women around the 5 world is a critical component of the United States 6 foreign policy and development strategies. 7 (2) The right of every person to determine free- 8 ly whether, when, and with whom to have children, 9 and to attain the highest standard of sexual and re- 10 productive health, is a basic human right. 11 (3) Access to voluntary contraception and re- 12 productive health care is necessary to improving the 13 status of women and ensuring this basic human 14 right. 15 (4) UNFPA is a key partner in improving the 16 status of women and expanding access to voluntary 17 family planning and reproductive health care serv- 18 ices throughout the world. 19 (5) UNFPA helps ensure that family planning 20 and reproductive health programs are voluntary and 21 centered on protecting human rights. 22 (6) Financial support for UNFPA is a crucial 23 part of the United States commitment to global 24 health, development, and human rights, and the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3938.IH H3938 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3938 IH Government of the United States is committed to 1 providing core, development, and humanitarian fund- 2 ing to UNFPA. 3 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 4 There is authorized to be appropriated an annual 5 contribution for each of the five fiscal years beginning 6 after the date of the enactment of this Act to support the 7 core functions and programs of the United Nations Popu- 8 lation Fund (UNFPA), which may include the following: 9 (1) Ending preventable maternal deaths. 10 (2) Ending the unmet need for contraceptives 11 and promoting a human-rights-based approach to 12 family planning. 13 (3) Ending gender-based violence. 14 (4) Ending other harmful practices, such as 15 child marriage and female genital mutilation. 16 (5) Supporting United States national security 17 and humanitarian efforts by operating in areas 18 where medical infrastructure or services have been 19 destroyed or limited by natural disasters, armed con- 20 flict, or other humanitarian emergencies. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:09 Jul 12, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3938.IH H3938 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS