HR 4516

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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 17, 2025

Mr. Meeks (for himself, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Ms. Meng, Mr. Amo, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Nadler, and Ms. Williams of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

A BILL

To require the Secretary of State to ensure that commodities procured for the purpose of foreign assistance are made available to intended beneficiaries before such commodities expire, and for other purposes.

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 “Saving Lives and Taxpayer Dollars Act”.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) Foreign assistance commodities, including food, medicine, family planning products, and vaccines, provide critical support to people who are recovering from the aftermath of natural disasters, fleeing conflict or war, residing in refugee camps, or living in developing communities with limited access to health care.

(2) United States investments in global health bolster economic growth for partner countries, produce returns on investment for the United States economy, create an estimated 600,000 jobs in the United States, and generated an estimated $104,000,000,000 in economic activity during the 15-year period between 2007 and 2022.

(3) Reliable access to vaccines and medications, including pre-exposure prophylaxis and antiretroviral drugs to prevent the spread of HIV and vaccines to prevent the transmission of communicable diseases such as polio and drug-resistant tuberculosis, makes everyone safer.

(4) United States food assistance benefits United States farmers, ranchers, and agribusinesses, while addressing global food insecurity. United States farmers annually supply an estimated 40 percent of all international food assistance, which is valued at approximately $2,000,000,000.

(5) Greater access to family planning products and services has the potential to prevent up to 30 percent of the 295,000 annual maternal deaths and save the lives of approximately 1,400,000 children who are younger than 5 years old.

(6) The voluntary destruction of foreign assistance commodities intended for beneficiaries at risk of food insecurity and famine, sexual violence, maternal and infant death and disease is unethical and contrary to United States interests and moral obligations.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON THE DESTRUCTION OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE PRODUCTS AND COMMODITIES.

Section 102 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151-

1) is amended—

(1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following:

“(18) Perishable and nonperishable foreign assistance commodities and products, including medicine, vaccines, medical devices, food, and food commodities that are procured, managed, controlled, or held in warehouses, ships, shipping containers, or any other storage facility, by the United States Government or by a foreign assistance implementing partner of the United States Government shall be made available to intended beneficiaries, including through donation, for their intended purpose and before the date on which such commodities and products spoil or expire.”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

“(d)(1) If any commodity is in the possession or control of a foreign assistance implementing partner of the United States, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Agriculture, or the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, as appropriate, shall, on an expedited basis, release such funds as may be necessary to ensure the delivery or donation of the commodity to the intended beneficiaries before the date the commodity spoils or expires.

“(2) No commodity may be destroyed unless every effort has been made to sell, donate, or otherwise make the commodity available (whichever is more likely to ensure the commodity will be received and used by the intended beneficiaries) before the date the commodity spoils or expires.

“(3)(A) Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the Saving Lives and Taxpayer Dollars Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that describes any commodity that, during the year prior to the date of the submission of the report expired, spoiled, or was destroyed prior to the delivery of such commodity to an intended beneficiary.

“(B) Each report required by subparagraph (A) shall include, for each expired, spoiled, or destroyed commodity described—

“(i) a description of all negotiations, plans, and efforts to make the commodity available to the intended beneficiaries;

“(ii) the reason the commodity was not made available to the intended beneficiaries;

“(iii) the intended purpose of the commodity;

“(iv) a list of the geographic locations of all intended beneficiaries of the commodity, by country or region, as appropriate;

“(v) the procured and market value of the commodity; and

“(vi) the cost incurred to destroy or dispose of the commodity.

“(4) In this subsection—

“(A) the term ‘appropriate congressional committees’ means—

“(i) the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and

“(ii) the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

“(B) the term ‘commodity’ means a perishable or nonperishable commodity or product (including medicine, vaccines, medical devices, food, and food commodities) that is procured, managed, controlled, or held in warehouses, ships, shipping containers, or any other storage facility, by the United States Government or by a foreign assistance implementing partner of the United States Government for the purpose of providing foreign assistance.”. <all>