Humanitarian Theft Enforcement Act (HR 7649)

119 HR 7649 IH: Humanitarian Theft Enforcement Act U.S. House of Representatives 2026-02-23 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. I 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7649 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 23, 2026 Mr. McCormick introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To ensure that persons found responsible for the unauthorized diversion or destruction of United States humanitarian assistance are liable to the United States, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Humanitarian Theft Enforcement Act . 2. Humanitarian theft enforcement (a) Liability Notwithstanding any other provision of law or regulation, any foreign person or entity the Secretary of State determines is responsible for the unauthorized diversion or destruction of United States humanitarian assistance, including humanitarian assistance funded by the United States that is provided by an international organization, is liable to the United States for the value of the assistance the Secretary determines was so diverted or destroyed. (b) Recovery Upon determining that a foreign person or entity is responsible for the unauthorized diversion or destruction of assistance in the manner described in subsection (a), the Secretary of State should take appropriate steps to recover the value of such assistance from the foreign person or entity. (c) Crediting of funds Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any funds received by the Secretary of State pursuant to a determination under this section may be credited to an appropriate account of the Department of State and shall remain available until expended. The Secretary of State may transfer such funds to an appropriate account of another Federal department or agency if the diverted or destroyed assistance was funded by such agency. (d) Waiver The Secretary of State may waive any liability incurred pursuant to subsection (a) if the Secretary determines that such a waiver is in the national interest.