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H.R. 5272: Do No Harm Act

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H.R. 5272: Do No Harm Act

114th Congress · introduced 2016-05-18 · Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2016-05-18 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Kennedy, Joseph P., III [D-MA-4] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Do No Harm Act

Plain summary

Do No Harm Act This bill makes the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA) inapplicable to federal laws (or implementations of laws) that: protect against discrimination or the promotion of equal opportunity, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, Executive Order 11246 (concerning equal employment opportunity), the Violence Against Women Act, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) rules entitled "Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity"; require employers to provide wages, other compensation, or benefits, including leave; protect collective activity in the workplace; protect against child labor, abuse, or exploitation; or provide for access to, information about, referrals for, provision of, or coverage for, any health care item or service. Under current law, RFRA prohibits the government from substantially burdening a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, except in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest when using the least restrictive means. The bill makes RFRA inapplicable to: (1) terms requiring goods, services, functions, or activities to be performed or provided to beneficiaries of government contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or awards; or (2) denials of a person's full and equal enjoyment of a government-provided good, service, benefit, facility, privilege, advantage, or accommodation. To assert a RFRA claim or defense in a judicial proceeding, the government must be a party to the proceeding.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Do No Harm Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Kennedy, Joseph P., III [D-MA-4] · 36 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Katherine M. Clark (D-MA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Donald S. Beyer, Jr. (D-VA), André Carson (D-IN), Peter Welch (D-VT), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Pete Aguilar (D-CA), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Betty McCollum (D-MN)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Rulemaking
The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong114-hr5272 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114