H.Res. 421: Urging the Administration to develop more effective and timely responses to famine in Africa, especially efforts to end the conflicts in South Sudan, Nigeria, and other countries that cause or exacerbate famine.

H.Res. 421: Urging the Administration to develop more effective and timely responses to famine in Africa, especially efforts to end the conflicts in South Sudan, Nigeria, and other countries that cause or exacerbate famine.

115th Congress · introduced 2017-06-28 · International Affairs · Latest: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1015-1016)

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-06-28 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1015-1016) Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
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

Urging the Administration to develop more effective and timely responses to famine in Africa, especially efforts to end the conflicts in South Sudan, Nigeria, and other countries that cause or exacerbate famine.

Plain summary

Calls for the U.S. government to: use all available leverage to achieve lasting, comprehensive cease-fires in cases of conflict in Africa; work with governments to facilitate disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of combatants; use the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to sanction individuals or entities responsible for initiating or prolonging conflict, endangering humanitarian aid workers, or preventing delivery of humanitarian aid; apply all available weather and crop information to more accurately predict incipient drought and to determine the likelihood of famine in conflict areas; collaborate with other donor nations to accelerate the provision of food, clean water, medicine, and shelter to those in need; expand the prepositioning of aid commodities in safe zones close to the famine region; provide assistance to farmers, herders, and fishermen; and use cash transfers to more quickly provide food aid where local markets exist and to support the functioning of local markets. Urges governments in affected African countries to: establish effective cease-fires and use force thereafter only when government forces or facilities or civilians are under attack; identify and take actions against individuals and entities that actively threaten peace and safety; work with civil society to help end conflict at the grassroots level and effect reconciliation; take specifed actions to promote the delivery of food, clean water, medicine, and shelter; protect humanitarian aid workers; and safeguard agricultural areas and farm personnel.

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

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

A Yea supports adopting this resolution.

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

Urging the Administration to develop more effective and timely responses to famine in Africa, especially efforts to end the conflicts in South Sudan, Nigeria, and other countries that cause or exacerbate famine.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] · 5 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Ro Khanna (D-CA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4] reported raising $797,217 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

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)

Resolution: A formal statement or decision by a legislative body. Simple resolutions often only express an opinion or set rules for one chamber; they do not become law.
Roll-call vote: A vote where each member's position is recorded by name, so the public can see how every member voted. "Yea" means yes, "Nay" means no, "Present" means the member was there but did not take a side.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115hres421.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/hres>

Record fed-us-cong115-hres421 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115