At Least 24 New Poison Pill Riders Were Added to House Spending Bills in the Past Week. Lawmakers Must Remove All of Them.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – At least 24 new poison pill policy riders were added to appropriations bills drafted in the U.S. House over the past week, according to the Clean Budget Coalition, which is tracking them, bringing the total number of new poison pill riders to at least 114.

Coalition members are calling on lawmakers to remove all of them and oppose passage of any legislation that includes these unpopular and controversial special favors for big corporations and ideological extremists. Below is a list of new poison pills added or found in the past week:

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs

  • The China Lending Rider would prohibit funding for the government of People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party and prevents lending through the international financial institutions to the People’s Republic of China.
  • The Multilateral Development Banks Anti-Greening Rider would block implementation of Executive Order 14008 on tackling the climate crisis at home and abroad and U.S. Treasury Department guidance on fossil fuel energy at multilateral development banks.
  • The Iran Rider would prevent funding to implement or enforce an agreement with Iran relating to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and to revoke the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization.
  • The Power Africa Rider would prohibit funding under the Power Africa program from being used for renewable energy unless matched by other sources of energy.
  • The WHO Rider would block all funding for the World Health Organization, harming global health.
  • The UNFPA Rider would block all funding for the United Nations Population Fund, harming women’s health.
  • The Global Gag Rule Rider would reinstate the global gag rule on nongovernmental organizations that receive U.S. assistance. This policy risks women’s health and lives by forcing organizations to choose between receiving global health assistance and providing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care.
  • The Health Research Rider would prohibit funding for the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the EcoHealth Alliance, gain of function research, and any lab controlled by China, Russia, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.
  • The Arms Trade Rider would prohibit funds to implement the Arms Trade Treaty, an international treaty that regulates the international trade in conventional arms and seeks to prevent and eradicate illicit trade and diversion of conventional arms by establishing international standards that govern arms transfers.
  • The Gender Equity Rider would block funding for the Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund, which advances economic security for women and girls by increasing their access to resources, services, and leadership opportunities and by addressing the barriers to full participation in the economy. The Fund invests in partners around the world, prioritizing programs that address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19, climate change, and armed conflict upon women and girls.
  • The Green Climate Rider would block all funding for the Green Climate Fund, which helps developing countries achieve their emissions and climate-resilience goals under the Paris Agreement.
  • The Clean Technology Rider would block all funding for the Clean Technology Fund, when helps developing countries with their clean energy transformation. It provides resources to scale up low-carbon technologies including renewable energy, energy efficiency (of buildings, agriculture, and industry), and clean transport.
  • The Climate Damage Rider would prohibit funding and international disaster relief for any loss or damage attributed to climate change.
  • The Climate Attribution Rider would prevent democracy, security, gender, agriculture, water, sanitation, and hygiene programs from being linked or attributed to climate goals.
  • The Enbridge Pipeline Rider would overturn a federal court ruling that shut down a segment of the Canadian Enbridge Line 5 pipeline that crosses tribal land in Wisconsin.
  • The Special Advisors Rider would prohibit funds from being used for envoys or special advisors unless they have been authorized by Congress or confirmed by the Senate.
  • The Drag Queen Rider would prohibit funding from being used on “drag queen workshops, performances, or documentaries.”
  • The CRT Rider would ban funding for any activity that promotes Critical Race Theory.
  • The Diversity and Equity Rider would prohibit funding to implement various executive orders on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, harming progress in increasing diversity in the nation’s diplomatic and development workforce.
  • The Misinformation Rider would ban funding to classify or facilitate classification of any communications by a U.S. person as misinformation, disinformation, or mal-information – allowing the spread of falsehoods without the ability to present the facts.
  • The Gender-Affirming Care Rider would ban funding for counseling, promotion, or carrying out of surgical procedures or hormone therapies for gender-affirming care.

Financial Services and General Government

  • The Contraception Refusal Rider would require health insurance plans to include a provision allowing providers to refuse to offer or cover contraception based on their religious or moral beliefs.
  • The D.C. Maternity Care Report Rider would require the District to submit a report to Congress on maternity care access.
  • The D.C. Anti-Choice Protester Rider would allow District agencies and charter schools to be sued under the city’s anti-SLAAP law, in effect allowing anti-abortion protesters to disrupt parents, children, and staff if their protests happen to take place near schools.

Please reach out to speak with an expert on the Clean Budget Coalition’s work or specific riders listed here.

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