A group of U.S. Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation to protect the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA — an agency that’s been devastated by the Trump administration’s cuts to foreign assistance this year.
“This bill restores a common-sense, bipartisan approach: supporting voluntary, rights-based family planning and maternal health while ensuring full compliance with U.S. law,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement to Devex.
The Support UNFPA Funding Act would allocate $74 million annually for the United Nations agency, which is focused on sexual and reproductive health across the world. It would do so for both the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years, the first of which began on Oct. 1, 2025, and open the door to additional funding for UNFPA in the years after.
About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
