GLOBE Act of 2025
Sponsored By: Senator Edward Markey
Introduced
Summary
U.S. strategy to protect LGBTQI rights abroad. This bill would create diplomatic tools, funding, and legal measures to document abuses, support civil society, and restrict entry for perpetrators.
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- For LGBTQI people and defenders: Would establish a Global Equality Fund to provide grants, emergency aid, and technical support and a USAID-led LGBTQI Global Development Partnership to back leadership, entrepreneurship, and exchanges. It would explicitly fund protection from medically unnecessary intersex interventions.
- For perpetrators and accountability: Would require the President to publish an unclassified list within 180 days and update it biannually. Persons on the list and their immediate family would be inadmissible to the United States and face visa revocation.
- For U.S. policy and programs: Would create a Special Envoy and a permanent USAID Senior LGBTQI Coordinator, require LGBTQI training for PEPFAR partners and U.S.-supported law enforcement academies, and direct annual strategic reviews to prioritize decriminalization and targeted programming.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
10 provisions identified: 8 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
New counsel rule but tighter deadlines
If enacted, immigration courts would have to appoint a lawyer at government expense for indigent people who ask for one in removal or asylum court. At the same time, the bill would remove certain filing-deadline exceptions for asylum applications, making late filings harder to excuse. These two changes together increase legal help for some but reduce procedural flexibility for others.
More rights for LGBTQI families abroad
If enacted, the State Department would clarify within 90 days that a child born abroad using assisted reproductive technology can get U.S. citizenship at birth if local law recognizes the parent. The bill would also let some long-term permanent partners count as 'married' for immigration and allow applicants to choose a nonbinary sex marker on passports and consular birth reports.
Easier asylum and refugee access
If enacted, the bill would make it easier for people persecuted for sexual orientation or gender identity to get asylum or faster refugee processing. It would let qualifying LGBTQI refugees be eligible for Priority 2 resettlement and require refugee resettlement staff to share SOGI information with resettlement agencies when the refugee consents. The bill would also require better training for asylum interviewers to make interviews safer and fairer.
Limits on detaining vulnerable migrants
If enacted, the bill would create a presumption against detaining people in defined vulnerable groups, including many LGBTQI people. Officials must release them unless an individualized decision shows no alternatives or there is a safety or flight risk. Detained people would get weekly reviews and could be held at most five days right before removal in limited cases. The bill would also restrict segregated housing for LGBTQI detainees except when requested or necessary.
Public sanctions and visa bans for abusers
If enacted, the President would have to publish a public list, within 180 days and twice a year after that, naming foreign people responsible for severe abuses against LGBTQI persons. People on the list and their immediate family could be denied U.S. visas and existing visas revoked. The President could remove people only after notifying Congress 15 days ahead and meeting specified criteria.
Grants and rules for LGBTQI foreign aid
If enacted, the State Department would set up a Global Equality Fund to give grants and emergency help to groups protecting LGBTQI people abroad and accept private and foreign contributions. At the same time, U.S. contractors and grantees would need to make programs available to all people or return funds and face penalties if they fail. The bill would also let foreign NGOs be eligible even when their health services are paid with non-U.S. funds, so long as they follow local law.
Protecting State employees and families abroad
If enacted, the Secretary of State would be required to press other countries to grant visas and accreditation to families of LGBTQI State Department employees posted abroad. The Secretary must also try to ensure U.S.-supported overseas schools have clear nondiscrimination policies that cover sexual orientation and gender identity and add related information to post reports and bidding materials.
New U.S. diplomatic leadership on LGBTQI rights
If enacted, the bill would create an interagency group led by the Secretary of State and a permanent Special Envoy for LGBTQI human rights. USAID would add a Senior LGBTQI Coordinator and a Global Development Partnership to coordinate programs. The State Department would also require posts to report more on violence and discrimination so regional bureaus can make diplomatic plans and build capacity.
Training for foreign police academies
If enacted, any international law enforcement academy supported by U.S. assistance would have to teach about LGBTQI rights. Training must include how to document, investigate, and prosecute bias-motivated crimes and protect LGBTQI people.
PEPFAR training and health reports
If enacted, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator would be required to ensure PEPFAR equitably serves LGBTQI people and require training for all PEPFAR partners on LGBTQI health needs and human rights. Congress would get new reports within 180 days on partner notification impacts and on whether condoms or related supplies were used as evidence against people. The Comptroller General would also review effects of the Mexico City Policy on LGBTQI communities.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Edward Markey
MA • D
Cosponsors
Timothy Kaine
VA • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Brian Schatz
HI • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Christopher Coons
DE • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Alex Padilla
CA • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Adam Schiff
CA • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Patty Murray
WA • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Sheldon Whitehouse
RI • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Christopher Murphy
CT • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Tammy Baldwin
WI • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Catherine Cortez Masto
NV • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Mazie Hirono
HI • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Jeff Merkley
OR • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Bernie Sanders
VT • I
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Peter Welch
VT • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Cory Booker
NJ • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Ron Wyden
OR • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Jacky Rosen
NV • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Jeanne Shaheen
NH • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Chris Van Hollen
MD • D
Sponsored 7/9/2025
Amy Klobuchar
MN • D
Sponsored 7/14/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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