# 114-hr-5272: Do No Harm Act

114-hr-5272, Do No Harm Act, is a 114th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Kennedy, Joseph P., III [D-MA-4] (D-MA); status Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5272
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 114-hr-5272
- Congress: 114
- Title: Do No Harm Act
- Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.
- Introduced: 2016-05-18
- Sponsor: Rep. Kennedy, Joseph P., III [D-MA-4] (D-MA)
- Cosponsors: 36
- Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## 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.

## Cosponsors (36)

- Rep. Scott, Robert C. "Bobby" [D-VA-3] (D-VA), 2016-05-18T00:00:00.000Z
- LOUISE SLAUGHTER (D-NY), 2016-05-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2] (D-WI), 2016-05-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2016-05-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1] (D-RI), 2016-05-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2] (D-MA), 2016-05-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Maloney, Sean Patrick [D-NY-18] (D-NY), 2016-05-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Eshoo, Anna G. [D-CA-16] (D-CA), 2016-06-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Clark, Katherine M. [D-MA-5] (D-MA), 2016-06-08T00:00:00.000Z
- JOSE SERRANO (D-NY), 2016-06-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lowenthal, Alan S. [D-CA-47] (D-CA), 2016-06-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Esty, Elizabeth H. [D-CT-5] (D-CT), 2016-06-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] (D-TN), 2016-06-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26] (D-CA), 2016-06-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cárdenas, Tony [D-CA-29] (D-CA), 2016-06-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Castor, Kathy [D-FL-14] (D-FL), 2016-06-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] (D-NJ), 2016-06-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1] (D-OR), 2016-07-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hastings, Alcee L. [D-FL-20] (D-FL), 2016-07-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Beyer, Donald S. [D-VA-8] (D-VA), 2016-07-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Speier, Jackie [D-CA-14] (D-CA), 2016-07-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7] (D-IN), 2016-09-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2016-09-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grijalva, Raúl M. [D-AZ-7] (D-AZ), 2016-09-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rice, Kathleen M. [D-NY-4] (D-NY), 2016-09-07T00:00:00.000Z
- LUIS GUTIERREZ (D-IL), 2016-09-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6] (D-MA), 2016-09-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36] (D-CA), 2016-09-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Napolitano, Grace F. [D-CA-31] (D-CA), 2016-09-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-18] (D-CA), 2016-09-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25] (D-FL), 2016-09-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Huffman, Jared [D-CA-2] (D-CA), 2016-09-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Aguilar, Pete [D-CA-33] (D-CA), 2016-11-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9] (D-IL), 2016-11-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Maloney, Carolyn B. [D-NY-12] (D-NY), 2016-12-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4] (D-MN), 2016-12-07T00:00:00.000Z

## Related bills

- 114-hr-5044: Making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2016 to respond to Zika virus.
- 114-hr-4592: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act
- 114-hr-4479: Families of Flint Act
- 114-hr-3268: PAST Act
- 114-hr-3185: Equality Act
- 114-hr-2902: Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2015

## Sources
- [114-hr-5272 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5272)

## Related
- [114-hr-5044: Making supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 2016 to respond to Zika viru…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5044)
- [114-hr-4592: Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-4592)
- [114-hr-4479: Families of Flint Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-4479)
- [114-hr-3268: PAST Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-3268)
- [114-hr-3185: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-3185)
- [114-hr-2902: Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2015](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-2902)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5272 (as of 2025-11-18).