Introduced in Senate — S. 5331

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 5331

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

August 6, 2026

Ms. Hirono (for herself, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Kaine, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Warren, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Markey, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Booker, Mr. Coons, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Schiff) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To provide that no Federal funds may be used to carry out the final rule of the Department of Homeland Security entitled Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility , and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

Section 1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Protect American Values Act of 2026.

Sec. 2. Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that—

(1)

immigrants and their families are a core part of this Nation;

(2)

their health and safety is critical to the health and safety of our communities;

(3)

Federal, State, and local assistance programs promote self-sufficiency by ensuring that families, including immigrant and mixed-status families, maintain their health, strength, and stability, and can continue contributing to this Nation's social and economic life;

(4)

the rule of the Department of Homeland Security entitled Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility is a dangerous policy that will impede access to essential food, medical care, and housing for many families, while injecting severe uncertainty and arbitrariness for immigrants adjusting to lawful permanent resident status;

(5)

the rule would damage State and local economies while burdening health and service providers, and the Department of Homeland Security itself, in the preamble of the proposed rule, acknowledges the severe consequences of this proposal including that it could have, downstream and upstream impacts on State and local economies, large and small businesses, and individuals, would increase the poverty of certain families and children, including U.S. [C]itizen children, and may lead to downstream effects on public health, community stability, and resilience including [w]orse health outcomes, such as increased prevalence of obesity and malnutrition, [h]igher prevalence of communicable diseases, and [i]ncreased rates of uncompensated care; and

(6)

the rule would circumvent Congress and reverse over 140 years of law and policy, restricting immigration and chilling access to services for which immigrants and their United States citizen family members are eligible, in a manner not authorized or contemplated by Congress.

Sec. 3. Restriction on Federal funds

No Federal funds (including fees) made available for any fiscal year, may be used to implement, administer, enforce, or carry out the rule of the Department of Homeland Security entitled Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility (91 Fed. Reg. 45324 (July 20, 2026)) or any guidance or sub-regulatory policy that implements or clarifies such.