GLOBE Act of 2019
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Greater Leadership Overseas for the Benefit of Equality Act of 2019 or the GLOBE Act of 2019
This bill contains provisions related to (1) the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals globally; and (2) immigration protections for vulnerable individuals.
The bill establishes (1) an interagency group to respond to urgent threats to LGBTI people in foreign countries, and (2) a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Peoples in the Department of State.
The President shall impose visa-blocking sanctions on foreign persons responsible for violating the human rights of individuals due to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics.
The State Department shall establish the Global Equality Fund to provide assistance to nongovernmental organizations working to advance and protect human rights. The U.S. Agency for International Development shall establish the LGBTI Global Development Partnership to work with the private sector and nongovernmental organizations to support LGBTI rights.
The bill contains several immigration-related provisions, such as those (1) establishing that persecution based on sexual orientation or gender identity may form the basis of an asylum request, (2) removing the general requirement that an asylum claim must be filed within one year of the applicant's arrival in the United States, (3) establishing that a permanent partnership between two partners is a marriage for immigration law purposes, and (4) establishing that indigent aliens have a right to free counsel in certain immigration proceedings.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on December 10, 2019. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 10, 2019: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Edward Markey (D-MA) introduced it on December 10, 2019, and 19 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 18 Democrats, 1 independent.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 10, 2019, 2466 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2466 days ago, on December 10, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers