Foreign Assistance Act of 1974


The Foreign Assistance Act of 1974 was an Act of the 93rd United States Congress that added several amendments to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.

Aid to South Vietnam

The Act effectively eliminated aid and military funding for South Vietnam. Direct US involvement in Vietnam was already prohibited under the Case–Church Amendment, and the termination of US funding and indirect support for South Vietnam was a significant factor leading to the Fall of Saigon.

Covert actions

The Act also included the Hughes–Ryan Amendment, which required the President to report all covert operations of the CIA to Congress within a set time limit, and placed limits on the funding of such operations.
The Act also included other amendments, including, among others, appropriation of funds to Israel, Egypt, and Jordan, and the suspension of funds to Turkey due to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.

Human rights

Section 502B of the Act, sometimes abbreviated in legal texts as 22 USC §2304) prohibits the U.S. government from selling weapons or providing security assistance and even law enforcement assistance to countries that engage in a persistent pattern of human rights violations. It provides, in part, that, unless specific exceptions apply:
The Act goes on define the term “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights” as including: