[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2933 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2933
To impose sanctions with respect to members of the Chinese Communist
Party and heads of Chinese health agencies relating to the COVID-19
pandemic, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 5, 2021
Mr. Marshall introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To impose sanctions with respect to members of the Chinese Communist
Party and heads of Chinese health agencies relating to the COVID-19
pandemic, 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 ``Chinese Communist Party
Accountability Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THE
CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY AND HEADS OF CHINESE HEALTH
AGENCIES RELATING TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
(a) Chinese Communist Party Members.--
(1) In general.--The President shall impose the sanctions
described in section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights
Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note) with respect to any
foreign person who is an official of the Chinese Communist
Party that the President determines is knowingly responsible
for, complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in--
(A) the disappearances of whistleblowers and
citizen journalists in the People's Republic of China
relating to the COVID-19 pandemic; or
(B) the establishment of limits on freedom of
speech and academic freedom in the People's Republic of
China relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(2) Coordination.--The President shall coordinate with the
intelligence community for purposes of identifying foreign
persons under this subsection.
(b) Chinese Health Agencies Heads.--The President shall impose the
sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to the following
foreign persons:
(1) Gao Fu, also known as George Fu Gao, the Director of
the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the People's
Republic of China.
(2) Ma Xiaowei, Minister of the National Health Commission
of the People's Republic of China.
(c) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this
subsection with respect to a foreign person are the following:
(1) Blocking of property.--The President shall exercise all
of the powers granted to the President under the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (except
that the requirements of section 202 of such Act (50 U.S.C.
1701) shall not apply) to the extent necessary to block and
prohibit all transactions in property and interests in property
of the person if such property and interests in property are in
the United States, come within the United States, or are or
come within the possession or control of a United States
person.
(2) Inadmissibility to the united states and revocation of
visa or other documentation.--
(A) Ineligibility for visa, admission, or parole.--
The foreign person is--
(i) inadmissible to the United States;
(ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other
documentation to enter the United States; and
(iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted
or paroled into the United States or to receive
any other benefit under the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
(B) Current visa revoked.--The visa or other entry
documentation of the foreign person shall be revoked,
regardless of when such visa or other entry
documentation is or was issued. A revocation under this
subparagraph shall take effect immediately and
automatically cancel any other valid visa or entry
documentation that is in the person's possession.
(d) Exceptions.--
(1) To comply with united nations headquarters agreement.--
Sanctions under subsection (c)(2) or described in section
1263(b)(2) of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability
Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note) shall not apply with respect to a
foreign person if admitting or paroling the foreign person into
the United States is necessary to permit the United States to
comply with the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the
United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and
entered into force November 21, 1947, between the United
Nations and the United States, or other applicable
international obligations.
(2) To carry out or assist law enforcement activities.--
Sanctions under subsection (c)(2) or described in section
1263(b)(2) of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability
Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note) shall not apply with respect to a
foreign person if admitting or paroling the foreign person into
the United States is necessary to carry out or assist law
enforcement activity in the United States.
(e) Implementation; Penalties.--
(1) Implementation.--The President may exercise all
authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and
1704) to carry out this section and shall issue such
regulations, licenses, and orders as are necessary to carry out
this section.
(2) Penalties.--Any person that violates, attempts to
violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this
section or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry
out this section shall be subject to the penalties provided for
in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same
extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in
subsection (a) of that section.
(f) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of sanctions
imposed with respect to a foreign person under this section if the
President--
(1) determines that a waiver is in the national interest of
the United States; and
(2) not later than the date on which such waiver will take
effect, submits to the appropriate congressional committees a
notice of and justification for such waiver.
(g) Termination of Sanctions With Respect to a Foreign Person.--
(1) In general.--The President may terminate the
application of sanctions imposed with respect to a foreign
person under this section if the President makes a
determination that--
(A) credible information exists that the person did
not engage in the activity for which the sanctions were
imposed; and
(B) the person has--
(i) credibly demonstrated a significant
change in behavior; and
(ii) been subject to an appropriate
consequence for the activity for which the
sanctions were imposed.
(2) Notification.--Not later than 15 days before the date
on which the application of sanctions imposed with respect to a
foreign person is terminated under paragraph (1), the Secretary
of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report that--
(A) describes the evidence and justification for
the necessity of the termination; and
(B) explains how the termination of the application
of sanctions is in the national security interests of
the United States.
(h) Termination of Authority To Impose Sanctions.--The authority to
impose sanctions under this section with respect to a foreign person
described in subsection (b) shall terminate on the date on which the
President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that an
independent, unimpeded investigation into the potential origin of
COVID-19 from the Wuhan Institute of Virology has taken place.
(i) Exception Relating to Importation of Goods.--
(1) In general.--The authorities and requirements to impose
sanctions under this section shall not include the authority or
requirement to impose sanctions on the importation of goods.
(2) Good defined.--In this subsection, the term ``good''
means any article, natural or man-made substance, material,
supply or manufactured product, including inspection and test
equipment, and excluding technical data.
(j) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Admitted; alien.--The terms ``admitted'' and ``alien''
have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1001).
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee
on Appropriations, and the Committee on Financial
Services of the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the
Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
(3) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a
person that is not a United States person.
(4) Intelligence community.--The term ``intelligence
community'' has the meaning given that term in section 3(4) of
the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)).
(5) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'' means, with respect
to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, that a person has
actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the
circumstance, or the result.
(6) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or
entity.
(7) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen, an alien lawfully
admitted for permanent residence to the United States,
or any other individual subject to the jurisdiction of
the United States;
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the
United States or of any jurisdiction within the United
States, including a foreign branch of such entity; or
(C) any person in the United States.
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