[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4142 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4142

  To provide for a cause of action for any United States national who 
                    lost a relative due to COVID-19.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 15, 2023

  Mr. Santos introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for a cause of action for any United States national who 
                    lost a relative due to COVID-19.

    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 ``CCP Wrongful Death Accountability 
Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. CAUSE OF ACTION.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 
United States national, if an immediate relative of that national has 
died of COVID-19, may, in a civil action against the Government of 
China, recover appropriate relief.
    (b) Action by Citizen of United States.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law (including chapter 85 of title 28, United States Code, 
commonly referred to as the ``Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act'') a 
citizen of the United States may bring an action for damages in an 
appropriate district court of the United States against the Government 
of the People's Republic of China for harm suffered by the citizen as a 
result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    (c) Payment by United States.--If an individual is awarded damages 
in an action under this section, and the Government of the People's 
Republic of China has not satisfied such award before the date that is 
one year after the date on which the damages were awarded, the 
individual may seek an order from the court directing the United States 
to pay such award to the individual. The payment by the United States 
of any such award shall be deducted from any interest or debt owed by 
the United States to the People's Republic of China, or from any 
amounts made available to provide United States assistance to the 
People's Republic of China.
    (d) Definition.--In this section:
            (1) Harm.--The term ``harm'' includes costs associated 
        with--
                    (A) the payment of overtime to frontline workers;
                    (B) purchasing masks and sanitizing products;
                    (C) purchasing vaccines;
                    (D) research and development;
                    (E) developing COVID-19 testing sites and testing 
                individuals for COVID-19;
                    (F) purchasing medical equipment related to COVID-
                19;
                    (G) unemployment payments; and
                    (H) laws to provide other assistance during the 
                COVID-19 pandemic.
            (2) Immediate relative.--The term ``immediate relative'' 
        means a brother, sister, mother, or father, either biological 
        or adopted.
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