[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 91 (Thursday, May 14, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2452-S2455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTION
By Mr. CARPER (for himself and Mr. Alexander):
S. 3735. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend
and modify the credit for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property;
to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I rise to talk about the Securing
America's Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act, which I am introducing today
with my good friend, the senior Senator from Tennessee. Our legislation
would improve and expand the existing Alternative Fuel Vehicle
Refueling Property Investment Tax Credit, which is commonly known as
``30C.''
The Securing America's Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act is about giving
Americans a real choice when it comes to transportation, and it's about
economic opportunity at a time when Americans need it most. On
America's roads and highways today, gas stations are rarely farther
than the next corner or next exit. That's not necessarily true for
cleaner fuels. In order to meet our clean air and climate goals and
lead the world in clean vehicle manufacturing, Americans must have
greater access to hydrogen refueling and electric charging stations.
Our legislation improves upon current tax credits to better incentivize
companies to make investments today--rather than later--in the
construction of clean fuel vehicle infrastructure nationwide.
Currently, 30C provides a 30 percent investment tax credit for
alternative fuel vehicle refueling property, which includes electric
charging stations and hydrogen refueling stations. This tax credit
expires on December 31, 2020. Today, the 30C investment tax credit, as
it is structured and interpreted by the Internal Revenue Service, only
allows the credit to be used on a per-location basis rather than on a
per-device basis, which means that only one charging station per public
parking garage could qualify for the credit. That current structure and
interpretation of the credit makes it difficult to finance multiple
charging or refueling stations at one location, or to finance
expansions of one location in the future. The Securing America's Clean
Fuels Infrastructure Act makes clear that the 30C investment tax credit
can be applied to each item of refueling property (such as each
charger) rather than per location.
Additionally, the current $30,000 cap on business investments does
not provide adequate support for the installation of today's fast-
charging electric vehicle stations or hydrogen refueling stations. The
Securing America's Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act increases the 30C
investment tax cap for business investments from $30,000 to $200,000
for each item of refueling property.
Finally, this legislation will also extend the credit for eight more
years, to December 31, 2028, ensuring that the business community has
the certainty needed to make long-term investments in clean fuels
infrastructure.
Our legislation is a commonsense way Congress can spur economic
investments in our nation's aging infrastructure, help reduce
transportation pollution, and support the millions of Americans that
are considering buying a clean car today or in the future. That is why
this bipartisan legislation has won broad support from the business and
environmental communities. This is legislation that I commend to my
colleagues for their serious consideration.
______
By Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Risch, Mr. Gardner,
Mr. Wyden, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Daines, Mr. Coons,
Mr. Moran, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Cotton,
Mr. Merkley, Ms. Warren, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Markey, Mr. King,
Mr. Toomey, Mr. Brown, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Braun, Mr. Leahy, Mr.
Peters, Mr. Sasse, Mr. Cardin, Ms. Collins, Mr. Sanders, Mrs.
Feinstein, Mr. Reed, Mr. Warner, Mr. Casey, Mrs. Capito, Mr.
Inhofe, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Lankford, Ms. Klobuchar, Mrs. Murray,
Mr. Booker, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. Harris, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Hawley,
Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Blackburn, Ms. Smith,
Mr. Young, Ms. McSally, Mr. Romney, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Cramer, Mr.
Crapo, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Boozman, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Hassan, Ms.
Cortez Masto, Mrs. Loeffler, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Johnson, Mr.
Schatz, Mr. Portman, Mrs. Fischer, Ms. Sinema, and Mr. Thune):
S. 3744. A bill to condemn gross human rights violations of ethnic
Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, and calling for an end to arbitrary
detention, torture, and harassment of these communities inside and
outside China; considered and passed.
S. 3744
To condemn gross human rights violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in
[[Page S2453]]
Xinjiang, and calling for an end to arbitrary detention, torture, and
harassment of these communities inside and outside China.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Uyghur
Human Rights Policy Act of 2020''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Statement of purpose.
Sec. 3. Findings.
Sec. 4. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 5. Updating statement of United States policy toward the People's
Republic of China.
Sec. 6. Imposition of sanctions.
Sec. 7. Report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region.
Sec. 8. Report on protecting citizens and residents of the United
States from intimidation and coercion.
Sec. 9. Report on security and economic implications of repression in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region by the Government of
the People's Republic of China.
Sec. 10. Classified report.
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to direct United States
resources to address human rights violations and abuses,
including gross violations of human rights, by the Government
of the People's Republic of China through the mass
surveillance and internment of over 1,000,000 Uyghurs, ethnic
Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority groups
in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Government of the People's Republic of China has a
long history of repressing Turkic Muslims and other Muslim
minority groups, particularly Uyghurs, in Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region. In recent decades, central and regional
Chinese government policies have systematically discriminated
against these minority groups by denying them a range of
civil and political rights, including the freedom of
expression, religion, and movement, and the right to a fair
trial.
(2) In May 2014, the Government of the People's Republic of
China launched its latest ``Strike Hard Against Violent
Extremism'' campaign, using wide-scale, internationally-
linked threats of terrorism as a pretext to justify pervasive
restrictions on and serious human rights violations of
members of ethnic minority communities in Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region. The August 2016 appointment of former
Tibet Autonomous Region Party Secretary Chen Quanguo to be
Party Secretary of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
accelerated the crackdown across the region. Scholars, human
rights organizations, journalists, and think tanks have
provided ample evidence substantiating the establishment by
the Government of the People's Republic of China of
internment camps. Since 2014, the Government of the People's
Republic of China has detained more than 1,000,000 Uyghurs,
ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority
groups in these camps. The total ethnic minority population
of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region was approximately
13,000,000 at the time of the last census conducted by the
People's Republic of China in 2010.
(3) The Government of the People's Republic of China's
actions against Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members
of other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region violate international human rights laws and norms,
including--
(A) the International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination, to which the People's
Republic of China has acceded;
(B) the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which the People's
Republic of China has signed and ratified;
(C) the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, which the People's Republic of China has signed; and
(D) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
(4) Senior Chinese Communist Party officials, including
current Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Party Secretary
Chen Quanguo, who executes Chinese government policy in the
region, and former Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Deputy
Party Secretary Zhu Hailun, who crafted many of the policies
implemented in the region, bear direct responsibility for
gross human rights violations committed against Uyghurs,
ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority
groups. These abuses include the arbitrary detention of more
than 1,000,000 Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members
of other Muslim minority groups, separation of working age
adults from children and the elderly, and the integration of
forced labor into supply chains.
(5) Those detained in internment camps in Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region have described forced political
indoctrination, torture, beatings, food deprivation, and
denial of religious, cultural, and linguistic freedoms. These
victims have confirmed that they were told by guards that the
only way to secure their release was to demonstrate
sufficient political loyalty. Poor conditions and lack of
medical treatment at such facilities appear to have
contributed to the deaths of some detainees, including the
elderly and infirm.
(6) Uyghurs and ethnic Kazakhs who have obtained permanent
residence or citizenship in other countries report being
subjected to threats and harassment from Chinese officials.
At least 5 journalists for Radio Free Asia's Uyghur service
have publicly detailed abuses their family members in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region have endured in response to
their work exposing the Government of the People's Republic
of China's abusive policies.
(7) In September 2018, United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights Michelle Bachelet noted in her first speech as
High Commissioner the ``deeply disturbing allegations of
large-scale arbitrary detentions of Uighurs and other Muslim
communities, in so-called reeducation camps across
Xinjiang''.
(8) In 2019, the Congressional-Executive Commission on
China concluded that, based on available evidence, the
establishment and actions committed in the internment camps
in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region may constitute ``crimes
against humanity''.
(9) On December 31, 2018, President Donald J. Trump signed
into law the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public
Law 115-409), which--
(A) condemns the People's Republic of China's ``forced
disappearances, extralegal detentions, invasive and
omnipresent surveillance, and lack of due process in judicial
proceedings'';
(B) authorizes funding to promote democracy, human rights,
and the rule of law in the People's Republic of China; and
(C) supports sanctions designations against any entity or
individual that--
(i) violates human rights or religious freedoms; or
(ii) engages in censorship activities.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the President should--
(A) condemn abuses against Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz,
members of other Muslim minority groups, and other persons by
authorities of the People's Republic of China; and
(B) call on such authorities to immediately--
(i) close the internment camps;
(ii) lift all restrictions on, and ensure respect for,
human rights; and
(iii) allow people inside the People's Republic of China to
reestablish contact with their loved ones, friends, and
associates outside the People's Republic of China;
(2) the Secretary of State should consider strategically
employing sanctions and other tools under the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.),
including measures resulting from the designation of the
People's Republic of China as a country of particular concern
for religious freedom under section 402(b)(1)(A)(ii) of such
Act (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)(1)(A)(ii)), that directly address
particularly severe violations of religious freedom;
(3) the Secretary of State should--
(A) work with United States allies and partners and through
multilateral institutions to condemn the mass arbitrary
detention of Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of
other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region; and
(B) coordinate closely with the international community on
targeted sanctions and visa restrictions;
(4) the journalists of the Uyghur language service of Radio
Free Asia should be commended for their reporting on the
human rights and political situation in Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region despite efforts by the Government of the
People's Republic of China to silence or intimidate their
reporting through the detention of family members and
relatives in China;
(5) the United States should expand the availability of and
capacity for Uyghur language programming on Radio Free Asia
in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
(6) the Federal Bureau of Investigation and appropriate
United States law enforcement agencies should take steps to
hold accountable officials from the People's Republic of
China or individuals acting on their behalf who harass,
threaten, or intimidate persons within the United States; and
(7) United States companies and individuals selling goods
or services or otherwise operating in Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region should take steps, including in any public
or financial filings, to ensure that--
(A) their commercial activities are not contributing to
human rights violations in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
or elsewhere in China; and
(B) their supply chains are not compromised by forced
labor.
SEC. 5. UPDATING STATEMENT OF UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD THE
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
Section 901(b) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act,
Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 (Public Law 101-246; 104 Stat. 84)
is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (7), (8), and (9) as
paragraphs (8), (9), and (10), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
[[Page S2454]]
``(7) United States policy toward the People's Republic of
China should be explicitly linked to the situation in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, specifically as to
whether--
``(A) the internment of Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz,
and members of other Muslim minority groups in internment
camps has ended;
``(B) all political prisoners are released;
``(C) the use of mass surveillance and predictive policing
to discriminate against and violate the human rights of
members of specific ethnic groups has ceased and is not
evident in other parts of China; and
``(D) the Government of the People's Republic of China has
ended particularly severe restrictions of religious and
cultural practice in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;''.
SEC. 6. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.
(a) Report Required.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than
annually thereafter, the President shall submit a report to
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the
Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Financial Services of
the House of Representatives that identifies each foreign
person, including any official of the Government of the
People's Republic of China, that the President determines is
responsible for any of the following with respect to Uyghurs,
ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, members of other Muslim minority
groups, or other persons in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region:
(A) Torture.
(B) Cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
(C) Prolonged detention without charges and trial.
(D) Causing the disappearance of persons by the abduction
and clandestine detention of those persons.
(E) Other flagrant denial of the right to life, liberty, or
the security of persons.
(2) Form.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified
annex.
(b) Imposition of Sanctions.--The President shall impose
the sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to
each foreign person identified in the report required under
subsection (a)(1).
(c) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this
subsection are the following:
(1) Asset blocking.--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.) to the
extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in
property and interests in property of a foreign person
identified in the report required under subsection (a)(1) if
such property and interests in property--
(A) are in the United States;
(B) come within the United States; or
(C) come within the possession or control of a United
States person.
(2) Ineligibility for visas, admission, or parole.--
(A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien described in
subsection (a)(1) 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 visas revoked.--
(i) In general.--An alien described in subsection (a)(1) is
subject to revocation of any visa or other entry
documentation regardless of when the visa or other entry
documentation is or was issued.
(ii) Immediate effect.--A revocation under clause (i)
shall--
(I) take effect immediately; and
(II) cancel any other valid visa or entry documentation
that is in the alien's possession.
(3) Penalties.--The penalties provided for in subsections
(b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a foreign
person that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to
violate, or causes a violation of paragraph (1) to the same
extent that such penalties apply to a person that commits an
unlawful act described in subsection (a) of such section 206.
(d) 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.
(e) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of
sanctions under this section with respect to a person
identified in the report required under subsection (a)(1) if
the President determines and certifies to the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the
Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives that such a waiver is in the national
interest of the United States.
(f) Exceptions.--
(1) Exception for intelligence activities.--Sanctions under
this section shall not apply to any activity subject to the
reporting requirements under title V of the National Security
Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) or any authorized
intelligence activities of the United States.
(2) Exception to comply with international obligations and
for law enforcement activities.--Sanctions under subsection
(c)(2) shall not apply with respect to an alien if admitting
or paroling the alien into the United States is necessary--
(A) 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; or
(B) to carry out or assist law enforcement activity in the
United States.
(3) Exception relating to importation of goods.--
(A) In general.--The authorities and requirements to impose
sanctions authorized under this section shall not include the
authority or a requirement to impose sanctions on the
importation of goods.
(B) Good defined.--In this paragraph, the term ``good''
means any article, natural or manmade substance, material,
supply, or manufactured product, including inspection and
test equipment, and excluding technical data.
(g) Termination of Sanctions.--The President may terminate
the application of sanctions under this section with respect
to a person if the President determines and reports to the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee
on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives,
and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of
Representatives not later than 15 days before the termination
takes effect that--
(1) information exists that the person did not engage in
the activity for which sanctions were imposed;
(2) the person has been prosecuted appropriately for the
activity for which sanctions were imposed;
(3) the person has credibly demonstrated a significant
change in behavior, has paid an appropriate consequence for
the activity for which sanctions were imposed, and has
credibly committed to not engage in an activity described in
subsection (a)(1) in the future; or
(4) the termination of the sanctions is in the national
security interests of the United States.
(h) Sunset.--This section, and any sanctions imposed under
this section, shall terminate on the date that is 5 years
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(i) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Admission; admitted; alien.--The terms ``admission'',
``admitted'', and ``alien'' have the meanings given those
terms in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1101).
(2) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a
person that is not a United States person.
(3) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted
for permanent residence to the United States; or
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States
or any jurisdiction within the United States, including a
foreign branch of such an entity.
SEC. 7. REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN XINJIANG UYGHUR
AUTONOMOUS REGION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the heads of other relevant Federal
departments and agencies and civil society organizations,
shall--
(1) submit a report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region to the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs
of the House of Representatives; and
(2) make the report described in paragraph (1) available on
the website of the Department of State.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required under
subsection (a) shall include--
(1) an assessment of the number of individuals detained in
internment camps in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
(2) a description of the conditions in such camps for
detainees, including, to the extent practicable, an
assessment of--
(A) methods of torture;
(B) efforts to force individuals to renounce their faith;
and
(C) other serious human rights abuses;
(3) to the extent practicable, an assessment of the number
of individuals in the region in forced labor camps;
(4) a description of the methods used by People's Republic
of China authorities to ``reeducate'' detainees in internment
camps, including a list of government agencies of the
People's Republic of China in charge of such reeducation;
(5) an assessment of the use and nature of forced labor in
and related to the detention of Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region, including a description of foreign
companies and industries directly benefitting from such
labor;
(6) an assessment of the level of access to Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region granted by the Government of the People's
Republic of China to foreign diplomats and consular agents,
independent journalists, and
[[Page S2455]]
representatives of nongovernmental organizations;
(7) an assessment of the mass surveillance, predictive
policing, and other methods used by the Government of the
People's Republic of China to violate the human rights of
persons in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
(8) a description of the frequency with which foreign
governments are forcibly returning Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs,
Kyrgyz, and other refugees and asylum seekers to the People's
Republic of China;
(9) a description, as appropriate, of United States
diplomatic efforts with allies and other nations--
(A) to address the gross violations of human rights in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; and
(B) to protect asylum seekers from the region; and
(10) the identification of the offices within the
Department of State that are responsible for leading and
coordinating the diplomatic efforts referred to in paragraph
(9).
SEC. 8. REPORT ON PROTECTING CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS OF THE
UNITED STATES FROM INTIMIDATION AND COERCION.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, in consultation with the Secretary of State,
shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations
of the Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate,
the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives,
the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives, and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives that outlines
all of the efforts to protect United States citizens and
residents, including ethnic Uyghurs and Chinese nationals
legally studying or working temporarily in the United States,
who have experienced harassment or intimidation within the
United States by officials or agents of the Government of the
People's Republic of China.
SEC. 9. REPORT ON SECURITY AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF
REPRESSION IN XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION
BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF
CHINA.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Director of National
Intelligence, in coordination with the Secretary of State,
shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations
of the Senate, the Select Committee on Intelligence of the
Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives, and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives on the matters
described in subsection (b).
(b) Matters to Be Included.-- The report required under
subsection (a) shall include--
(1) an assessment of the national and regional security
threats posed to the United States by the policies of the
Government of the People's Republic of China in Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region;
(2) a description of--
(A) the acquisition or development of technology by the
Government of the People's Republic of China to facilitate
internment and mass surveillance in Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region, including technology related to predictive
policing and large-scale data collection and analysis; and
(B) the threats that the acquisition, development, and use
of such technologies pose to the United States;
(3) a list of Chinese companies that are involved in--
(A) constructing or operating the internment camps in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; or
(B) providing or operating mass surveillance technology in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; and
(4) a description of the role of the Xinjiang Production
and Construction Corps in internment and forced labor in
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
(c) Form of Report.--The report required under subsection
(a) shall be submitted in an unclassified form, but may
contain a classified annex.
SEC. 10. CLASSIFIED REPORT.
The Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with
such elements of the Intelligence Community as the Director
deems appropriate, shall submit a classified report to the
Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and the
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of
Representatives that assesses the ability of the United
States Government to collect and analyze intelligence
regarding--
(1) the scope and scale of the detention and forced labor
of Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other
Muslim minority groups in the People's Republic of China;
(2) the gross violations of human rights perpetrated inside
the internment camps in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
and
(3) other policies of the Government of the People's
Republic of China in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region that
constitute gross violations of human rights.
______
By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. Cornyn, and Ms. Harris):
S. 3746. A bill to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include
certain employment as a health care practitioner as eligible for public
service loan forgiveness, and for other purposes; to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about an issue of
critical importance to California: doctor shortages.
First, I want to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude to the
entire medical community, particularly the doctors, nurses, and support
staff who have been on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.
Amidst a severe shortage of protective equipment, they nevertheless
continue to work around the clock to save countless lives. I--and my
colleagues--are eternally grateful to you.
I have heard from countless Californians who have said the same
thing: we need more doctors.
That is why Congress established the Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Program in 2007 to encourage doctors to pursue careers at public and
nonprofit facilities, especially in areas experiencing physician
shortages. As a result, physicians who provide care in a nonprofit or
public hospital can have their student debt forgiven by the Public
Service Loan Forgiveness Program after making 120 qualifying monthly
payments under a qualifying repayment plan.
However, when the Department of Education issued implementing
guidance for the program, it unintentionally excluded California and
Texas physicians from being eligible to receive loan forgiveness. Under
state law in California and Texas, doctors are prevented from being
directly employed by corporations, including nonprofit organizations.
As a result, physicians in California and Texas who provide medical
services at nonprofit hospitals do not qualify for the Public Service
Loan Forgiveness program.
To make matters worse, the United States is facing a shortage of
physicians. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges,
our Nation can expect a shortage of up to nearly 122,000 physicians by
2032 as demand for physicians continues to grow. California alone will
need an additional 10,000 primary care doctors.
During this difficult and challenging time, it is clear that more
medical professionals are needed. And long after this pandemic ends, we
will still need more doctors to provide high-quality care, in both
rural and urban areas.
That is why I am pleased to introduce the bipartisan ``Stopping
Doctor Shortages Act.'' This legislation would help attract more
doctors to public service and address the looming physician shortage by
fixing a loophole that prevents thousands of doctors from participating
in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
According to the California Medical Association, this bill alone
could bring as many as 10,000 physicians to California over the next
ten years.
Similar legislation, introduced in the House by Representatives Josh
Harder, Paul Cook, Joaquin Castro, Dan Crenshaw, and Karen Bass, also
enjoys bipartisan support.
I would like to thank Senators John Cornyn and Kamala Harris for
their support on this critical issue and for cosponsoring the bill.
I ask my colleagues to join us to right a wrong and pass the
``Stopping Doctor Shortages Act'' in a timely manner as we continue to
find ways to combat the coronavirus pandemic and save lives.
Thank you, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
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