[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 164 (Tuesday, September 22, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H4657-H4666]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UYGHUR FORCED LABOR PREVENTION ACT
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 6210) ensuring that goods made with forced labor in
the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China
do not enter the United States market, and for other purposes, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 6210
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 ``Uyghur Forced Labor
Prevention Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, the
Government of the People's Republic of China has, since 2017,
arbitrarily detained as many as 1.8 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs,
Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minority groups in a
system of extrajudicial mass internment camps, and has
subjected detainees to forced labor, torture, political
indoctrination, and other severe human rights abuses.
(2) Forced labor exists within the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region's system of mass internment camps, and
throughout the region, and is confirmed by the testimony of
former camp detainees, satellite imagery, and official leaked
documents from the Government of the People's Republic of
China as part of a targeted campaign of repression of Muslim
ethnic minorities.
(3) In addition to reports from researchers and civil
society groups documenting evidence that many factories and
other suppliers in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are
exploiting forced labor, the Department of Commerce's Bureau
of Industry and Security on July 22, 2020, added eleven
entities to the entity list after determining the entities
had been ``implicated in human rights violations and abuses
in the implementation of China's campaign of repression, mass
arbitrary detention, forced labor and high-technology
surveillance against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other members of
Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region''.
(4) Audits and efforts to vet products and supply chains in
the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are unreliable due to
the extent forced labor has been integrated into the regional
economy, the mixing of involuntary labor with voluntary
labor, the inability of witnesses to speak freely about
working conditions given government surveillance and
coercion, and the incentive of government officials to
conceal government-sponsored forced labor.
(5) The Department of State's June 2019 Trafficking in
Persons Report found that ``Authorities offer subsidies
incentivizing Chinese companies to open factories in close
proximity to the internment camps, and local governments
receive additional funds for each inmate forced to work in
these sites at a fraction of minimum wage or without any
compensation.''.
(6) U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued eight
``Withhold Release Orders'' on certain garments, hair
products, cotton, processed cotton, and computer parts
suspected to be produced with prison or forced labor in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
(7) In its 2019 Annual Report, the Congressional-Executive
Commission on China (CECC) found that products reportedly
produced with forced labor by current and former mass
internment camp detainees included textiles, electronics,
food products, shoes, tea, and handicrafts.
(8) Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307)
states that it is illegal to import into the United States
``goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or
manufactured wholly or in part'' by forced labor. Such
merchandise is subject to exclusion or seizure and may lead
to criminal investigation of the importer.
(9) The policies of the Government of the People's Republic
of China are in contravention of international human rights
instruments signed by that government, including--
[[Page H4658]]
(A) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which
the People's Republic of China has signed but not yet
ratified;
(B) the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and
Cultural Rights, ratified by the People's Republic of China
in 2001; and
(C) the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and
Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
(Palermo Protocol), to which the People's Republic of China
has been a state party since February 2010.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to prohibit the import of all goods, wares, articles,
or merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured, wholly or in
part, by forced labor from the People's Republic of China and
particularly any such goods, wares, articles, or merchandise
produced in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China;
(2) to encourage the international community to reduce the
import of any goods made with forced labor from the People's
Republic of China, particularly those goods mined,
manufactured, or produced in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region;
(3) to coordinate with Mexico and Canada to effectively
implement Article 23.6 of the United States-Mexico-Canada
Agreement to prohibit the importation of goods produced in
whole or in part by forced or compulsory labor, which
includes goods produced in whole or in part by forced or
compulsory labor in the People's Republic of China;
(4) to actively work to prevent, publicly denounce, and end
human trafficking as a horrific assault on human dignity and
to restore the lives of those affected by human trafficking,
a modern form of slavery;
(5) to regard the prevention of atrocities as in its
national interest, including efforts to prevent torture,
enforced disappearances, severe deprivation of liberty,
including mass internment, arbitrary detention, and
widespread and systematic use of forced labor, and
persecution targeting any identifiable ethnic or religious
group; and
(6) to address gross violations of human rights in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region through bilateral
diplomatic channels and multilateral institutions where both
the United States and the People's Republic of China are
members and with all the authorities available to the United
States Government, including visa and financial sanctions,
export restrictions, and import controls.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF GOODS MADE IN THE
XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), all
goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or
manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region of China, or by persons working with the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region government for purposes of
the ``poverty alleviation'' program or the ``pairing-
assistance'' program which subsidizes the establishment of
manufacturing facilities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region, shall be deemed to be goods, wares, articles, and
merchandise described in section 307 of the Tariff Act of
1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307) and shall not be entitled to entry at
any of the ports of the United States.
(b) Exception.--The prohibition described in subsection (a)
shall not apply if the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection--
(1) determines, by clear and convincing evidence, that any
specific goods, wares, articles, or merchandise described in
subsection (a) were not produced wholly or in part by convict
labor, forced labor, or indentured labor under penal
sanctions; and
(2) submits to the appropriate congressional committees and
makes available to the public a report that contains such
determination.
(c) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the
date that is 120 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT STRATEGY TO ADDRESS FORCED LABOR IN THE
XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Forced Labor Enforcement Task
Force, established under section 741 of the United States-
Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 4681),
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a
report that contains an enforcement strategy to effectively
address forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
of China. The enforcement strategy shall describe the
specific enforcement plans of the United States Government
regarding--
(1) goods, wares, articles, and merchandise described in
section 4(a) that are imported into the United States
directly from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
(2) goods, wares, articles, and merchandise described in
section 4(a) that are imported into the United States from
the People's Republic of China and are mined, produced, or
manufactured in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
or by persons working with the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region government for purposes of the ``poverty alleviation''
program or the ``pairing-assistance'' program; and
(3) goods, wares, articles, and merchandise described in
section 4(a) that are imported into the United States from
third countries and are mined, produced, or manufactured in
part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or by persons
working with the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region government
for purposes of the ``poverty alleviation'' program or the
``pairing-assistance'' program.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The strategy required by
subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1) A description of the actions taken by the United States
Government to address forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region under section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930
(19 U.S.C. 1307), including a description of all Withhold
Release Orders issued, goods detained, and fines issued.
(2) A list of products made wholly or in part by forced or
involuntary labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
and a list of businesses that sold products in the United
States made wholly or in part by forced or involuntary labor
in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
(3) A list of facilities and entities, including the
Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, that source
material from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or by
persons working with the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
government for purposes of the ``poverty alleviation''
program or the ``pairing-assistance'' program, a plan for
identifying additional such facilities and entities, and
facility- and entity-specific enforcement plans, including
issuing specific Withhold Release Orders to support
enforcement of section 4, with regard to each listed facility
or entity.
(4) A list of high-priority sectors for enforcement, which
shall include cotton and tomatoes, and a sector-specific
enforcement plan for each high-priority sector.
(5) A description of the additional resources necessary for
U.S. Customs and Border Protection to effectively implement
the enforcement strategy.
(6) A plan to coordinate and collaborate with appropriate
nongovernmental organizations and private sector entities to
discuss the enforcement strategy for products made in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
(c) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified
annex, if necessary.
(d) Updates.--The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force shall
provide briefings to the appropriate congressional committees
on a quarterly basis and, as applicable, on any updates to
the strategy required by subsection (a) or any additional
actions taken to address forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region, including actions described in this Act.
(e) Sunset.--This section shall cease to have effect on the
earlier of--
(1) the date that is 8 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act; or
(2) the date on which the President submits to the
appropriate congressional committees a determination that the
Government of the People's Republic of China has ended mass
internment, forced labor, and any other gross violations of
human rights experienced by Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and
members of other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region.
SEC. 6. DETERMINATION RELATING TO CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY OR
GENOCIDE IN THE XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS
REGION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall--
(1) determine if the practice of forced labor or other
crimes against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other
Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region of China can be considered systematic and widespread
and therefore constitutes crimes against humanity or
constitutes genocide as defined in subsection (a) of section
1091 of title 18, United States Code; and
(2) submit to the appropriate congressional committees and
make available to the public a report that contains such
determination.
(b) Form.--The report required by subsection (a)--
(1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include
a classified annex, if necessary; and
(2) may be included in the report required by section 7.
SEC. 7. DIPLOMATIC STRATEGY TO ADDRESS FORCED LABOR IN THE
XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in
coordination with the heads of other appropriate Federal
departments and agencies, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that contains a United
States strategy to promote initiatives to enhance
international awareness of and to address forced labor in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The strategy required by
subsection (a) shall include--
(1) a plan to enhance bilateral and multilateral
coordination, including sustained engagement with the
governments of United States partners and allies, to end
forced labor of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of
other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region;
(2) public affairs, public diplomacy, and counter-messaging
efforts to promote awareness of the human rights situation,
including forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region; and
[[Page H4659]]
(3) opportunities to coordinate and collaborate with
appropriate nongovernmental organizations and private sector
entities to raise awareness about forced labor made products
from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and to provide
assistance to Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other
Muslim minority groups, including those formerly detained in
mass internment camps in the region.
(c) Additional Matters To Be Included.--The report required
by subsection (a) shall also include--
(1) to the extent practicable, a list of--
(A) entities in the People's Republic of China or
affiliates of such entities that directly or indirectly use
forced or involuntary labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region; and
(B) Foreign persons that acted as agents of the entities or
affiliates of entities described in subparagraph (A) to
import goods into the United States; and
(2) a description of actions taken by the United States
Government to address forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region under existing authorities, including--
(A) the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (Public
Law 106-386; 22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.);
(B) the Ellie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act
of 2018 (Public Law 115-441; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note); and
(C) the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act
(22 U.S.C. 2656 note).
(d) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified
annex, if necessary.
(e) Updates.--The Secretary of State shall include any
updates to the strategy required by subsection (a) in the
annual Trafficking in Persons report required by section
110(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22
U.S.C. 7107(b)).
(f) Sunset.--This section shall cease to have effect the
earlier of--
(1) the date that is 8 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act; or
(2) the date on which the President submits to the
appropriate congressional committees a determination that the
Government of the People's Republic of China has ended mass
internment, forced labor, and any other gross violations of
human rights experienced by Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and
members of other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region.
SEC. 8. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS RELATING TO FORCED LABOR IN
THE XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.
(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 to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that identifies
each foreign person, including any official of the Government
of the People's Republic of China, that the President
determines--
(A) knowingly engages in, is responsible for, or
facilitates the forced labor of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and
members of other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region of China; and
(B) knowingly engages in, contributes to, assists, or
provides financial, material or technological support for
efforts to contravene United States law regarding the
importation of forced labor goods from the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region.
(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) automatically cancel any other valid visa or entry
documentation that is in the alien's possession.
(d) 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.
(2) 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.
(e) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of
sanctions under this section with respect to a foreign person
identified in the report required under subsection (a)(1) if
the President determines and certifies to the appropriate
congressional committees 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.
(g) Termination of Sanctions.--The President may terminate
the application of sanctions under this section with respect
to a foreign person if the President determines and reports
to the appropriate congressional committees not less 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 of Admission; Admitted; Alien.--In this
section, 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).
SEC. 9. DISCLOSURES TO THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
OF CERTAIN ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THE XINJIANG
UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.
(a) Policy Statement.--It is the policy of the United
States to protect American investors, through stronger
disclosure requirements, alerting them to the presence of
Chinese and other companies complicit in gross violations of
human rights in United States capital markets, including
American and foreign companies listed on United States
exchanges that enable the mass internment and population
surveillance of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Muslim
minorities and source products made with forced labor in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. Such involvements
represent clear, material risks to the share values and
corporate reputations of certain of these companies and hence
to prospective American investors, particularly given that
the United States Government has employed sanctions and
export restrictions to target individuals and entities
contributing to human rights abuses in the People's Republic
of China.
(b) Disclosure of Certain Activities Relating to the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.--
(1) In general.--Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m) is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
``(s) Disclosure of Certain Activities Relating to the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.--
``(1) In general.--Each issuer required to file an annual
or quarterly report under subsection (a) shall disclose in
that report the information required by paragraph (2) if,
during the period covered by the report, the issuer or any
affiliate of the issuer--
``(A) knowingly engaged in an activity with an entity or
the affiliate of an entity engaged in creating or providing
technology or other assistance to create mass population
surveillance systems in the Xinjiang
[[Page H4660]]
Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, including any entity
included on the Department of Commerce's `Entity List' in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
``(B) knowingly engaged in an activity with an entity or an
affiliate of an entity building and running detention
facilities for Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other members of
Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region;
``(C) knowingly engaged in an activity with an entity or an
affiliate of an entity described in section 7(c)(1) of the
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, including--
``(i) any entity engaged in the `pairing-assistance'
program which subsidizes the establishment of manufacturing
facilities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; or
``(ii) any entity for which the Department of Homeland
Security has issued a `Withhold Release Order' under section
307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307); or
``(D) knowingly conducted any transaction or had dealings
with--
``(i) any person the property and interests in property of
which were sanctioned by the Secretary of State for the
detention or abuse of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or other
members of Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region;
``(ii) any person the property and interests in property of
which are sanctioned pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human
Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note); or
``(iii) any person or entity responsible for, or complicit
in, committing atrocities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region.
``(2) Information required.--
``(A) In general.--If an issuer described under paragraph
(1) or an affiliate of the issuer has engaged in any activity
described in paragraph (1), the information required by this
paragraph is a detailed description of each such activity,
including--
``(i) the nature and extent of the activity;
``(ii) the gross revenues and net profits, if any,
attributable to the activity; and
``(iii) whether the issuer or the affiliate of the issuer
(as the case may be) intends to continue the activity.
``(B) Exception.--The requirement to disclose information
under this paragraph shall not include information on
activities of the issuer or any affiliate of the issuer
activities relating to--
``(i) the import of manufactured goods, including
electronics, food products, textiles, shoes, and teas, that
originated in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; or
``(ii) manufactured goods containing materials that
originated or are sourced in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region.
``(3) Notice of disclosures.--If an issuer reports under
paragraph (1) that the issuer or an affiliate of the issuer
has knowingly engaged in any activity described in that
paragraph, the issuer shall separately file with the
Commission, concurrently with the annual or quarterly report
under subsection (a), a notice that the disclosure of that
activity has been included in that annual or quarterly report
that identifies the issuer and contains the information
required by paragraph (2).
``(4) Public disclosure of information.--Upon receiving a
notice under paragraph (3) that an annual or quarterly report
includes a disclosure of an activity described in paragraph
(1), the Commission shall promptly--
``(A) transmit the report to--
``(i) the President;
``(ii) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee
on Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and
``(iii) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the
Senate; and
``(B) make the information provided in the disclosure and
the notice available to the public by posting the information
on the Internet website of the Commission.
``(5) Investigations.--Upon receiving a report under
paragraph (4) that includes a disclosure of an activity
described in paragraph (1), the President shall--
``(A) make a determination with respect to whether any
investigation is needed into the possible imposition of
sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights
Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 note) or section 8 of the
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act or whether criminal
investigations are warranted under statutes intended to hold
accountable individuals or entities involved in the
importation of goods produced by forced labor, including
under section 545, 1589, or 1761 of title 18, United States
Code; and
``(B) not later than 180 days after initiating any such
investigation, make a determination with respect to whether a
sanction should be imposed or criminal investigations
initiated with respect to the issuer or the affiliate of the
issuer (as the case may be).
``(6) Atrocities defined.--In this subsection, the term
`atrocities' has the meaning given the term in section 6(2)
of the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of
2018 (Public Law 115-441; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note).''.
(c) Sunset.--Section 13(s) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, as added by subsection (b), is repealed on the
earlier of--
(1) the date that is 8 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act; or
(2) the date on which the President submits to the
appropriate congressional committees a determination that the
Government of the People's Republic of China has ended mass
internment, forced labor, and any other gross violations of
human rights experienced by Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and
members of other Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (b)
shall take effect with respect to reports required to be
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission after the
date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on
Financial Services, and the Committee on Ways and Means of
the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Committee on
Finance of the Senate.
(2) Atrocities.--The term ``atrocities'' has the meaning
given the term in section 6(2) of the Elie Wiesel Genocide
and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-441; 22
U.S.C. 2656 note).
(3) Crimes against humanity.--The term ``crimes against
humanity'' includes, when committed as part of a widespread
or systematic attack directed against any civilian
population, with knowledge of the attack--
(A) murder;
(B) deportation or forcible transfer of population;
(C) torture;
(D) extermination;
(E) enslavement;
(F) rape, sexual slavery, or any other form of sexual
violence of comparable severity;
(G) persecution against any identifiable group or
collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic,
cultural, religious, gender, or other grounds that are
universally recognized as impermissible under international
law; and
(H) enforced disappearance of persons.
(4) Forced labor.--The term ``forced labor'' has the
meaning given the term in section 307 of the Tariff Act of
1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307).
(5) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a
person that is not a United States person.
(6) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or
entity.
(7) Mass population surveillance system.--The term ``mass
population surveillance system'' means installation and
integration of facial recognition cameras, biometric data
collection, cell phone surveillance, and artificial
intelligence technology with the ``Sharp Eyes'' and
``Integrated Joint Operations Platform'' or other
technologies that are used by Chinese security forces for
surveillance and big-data predictive policing.
(8) 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. 11. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of
complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall
be determined by reference to the latest statement titled
``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act,
submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the
Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Castro) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro).
General Leave
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include in the Record extraneous material on H.R. 6210.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Uyghur Forced Labor
Prevention Act. The human rights atrocities the Chinese Government is
perpetuating in Xinjiang are now well-known. More than 1 million Uyghur
and Muslim ethnic minorities have been thrown in detention camps, where
they face torture, brainwashing, sexual abuse, and even forced
sterilization.
These atrocities are horrific, and the Congress has acted to hold
perpetrators of these crimes accountable by passing the Uyghur Human
Rights Policy Act. But we must not stop there.
The legislation we are considering today focuses on a specific form
of
[[Page H4661]]
abuse in Xinjiang: forced labor, an abuse of human rights which also
has grave implications for supply chains and consumers worldwide.
Importing goods made from forced labor violates U.S. law, and Americans
certainly would not want to contribute to the PRC Government's human
rights abuses by unwittingly purchasing apparel or hair products made
by a detained Uyghur.
Among other things, this legislation reaffirms U.S. policy to reduce
the number and types of goods made from forced labor, mandates reports
surrounding the U.S. Government's strategy to spread awareness of
forced labor in Xinjiang and address that challenge, and requires the
Secretary of State to determine whether the practice of forced labor in
Xinjiang constitutes crimes against humanity or even genocide.
This measure builds on what Congress has already done to hold the
Chinese Government accountable and to end the mass detention,
repression, and surveillance of minorities in Xinjiang.
I thank Chairman McGovern, Mr. Smith, and other bipartisan champions
for their consistent leadership on these issues, and I hope Congress
can, as we have before, take a strong stand against Beijing and its
crimes.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of the
bill. This is a good measure. I am pleased to support it, and I am also
pleased that it has, I believe, bipartisan support.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
House of Representatives,
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC, September 17, 2020.
Hon. Eliot Engel,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Engel: This is to advise you that the
Committee on the Judiciary has now had an opportunity to
review the provisions in H.R. 6210, the ``Uyghur Forced Labor
Prevention Act,'' that fall within our Rule X jurisdiction. I
appreciate your consulting with us on those provisions. The
Judiciary Committee has no objection to your including them
in the bill for consideration on the House floor, and to
expedite that consideration is willing to forgo action on
H.R. 6210, with the understanding that we do not thereby
waive any future jurisdictional claim over those provisions
or their subject matters.
In the event a House-Senate conference on this or similar
legislation is convened, the Judiciary Committee reserves the
right to request an appropriate number of conferees to
address any concerns with these or similar provisions that
may arise in conference.
Please place this letter into the Congressional Record
during consideration of the measure on the House floor. Thank
you for the cooperative spirit in which you have worked
regarding this matter and others between our committees.
Sincerely,
Jerrold Nadler,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC, September 17, 2020.
Hon. Jerrold Nadler,
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Nadler: I am writing to you concerning H.R.
6210, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. I appreciate
your willingness to work cooperatively on this legislation.
I acknowledge that provisions of the bill fall within the
jurisdiction of the House Committee on the Judiciary under
House Rule X, and that your Committee will forgo action on
H.R. 6210 to expedite floor consideration. I further
acknowledge that the inaction of your Committee with respect
to the bill does not waive any future jurisdictional claim
over the matters contained in the bill that fall within your
jurisdiction. I will also support the appointment of
Committee on the Judiciary conferees during any House-Senate
conference convened on this legislation.
Lastly, I will ensure that our exchange of letters is
included in the Congressional Record during floor
consideration of the bill. Thank you again for your
cooperation regarding the legislation. I look forward to
continuing to work with you as the measure moves through the
legislative process.
Sincerely,
Eliot L. Engel,
Chairman.
____
Committee on Ways and Means,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC, September 21, 2020.
Hon. Eliot L. Engel,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Engel: In recognition of the desire to
expedite consideration of H.R. 6210, the Uyghur Forced Labor
Prevention Act, the Committee on Ways and Means agrees to
waive formal consideration of the bill as to provisions that
fall within the rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways
and Means.
The Committee on Ways and Means takes this action with the
mutual understanding that we do not waive any jurisdiction
over the subject matter contained in this or similar
legislation, and the Committee will be appropriately
consulted and involved as the bill or similar legislation
moves forward so that we may address any remaining issues
within our jurisdiction. The Committee also reserves the
right to seek appointment of an appropriate number of
conferees to any House-Senate conference involving this or
similar legislation.
Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter
confirming this understanding and would ask that a copy of
our exchange of letter on this matter be included in the
Congressional Record during floor consideration of H.R. 6210.
Sincerely,
Richard E. Neal,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC, September 21, 2020.
Hon. Richard E. Neal,
Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Neal: I am writing to you concerning H.R.
6210, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. I appreciate
your willingness to work cooperatively on this legislation.
I acknowledge that provisions of the bill fall within the
jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means under House
Rule X, and that your Committee will forgo action on H.R.
6210 to expedite floor consideration. I further acknowledge
that the inaction of your Committee with respect to the bill
does not waive any future jurisdictional claim over the
matters contained in the bill that fall within your
jurisdiction. I will also support the appointment of
Committee on Ways and Means conferees during any House-Senate
conference convened on this legislation.
Lastly, I will ensure that our exchange of letters is
included in the Congressional Record during floor
consideration of the bill. Thank you again for your
cooperation regarding the legislation. I look forward to
continuing to work with you as the measure moves through the
legislative process.
Sincerely,
Eliot L. Engel,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC, September 21, 2020.
Hon. Maxine Waters,
Chairwoman, Committee on Financial Services, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairwoman Waters: I am writing to you concerning H.R.
6210, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. I appreciate
your willingness to work cooperatively on this legislation.
I acknowledge that provisions of the bill fall within the
jurisdiction of the Committee on Financial Services under
House Rule X, and that your Committee will forgo action on
H.R. 6210 to expedite floor consideration. I further
acknowledge that the inaction of your Committee with respect
to the bill does not waive any future jurisdictional claim
over the matters contained in the bill that fall within your
jurisdiction. I also acknowledge that your Committee will be
appropriately consulted and involved as this or similar
legislation moves forward, and will support the appointment
of Committee on Financial Services conferees during any
House-Senate conference convened on this legislation.
Lastly, I will ensure that our exchange of letters is
included in the Congressional Record during floor
consideration of the bill. Thank you again for your
cooperation regarding the legislation. I look forward to
continuing to work with you as the measure moves through the
legislative process.
Sincerely,
Eliot L. Engel,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Financial Services,
Washington, DC, September 22, 2020.
Hon. Eliot L. Engel,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of
Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing concerning H.R. 6210, the
``Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.'' In order to permit
H.R. 6210 to proceed expeditiously to the House Floor, I
agree to forgo formal consideration of the bill.
The Committee on Financial Services takes this action to
forego formal consideration of H.R. 6210 in light of the
mutually agreed changes to provisions within the jurisdiction
of the Committee on Financial Services. We are also doing so
based on our mutual understanding that, by foregoing formal
consideration of H.R. 6210 at this time, we do not waive any
jurisdiction over the subject matter contained in this or
similar legislation, and that our Committee will be
appropriately consulted and involved as this or similar
legislation moves forward with regard to any matters in the
Committee's jurisdiction. The Committee also reserves the
right to seek appointment of an appropriate number of
conferees to any House-Senate
[[Page H4662]]
conference involving this or similar legislation that
involves the Committee's jurisdiction and request your
support for any such request.
Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter
confirming this understanding, and I would ask that a copy of
our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the
Congressional Record during Floor consideration of H.R. 6210.
Sincerely,
Maxine Waters,
Chairman.
Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I want to start this debate with a simple truth that
we cannot afford to forget: Truly free trade cannot involve slave
labor.
Today, the Chinese Community Party is using the forced labor of the
Uyghurs and other minorities to help bankroll its cultural genocide
against those very same groups. The repression taking place right now
in Xinjiang is breathtaking in its scope and in its brutality.
It involves the detention of 1 to 3 million people in concentration
camps, Madam Speaker. It involves surveillance and attempted
brainwashing on a massive scale. It involves breaking up families and
taking children from their parents. It involves forced sterilization
and, Madam Speaker, forced abortions.
This should be a terrifying warning to the world, to China's
neighbors, and to the American people that the Chinese Communist Party
is fundamentally focused on expanding its power, its control, and its
authoritarian style of government. It views things that it does not
control, like religion, cultural identity, and the yearning of all
people for freedom, as threats that must be destroyed.
Because we have drawn the CCP into our most essential supply chains,
it can hold our national security hostage while it uses U.S. consumers
to subsidize its atrocities.
As many as one in five cotton garments globally could be tainted with
Uyghur slave labor. In July, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized
a 13-ton shipment of human hair--Madam Speaker, human hair--that
originated in Xinjiang's forced labor system. We haven't heard about
human hair since the Nazis and the concentration camps of the war that
my father fought in, World War II.
It is brazen, and it is sickening. We must refuse to be complicit,
financially or otherwise, in the CCP's crimes against the Muslim
Uyghur.
For that reason, I support this bill before us today.
I must also point out the abuses in this province are not only one
small part of the grave and growing threat that the Chinese Communist
Party poses to the interests, the values, and the security of the
United States. That threat is global and has military, economic, public
health, and philosophical aspects.
I know that many on the other side of the aisle share my concerns. I,
unfortunately, regret that, during this Congress, the majority has not
given the CCP threat even one-tenth of the time they have put into
their partisan efforts to bring down this President.
We were told that the China Task Force was going to be bipartisan,
Madam Speaker, and at the last minute, the majority pulled out. For the
past 4 months, I have served as chairman of the China Task Force. This
task force, again, was supposed to be bipartisan because I believe this
is not a Republican or Democrat issue.
Confronting the generational threat that the CCP poses should be a
bipartisan issue. It is an American issue against the greatest national
security threat to the United States of America.
I believe this failure of perspective needs to change. In our work on
the China Task Force, we have met with 125 people from both sides of
the aisle to gain better insight into our relationship and our foreign
policy, as we speak here from the Foreign Affairs Committee, how we
need to treat the Chinese Communist Party from a foreign policy
standpoint.
This, again, is an American issue, not Republican or Democrat. This
report coming out October 1 will include 400 recommendations, including
100 pieces of legislation that have bipartisan support like the bill
before us today.
So, Madam Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this
legislation. Then, once we get past this election, Madam Speaker, let
us come together on both sides and analyze objectively our foreign
policy with the Chinese Communist Party and address the bipartisan
bills that will be recommended by the task force to address the Chinese
Communist Party's malign activities throughout the world.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), who is the author of this
important bill and co-chair of the Human Rights Commission and chairman
of the Rules Committee.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my friend from Texas
(Mr. Castro) for yielding, but also for his commitment to human rights,
not only with regard to the repression that is going on in China, but
all around the world.
Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6210, the Uyghur
Forced Labor Prevention Act. I am proud to have authored this
legislation to address human rights and forced labor abuses against
Uyghur and other Muslim groups in China.
There is strong, diverse, bipartisan, and bicameral support for this
legislation, including from my colleagues on the Congressional-
Executive Commission on China. Senator Marco Rubio, Representative
Chris Smith, and Representative Tom Suozzi all helped draft this
legislation. I thank Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her longtime advocacy for
human rights in China and for her leadership in getting this bill to
the House floor. I thank Chairman Engel, as well as Ranking Member
McCaul, Chairman Neal, and Chairwoman Waters for the support of their
committees.
The Congressional-Executive Commission on China, of which I serve as
the chair, held the first congressional hearing on this topic a year
ago, followed up with a groundbreaking staff report, and then held an
expert roundtable event on this issue. We found that the evidence of
systematic and widespread forced labor in Xinjiang is astounding and
irrefutable and includes evidence from camp detainees, satellite
imagery of factories being built at internment camps, and public and
leaked Chinese Government documents. All the evidence we accumulated
led to the introduction of this bipartisan, bicameral legislation in
March 2020.
It is time for Congress to act. Over the past several years, we have
watched in horror as the Chinese Government first created and then
expanded a system of extrajudicial mass internment camps. As many as
1.8 million Uyghurs and members of other predominantly Muslim ethnic
minority groups have been arbitrarily detained in the camps and
subjected to forced labor, torture, political indoctrination, and other
severe human rights abuses.
Reports published during the past year detailed an expansive and
systematic policy of forcibly separating ethnic minority children from
their families. A Chinese Government policy document stated that nearly
half a million schoolchildren were attending boarding schools. The
forcible displacement of children is in violation of the Chinese
Government's law on the protection of minors and the U.N. Convention on
the Rights of the Child.
Investigations during the past year detailed a policy of forcibly
separating ethnic minority children from their families and the use of
forced birth control and sterilization, which may be in contravention
of the U.N. Convention on Genocide to which it is a party. The United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum had already determined that crimes
against humanity may have been committed.
In July, I joined a bipartisan letter signed by over 75 Members
calling on the Trump administration to make an official determination
as to whether atrocity crimes, including genocide and crimes against
humanity, are being committed. We have yet to hear back from the
administration.
It is time for Congress to act. We know forced labor is widespread
and systematic, and it exists both within and outside the mass
internment camps. These facts are confirmed by the testimony of former
camp detainees, satellite imagery, and official leaked documents from
the Chinese Government. We know that many U.S., international, and
Chinese companies
[[Page H4663]]
are complicit in the exploitation of forced labor and specific products
include textiles, electronics, and food products.
Audits of supply chains are simply not possible because workers
cannot speak freely and honestly about working conditions, given heavy
surveillance and intimidation.
Current U.S. law states that it is illegal to import into the United
States ``goods, wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or
manufactured wholly or in part'' by forced labor. Unfortunately,
products made with forced labor are still making their way into global
supply chains and our country.
The Trump administration has taken some actions, including sending
out a business advisory and placing withhold release orders on some
businesses and entities in China. But these piecemeal actions fall far
short of addressing a regional economic system that is built upon a
foundation of forced labor and repression.
Further, we should all be disturbed by reports that President Trump
gave a green light to President Xi by telling him that building the
camps was ``the right thing to do.'' Ending forced labor was not even
discussed as part of the ``Phase One'' trade deal.
It is time for Congress to act. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention
Act prohibits imports from Xinjiang to the U.S. by creating a
``rebuttal presumption'' that all goods produced in the region are made
with forced labor unless U.S. Customs and Border Protection certifies
by ``clear and convincing evidence'' that goods were not produced with
forced labor.
The legislation also authorizes targeted sanctions, requires
financial disclosures about involvement in the region, and requires a
State Department determination about whether crimes against humanity or
genocide are occurring.
For more than 2 years, U.S. and international companies have been
aware of forced labor throughout the Xinjiang region. It is long past
time for these companies to reassess their supply chains and find
alternatives that do not exploit labor and violate human rights.
Their failure to do so has led U.S. consumers to unwittingly purchase
goods made with forced labor. That must end.
Effective enforcement would mean that workers and farmers would no
longer have to compete against forced labor from Xinjiang. For too
long, the world has been silent while Uyghurs and other Muslim groups
suffered under severe repression.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
{time} 1215
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds
to the gentleman.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I believe the lack of any international
response for so long allowed the Chinese Government the space to impose
this extreme system of repression. But now the world has woken up.
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives is taking the strongest
action yet. I am proud to stand in solidarity with the Uyghur people
and, indeed, all the people living under the rule of the Chinese
Government, in their struggle to live freely, practice their religious
beliefs freely, and speak their own languages freely.
Madam Speaker, I look forward to the passage of this legislation,
continuing our bipartisan work together to support human rights in
China.
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are advised to not traffic the well.
Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Massachusetts
(Mr. McGovern), the chairman, for his steadfast support for human
rights across the world. The gentleman and the next speaker have been
on this issue, really, as visionary leaders, I would say, the two
strongest in the House of Representatives representing both sides of
the aisle, and I thank him for that.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on
Human Rights, who has been working on these issues along with Chairman
McGovern for decades.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend, Mr.
McCaul, the ranking member, for his leadership, for his very, very
strong and passionate statement today. I thank my good friend and
colleague, Mr. McGovern, the chairman of both the China Commission, as
well as the Lantos Commission--and I serve as cochair with him on the
Lantos Commission and as ranking member on the China Commission. And I
am very pleased to be the principal Republican cosponsor of this bill.
I see Mr. Suozzi over there, who has been a great leader as well. We
have been teaming up for years on this issue, and I thank him for his
leadership as well. And Eliot Engel, our chairman, for his work on this
as well.
Madam Speaker, at a 2018 Congressional hearing I cochaired, Mihrigul
Tursun recounted her ordeal of torture, sexual abuse, and detention in
one of China's mass internment camps in Xinjiang. She broke down
weeping, telling us that she pleaded with God to end her life. Her
Chinese jailers restrained her to a table, actually increased the
electrical currents coursing through her body, and mocked her belief in
God. She was tortured simply for being an ethnic Uyghur and a Muslim in
China.
Madam Speaker, there are millions of stories like this waiting to be
told. Nightmarish accounts of President Xi Jinping's genocide. And make
no mistake about it, this is Xi Jinping's genocide. I point out to my
colleagues that this includes the mass internment of millions. An
estimated 1.8 million victims in concentration camps, children ripped
from the warm embrace of their families, to be indoctrinated in
Communist ideology and forced to renounce their religion, their
culture, and their language.
Rape and sexual abuse of women being held in internment camps, forced
abortion and involuntary sterilization to prevent the birth of Uyghur
children, a direct violation of Article II(d) of the U.N. Genocide
Convention, which states, in part, that genocide includes imposing
measures intended to prevent births within a group. Forced labor on a
massive scale that allows Chinese companies to profit, and profit big
time, from modern-day slavery.
Chinese authorities initially denied the existence of mass internment
camps and tried to portray them as vocational training. The Chinese
Communist Party employed the big lie, censorship and economic coercion
to stifle any discussion of their crimes. However, documents obtained
by the New York Times and the International Consortium of Investigative
Journalists have exposed beyond any reasonable doubt the brutality
behind Beijing's plans to radically and coercively transform the
culture and religion of ethnic Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other Muslims in
China.
The leaked papers showed detailed plans--this is back years ago now--
of looking to intern between 1 and 3 million Uyghurs in these
concentration camps and imposing Orwellian indoctrination efforts for
those ``whose thinking has been infected.'' In other words, if you are
a Muslim, your thinking is infected.
At the same time, Beijing instituted plans to erase the influence of
Islam in all of western China--bulldozing mosques and shrines, severely
restricting religious practice, and forcing detainees in the camps to
renounce their faith.
The leaked documents also show that Xi Jinping himself directed the
crackdown, saying the Communist Party must put the ``organs of
dictatorship'' to work and show ``absolutely no mercy'' in dealing with
the Uyghurs and other Muslims.
In one speech, President Xi said: ``The weapons of the people's
democratic dictatorship, must be wielded without any hesitation or
wavering.''
In 2017, February, the documents show he told thousands of police
officers and troops standing at attention in the vast square in Urumqi
to prepare for a ``smashing, obliterating offensive.'' Secret teams
even went out--because some of the cops didn't want to do this--and
they expunged them from their ranks.
Madam Speaker, we know that goods produced with forced labor find
their way into U.S. markets. An estimated 22 percent of U.S. cotton
goods come from the region, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Agency has prohibited companies from importing
[[Page H4664]]
some textiles, electronics, and hair products. As my good friend from
Texas pointed out about the hair, the last time we talked about the
buying and selling of hair was with the Nazi concentration camps. It is
happening today in Xinjiang.
Over the past year, the Trump administration has matched strong
rhetoric condemning abuses and actions to protect U.S. national
security and punish Chinese authorities and corporations complicit in
these human rights abuses.
Since last October, the Commerce Department has placed over 40
Chinese companies and government entities on its Entity List,
restricting exports because of their complicity in human rights abuses
and enabling high-tech surveillance.
In July, the Treasury Department issued Global Magnitsky sanctions
against six senior Chinese officials; however, we want more. There are
other people that are complicit. They need to be on the list.
Treasury has also sanctioned the Xinjiang Production Construction
Corps, a paramilitary that reports directly to the CCP. This summer,
U.S. Customs and Border Protection banned eight other Chinese companies
from importing textiles, hair, and electronic parts from Xinjiang. We
welcome these steps, but more needs to be done.
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act prohibits imports from
Xinjiang to the U.S. by creating a ``rebuttable presumption.'' And that
is the core of this bill, that all goods produced in the region are
made with forced labor unless U.S. Customs and Border Protection
certifies by clear and convincing evidence that goods were not produced
with forced labor. So the rebuttable presumption is the key to this
legislation.
It also carries other provisions, important ones, but, again, that is
the most important one.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the
gentleman.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, the legislation also
authorizes targeted sanctions on any person responsible for labor
tracking; protects U.S. investors and consumers by requiring financial
disclosure from U.S. traded businesses about their engagement with
Chinese companies and other entities engaged in serious human rights
abuses; directs the Secretary of State to determine whether forced
labor or other crimes against Uyghurs constitute crimes against
humanity or genocide. I think it couldn't be clear. Read the Genocide
Convention. One item after the other articulated in that convention is
being met, sadly, by Xi Jinping's horrible genocide against his own
people.
Madam Speaker, I urge support for the bill. It is a bipartisan bill--
67 cosponsors in all. Republicans and Democrats joined saying, ``we
want this stopped.''
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Suozzi).
Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Castro for yielding. I thank
Mr. Smith for his great work on this, and Chairman Blumenauer for the
work of the Committee of Ways and Means. And I thank Chairman McGovern
as well.
Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bipartisan Uyghur
Forced Labor Prevention Act. We really need to wake people out of their
torpor. It has been reported in the newspapers often, but I don't think
most Americans realize exactly what is going on in China.
It was almost 50 years ago when Nixon first went to China. And we
always believed, as Americans, that the more they are exposed to our
way of life, our democracy, our economic system, the more they would
become like us. That simply has not happened.
We have had hearings on the China Commission. We had a hearing the
other day of the Committee on Ways and Means, and the witnesses
testified not only about forced labor, which is clear, but they talked
about crimes against humanity. They talked about forced sterilization.
They talked about forcing people to eat pork, even though it violates
their religion. They talked about prohibiting people from practicing
their faith, attending religious ceremonies, observing fasts.
It is hard to imagine that in today's world that forced labor is
happening and we know about it. We need to recognize that China has to
be held accountable. We have rules in place now that say you can't use
forced labor, but this bill is going a big step further in saying
everything that comes out of the Xinjiang region will be presumed to be
using forced labor. This is going to have a big impact. A lot of the
cotton in the world comes from China; 84 percent of that cotton from
China comes from the Xinjiang region. This will have an impact. We will
have to support other countries to produce cotton. We will have to work
to get the Northern Triangle, for example, to produce cotton so we can
try and address those issues where our friends are. But we need to hold
China and the Chinese Communist Party accountable for these violative
acts of our very conscience. We have to do everything we can do to
stand up for our values and to say this is simply unacceptable.
Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues for their support.
Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Yoho), the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific.
Mr. YOHO. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman and the leaders on the
Democrat side.
Since 2017, the CCP has systemically targeted and rounded up over a
million people comprised of Uyghurs and other East Turkic minorities
and put them in concentration camps where they were subject to inhumane
living conditions, forced cultural brainwashing, rape, and torture.
Just this week, the CCP released a white paper regarding its
detention of Uyghurs. They admitted to incarcerating up to 1.3 million
Uyghurs per year from 2014 to 2019. That is up to 8 million innocent
people in prison, brainwashed, tortured, raped, in their so-called
reeducation, which are really concentration camps. If they will admit
to that, how many more are there really that have been interned?
The Chinese State is not only complicit but responsible for activity
supporting the genocidal campaign targeting vulnerable populations
based on everything from religious beliefs, their language, their
hairstyle and even their diet. This is not even to mention the horrific
practices of forced sterilization and ``marriages'' to Han Chinese men.
Many of these people have now been forced into manufacturing jobs
under harsh conditions, which we have heard--Mr. Smith and Chairman
McCaul have pointed out--these products benefitting from forced labor
have found their ways into our supply chains through major brands and
corporations as it becomes increasingly difficult for companies to
conduct due diligence investigations in China.
Further, we must recognize that the Chinese diplomatic presence
globally is also engaged in this effort. A wealth of evidence is
available to suggest that Chinese embassies and consulates around the
world are actively seeking to force Chinese Uyghurs to return to
mainland China, often to renew their passports, only to be abducted
immediately and sent to one of the camps.
As Members of Congress, we have a moral obligation to ensure that the
state-sponsored campaign of ethnic cleansing and forced labor--
reminiscent of the concentration camps of the Nazi regime, when we
swore as a world community, ``never again''--are shut down and punished
to the full extent of U.S. and international law.
The business community of America also has a moral obligation, from
manufacturing to Hollywood, to not appease China in the name of profit.
Madam Speaker, as an original cosponsor of this bill, I support its
passage in the House and encourage its timely consideration in the
Senate.
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), our distinguished Speaker of
the House.
Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Castro) for yielding, and for bringing this important legislation to
the floor and giving us a chance to honor our values in the most
bipartisan way.
One of the saddest things of all of this is how many people are
suffering.
[[Page H4665]]
One of the joys of it is that it has enabled us to work together over
the years.
Madam Speaker, I would ask the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith)
how many years--at least, 30, working together on this subject.
Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Uyghur Forced Labor
Prevention Act and the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act, two strong
bipartisan bills to send a strong message to Beijing and to the world
that the U.S. Congress will not allow human rights to be sacrificed for
commercial interest.
As I have said many times, if America does not speak out for human
rights in China because of commercial interest, we lose all moral
authority to speak out about human rights anywhere in the world.
{time} 1230
I salute Chairman Jim McGovern, chair of the Congressional-Executive
Commission on China and chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights
Commission, a leading voice in the country and in the Congress for
human rights.
I thank Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton, one of our new freshmen, for
her early leadership and dedication she has brought to this priority.
I thank, also, Mr. Smith, and I acknowledge our working together over
the years. He is now the ranking member of the Congressional-Executive
Commission on China and co-chair of the Lantos Commission.
I salute our chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Engel,
and our leaders in the Senate, Senator Rubio and Senator Merkley.
I thank our chairman, again, for this opportunity and so many of our
Members who have spoken on this issue.
Beijing's barbarous actions targeting the Uyghur people continue to
be an outrage to the collective conscience of the world. Across the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the Uyghur people and other Muslim
majorities are brutally repressed in a pervasive state of mass
surveillance and predictive policing used to discriminate against and
violate the human rights of minorities: incidents of mass shootings,
extrajudicial killings, intimidation and suppression of journalists
courageously exposing the truth, and the mass incarceration of more
than--and this is a lower figure; I think it is higher, but it is a
conservative figure--1 million innocent people with beatings, solitary
confinement, deprivation of food and medical treatment, and extensively
documented programs of forced labor.
So if you are out there watching the Congress, know what this means
to you. The exploitation of people in China has a direct impact on our
trade policy and on our values, first and foremost.
Tragically, the products of the forced labor often end up here in
American stores and homes. In fact, roughly one in five cotton garments
sold globally contains cotton or yarn from the Xinjiang region, the
Uyghur region.
We must shine a light on the inhumane practice of forced labor, hold
the perpetrators accountable, and stop this exploitation. And we must
send a clear message to Beijing: These abuses must end now.
I remember years ago when Mr. Smith and Frank Wolf visited forced
labor--I don't know if you call them prisons or whatever--in China.
Their courage to go there was so overwhelming to the rest of us. They
were able to document what we needed to know.
Unfortunately, the challenge to the conscience that they brought to
us was not heeded by all here. We could overwhelmingly win in the House
and even in the Senate but not be able to override a veto, whether it
was a Democrat or a Republican in the White House.
But I remember how brave they were and how brave those prisoners were
to show them the evidence of the forced labor so we could make the case
to workers in America: You have been subjected to the exploitation of
workers there; that is an exploitation of workers here.
Again, we were proud, in May, to pass the Uyghur Human Rights Policy
Act, which uncovers the truth of China's abuses and ensures that those
supporting labor camps, and urges the application of targeted sanctions
against those involved in the oppression of the Uyghur people.
Today, we build on that overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation with
these two bills which, together, will ensure that goods made in the
Xinjiang region and imported to the United States are not made with
forced labor.
Congress must and will continue to speak out against Beijing's other
human rights abuses, like the decades-long abuse faced by the Tibetan
people--the Chinese are there to crush their culture, eliminate their
language, and suppress their religion; their assault on the honor of
His Holiness the Dalai Lama by saying they will choose his successor
goes beyond the pale and it is a challenge to the conscience of the
world--the Hong Kong fight for democracy and the rule of law, which
they oppress; and the jailing of journalists, human rights lawyers,
Christians, and democracy advocates on the mainland.
That is why the House is proud to have passed legislation, including
the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, the Hong Kong Autonomy
Act, and the Tibet Policy and Support Act, which we urge the Senate to
take up immediately. All of this was passed in an overwhelmingly
bipartisan way because we respect the dignity and worth of every
person.
We have always said that we cannot look the other way when this
oppression of millions of people is taking place, and we are acting
upon those values and those beliefs that we have.
In honor of the millions fighting for their dignity, safety, and
rights in China and around the world, I urge a strong bipartisan vote
for the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act and the Uyghur Forced Labor
Disclosure Act.
Madam Speaker, I thank, again, Mr. McCaul, ranking member on the
committee of jurisdiction, and everyone for their support.
Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, let me thank Speaker Pelosi. She actually
came to our committee markup of this bill. It is very rare for a
Speaker of the House to show up to a committee markup, and yet this
issue is so important to her that she honored us with her presence in
that markup. This is where we come together in the Congress, and I want
to thank you for your support, Madam Speaker.
And I thank Mr. Smith, who has been dealing for decades with this.
I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jacobs).
Mr. JACOBS. Madam Speaker, I want to first acknowledge an individual
from my district, Dr. Sean Roberts.
I grew up with Sean Roberts in Buffalo, New York. Sean is a professor
now at George Washington University. He has studied the Uyghur people
for over 30 years and recently released a book, entitled, ``The War on
the Uyghurs: China's Internal Campaign Against a Muslim Minority.'' It
is a book that has a depth of research about the atrocities against
these people for a long, long time, and I want to commend him for his
leadership.
Madam Speaker, long before China endangered the global community with
their lies and failures in response to the coronavirus, we knew of the
threats they posed, but many ignored them. We can no longer allow them
a free pass. Today, we are here to condemn yet another of China's
Communist regime's crimes, the atrocious record on human rights,
specifically, the persecution and forced labor of the Uyghur people.
The actions of the Chinese Communist regime are appalling, a threat
to freedom everywhere, and must be condemned in unwavering terms. It is
our duty as the strongest beacon of freedom in the world to shine a
light upon these atrocities, sanction those who condone it, and
eradicate such evil.
Freedom is not based on just the ideals you hold; rather, it is based
on your ability to hold those ideals without fear. I urge every one of
my colleagues to support these measures and send a resolute and strong
message to the Chinese Communist Party that we will not tolerate their
human rights violations.
No more should they be able to act as a rogue nation, a bully, and a
manipulator that disregards their own citizens' lives and puts the
entire global community in danger. Until China changes its ways, ends
the torture of the Uyghur people, and acts as a responsible global
citizen, we will not weaken our pressure. With one voice, let's condemn
the atrocities committed against the Uyghur people.
[[Page H4666]]
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Jacobs).
Mr. JACOBS. Madam Speaker, let's work towards ending our foreign
dependence on the Communist regime and hold them accountable for the
lives of every individual their lies have killed.
I look forward to working with the Senate to refine and improve this
bill and endorse the strong measures it will take to hold the Chinese
regime accountable.
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), a valued member of the
Foreign Affairs Committee.
Mr. CICILLINE. Madam Speaker, I am proud to cosponsor the Uyghur
Forced Labor Prevention Act, legislation that bans products of forced
labor by Uyghurs to the United States.
I want to acknowledge and thank Chairman McGovern, Chairman
Blumenauer, Ranking Member McCaul, Mr. Smith, and others who have led
this effort.
As members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, we work every day to
ensure that America stands up for freedom around the world, and we take
action to promote freedom in human rights around the globe. So, in that
vein, we must ensure that the exploitation of the Uyghurs and other
ethnic minorities does not continue.
Most Americans would be shocked to learn that, for years, Uyghurs
have been interned, tortured, interrogated, and brutally forced into
labor by the Chinese Government, and then products they manufacture
make their way into the U.S. market. This bill will stop these
practices.
We must pass this legislation to crack down on China's abhorrent
human rights practices. We must continue to be a force for democratic
values and human rights in our own country and around the world.
This is an example of working together in a bipartisan way to make it
clear that the United States of America will not remain silent while
these gross human rights violations continue, and we will do all that
we can to bring the attention of the world to the important practices
of the Chinese Communist Government by passing these two pieces of
legislation.
Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, last week our subcommittee held a
hearing on the Chinese Government's use of forced labor for the
production of all kinds of goods through a concerted program of
oppression and coerced assimilation of China's Uyghur population.
You have heard the horrible details that we had expressed in our
committee. We have had a long history of grappling with the depravity
of forced labor and ensuring that goods produced under such conditions
do not eventually make their way into our grocery stores and shopping
malls across the country.
We passed a law a century ago prohibiting importation of such goods.
But, unfortunately, the ban--founded on principles of morality, human
rights, worker rights, as well principles of fair competition--has, to
be charitable, a history of spotty implementation.
We don't pretend that it is going to be easy to stop this. Global
supply chains now are complex and interrelated. It is going to require
the concerted efforts of us all. But we should not allow complex supply
chains to justify the chains of oppression on the Uyghur populations
now.
I look forward to working with my colleagues in the aftermath of the
passage of this legislation, that we work to actually implement it, we
work with the expressions that have been positive from the private
sector and NGOs, and other partners, to make sure that it is real. It
is going to require concerted effort. It is going to require some
dislocation. We may even pay a dime or two more for a pair of socks or
a T-shirt.
But I do think not being complicit with this horrific oppression of
over a million--and I agree with Mr. Smith, it may well be more than
that. It is time for us to make sure that we take a stand. Make it
real.
I deeply appreciate the sentiment on both sides of the aisle that we
are committed to stop it now. In an era of, shall we say, a little
conflict, this could be a bright spot for us going forward.
Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, in recent years, the world has stood by idly as the
Chinese Communist Party rounded up more than a million--probably a lot
more than that--ethnic minorities into concentration camps where they
are tortured, brainwashed, and forced into labor. This is all part of a
deliberate program by the CCP to wipe out their ethnic identity, their
religion, their culture, anything that might compete with the Communist
Party for their loyalties and affection.
We have a moral duty today to speak out against these horrifying
crimes against humanity and against the Uyghurs and, as the Speaker
mentioned, against the Tibetans and Christians as well, who are
persecuted in the Chinese Communist regime.
But we have an even greater duty to avoid funding this genocide by
paying for slave labor in Xinjiang. There can no longer be business as
usual with China.
Madam Speaker, the world is watching. I urge my colleagues to vote
``yes.''
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
{time} 1245
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume for the purposes of closing.
Madam Speaker, this is a matter of whether the United States, as it
has for generations, will remain a north star around the world when it
comes to things like freedom, human rights, democracy, and rooting out
corruption.
This is an issue of human rights. Millions of people are being
subjugated right now by the Chinese Government. And despite
international contamination, atrocities continue in Xinjiang, and China
shows no signs of changing course, including recently releasing a white
paper defending these ``vocational training centers.''
The United States should use its unique position in the global
trading system to advance workers' rights and the freedom and dignity
of all people, and to signal other like-minded countries to act
accordingly.
I am very pleased to support this measure. I am glad that it has
strong bipartisan support, and I urge all the Members to do the same.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Castro) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 6210, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and
nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution
965, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion
are postponed.
____________________