[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 171 (Thursday, October 1, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E909]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               UYGHUR FORCED LABOR DISCLOSURE ACT OF 2020

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 30, 2020

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor and a senior member of 
the Committees on the Judiciary and Homeland Security, I rise in strong 
support of H.R. 6270, the ``Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act of 
2020'', which directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue 
rules requiring U.S. publicly traded companies to disclose imports of 
manufactured goods and materials that originate in or are sourced in 
part from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) on an annual 
basis.
  With this bill, companies would also be required to disclose that the 
goods and materials did not originate from forced labor as well as 
describe the nature and extent of commercial activity related to the 
products.
  Furthermore, companies must also provide the gross revenue and net 
profits attributable to the good.
  The legislation also stipulates that companies must say whether they 
intend to continue importing from that entity.
  H.R. 6270 ensures that both the SEC and GAO would be required to 
report to Congress on compliance, oversight, and effectiveness.
  For years, the Chinese government has engaged in a systematic 
campaign of repression targeting Uyghurs and other Muslim groups.
  Chinese authorities have used the pretext of terrorism to suspend the 
Uyghurs' civil and political rights and pursue the internment of 
Uyghurs in ``educational training centers'' where they are forbidden 
from practicing their religious and cultural beliefs.
  These same education centers are forced labor camps.
  According to the BBC, approximately one million Uyghurs have been 
detained without trial, forced into mass internment camps, and 
subjected to forced labor, torture, political indoctrination, forced 
renunciations of faith, and other severe human rights abuses.
  The U.S. Holocaust Museum's Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of 
Genocide recently determined that there is reasonable basis to believe 
crimes against humanity are being committed in the XUAR.
  Furthermore, satellite imagery, leaked official documents from the 
Chinese government, and the testimony of camp survivors have confirmed 
a widespread and pervasive forced labor system that exists inside the 
mass internment camps.
  This is a systematic, widespread, and shocking violation of basic 
human rights for which the Government of China must be held 
accountable.
  The United States cannot and should not sit idly by while these gross 
injustices are happening.
  According to numerous reports, forced labor by the Uyghur detainees 
in labor camps and factories feed into the supply chains of more than 
80 well-known global brands.
  In its 2019 Annual Report, the Congressional-Executive Commission on 
China found that goods produced with forced labor included textiles, 
electronics, food products, shoes, tea, and handicrafts.
  Mr. Speaker, companies have a moral duty to ensure the goods they 
purchase are made using free workers who are paid a fair wage, and the 
transparency measures in this bill are key to ending the persistence of 
modern-day slavery in supply chains.
  Importing products made wholly or in part from forced or prison labor 
is not only against U.S. law but also international human rights 
standards.
  However, audits and due diligence efforts to ensure clean supply 
chains are nearly impossible due to government surveillance and the 
pervasiveness of forced labor in the regional economy.
  Time and time again, the United States has been the beacon of freedom 
in the world and a fierce defender of human rights.
  Today, we, as Members of Congress, have a duty to continue that 
legacy by condemning the heinous human rights violations against the 
Uyghur people in the XUAR.
  By passing H.R. 6270, our actions send a message to China that 
Congress not only stands in solidarity with the Uyghur people but also 
that we will always speak up for the vulnerable and the voiceless 
whether that is in the Xinjiang region of China or anywhere else in the 
world.
  Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank Congresswoman Wexton for 
introducing this vital piece of legislation, and I am proud to do my 
part in leading this bill through the House.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in voting 
for H.R. 6270.

                          ____________________