[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 196 (Wednesday, November 18, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H5913-H5915]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AMERICAN VALUES AND SECURITY IN INTERNATIONAL ATHLETICS ACT
Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 8405) to direct the Department of State to ensure persons
representing the United States in international athletic competitions
in certain countries are appropriately informed, and for other
purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 8405
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 ``American Values and Security
in International Athletics Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In 2017, the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
revised its Host City Contract to require host countries to
``protect and respect human rights and ensure any violation
of human rights is remedied in a manner consistent with
international agreements, laws, and regulations applicable in
the Host Country and in a manner consistent with all
internationally recognised human rights standards and
principles, including the United Nations Guiding Principles
on Business and Human Rights, applicable in the Host
Country''.
(2) The Olympic Charter states the goal of Olympism is ``to
place sport at the service of the harmonious development of
humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society
concerned with the preservation of human dignity''.
(3) The IOC set up an advisory committee on human rights in
December 2018, and IOC President Thomas Bach said,
``Promoting humanistic values in sport has been a core
feature of the IOC since its beginning. Our mission, to put
sport at the service of humanity, goes hand-in-hand with
human rights, which is part of our DNA.''.
(4) In the report, ``The Cybersecurity of Olympic Sports:
New Opportunities, New Risks'', the UC Berkley Center for
Long-Term Cybersecurity listed the ``hacking and release of
sensitive athletic data'' as one of the four significant
categories of cyberattacks on major sporting events.
(5) According to the State Department's 2019 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices, the People's Republic of
China's Ministry of Public Security employs ``tens of
millions of surveillance cameras'' to monitor the general
public, as well as ``political dissidents, religious leaders
and adherents, Tibetans, and Uyghurs''.
(6) The People's Republic of China (PRC) Government's
extensive use of artificial intelligence surveillance
technology, including facial and voice pattern recognition
technology, poses grave humanitarian, privacy, and security
concerns. PRC authorities have used surveillance technology
to monitor, control, and repress an estimated 1.8 million
Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region. PRC State media has confirmed that
``voice, image, position and behavior recognition
technologies'' will be used in the Beijing 2022 Winter
Olympics.
SEC. 3. HUMAN RIGHTS AWARENESS FOR AMERICAN ATHLETIC
DELEGATIONS.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
individuals representing the United States at international
athletic competitions in foreign countries should have the
opportunity to be informed about human rights and security
concerns in such countries and how best to safeguard their
personal security and privacy.
(b) In General.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall
devise and implement a strategy for disseminating briefing
materials, including information described in subsection (c),
to individuals representing the United States at
international athletic competitions in a covered country.
(2) Timing and form of materials.--
(A) In general.--The briefing materials referred to in
paragraph (1) shall be offered not later than 180 days prior
to the commencement of an international athletic competition
in a covered country.
(B) Form of delivery.--Briefing materials related to the
human rights record of covered countries may be delivered
electronically or disseminated in person, as appropriate.
(C) Special consideration.--Information briefing materials
related to personal security risks may be offered
electronically, in written format, by video teleconference,
or prerecorded video.
(3) Consultations.--In devising and implementing the
strategy required under paragraph (1), the Secretary of State
shall consult with the following:
(A) The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations in the
Senate, not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(B) Leading human rights nongovernmental organizations and
relevant subject-matter experts in determining the content of
the briefings required under this subsection.
(C) The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and
the national governing bodies of amateur sports that play a
role in determining which individuals represent the United
States in international
[[Page H5914]]
athletic competitions, regarding the most appropriate and
effective method to disseminate briefing materials.
(c) Content of Briefings.--The briefing materials required
under subsection (b) shall include, with respect to a covered
country hosting an international athletic competition in
which individuals may represent the United States, the
following:
(1) Information on the human rights concerns present in
such covered country, as described in the Department of
State's Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
(2) Information, as applicable, on risks such individuals
may face to their personal and digital privacy and security,
and recommended measures to safeguard against certain forms
of foreign intelligence targeting, as appropriate.
(d) Covered Country Defined.--In this section, the term
``covered country'' means, with respect to a country hosting
an international athletic competition in which individuals
representing the United States may participate, any of the
following:
(1) Any Communist country specified in subsection (f) of
section 620 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
2370(f)).
(2) Any country ranked as a Tier 3 country in the most
recent Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons
Report.
(3) Any other country the Secretary of State determines
present serious human rights concerns for the purpose of
informing such individuals.
(4) Any country the Secretary of State, in consultation
with other cabinet officials as appropriate, determines
presents a serious counterintelligence risk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Espaillat) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
General Leave
Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 8405.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, let me commend Mr. McCaul, our ranking member of the
Foreign Affairs Committee, for authoring this bill. We know that
people-to-people connections are a great way to build bridges of
friendship and understanding between countries, and that international
sports have long provided the best example for those connections.
Yet, even as we put serious differences aside to see major sporting
events go forward, we cannot ignore the fact that some governments
simply don't respect basic human rights, and may seek to violate the
privacy of our athletes by collecting information about them without
their knowledge or consent.
We think about China hosting the upcoming Winter Olympics. We will be
sending our athletes to a country where the government conducts mass
surveillance and abuses the human rights of its own citizens. Our
athletes have the right to know about their security concerns, and
about how best to keep themselves and their privacy secure.
This legislation will require the State Department to develop a
strategy to better support our athletes. We want to make sure that they
understand the security and human rights situations in the countries
where they compete and can take the best steps to protect themselves.
It is a commonsense bill, and I am glad to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for his support, and
Chairman Engel, once again. The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics were a
triumph for the China Communist Party and a significant blow for human
rights.
While the CCP aired lavish television spectacles for the world to
see, they were evicting people from their homes, arresting activists,
and harassing foreign journalists. Now, 12 years later, human rights
abuses have only escalated in China.
The CCP is currently oppressing anywhere from 1 to 3 million ethic
minorities in Xinjiang. These prison camps are described as oppressive
with harsh labor conditions, brainwashing, and even forced
sterilizations and abortions. The Department of Defense has compared
them to concentration camps.
At the same time, the CCP continues to crack down on the people of
Hong Kong for simply asking for the freedoms they were promised. And we
should never forget the role the CCP played in the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an attempt to hide the truth from the world and cover up their own
culpability in allowing what could have been a regional epidemic, they
allowed it to turn into a global pandemic. The CCP destroyed lab
samples and threatened and arrested doctors and journalists who were
simply just trying to report the truth.
However, even with all this happening, Beijing is still set to host
the 2022 Winter Olympics. Unfortunately, the International Olympic
Committee has shown their lack of concern for the CCP's escalating
human rights violations, whether it be the Uighur Muslims, the Tibetan
monks or the Christian population.
{time} 1515
They are even refusing to discuss moving the games and have refused
to use the upcoming games to simply put pressure on the CCP to stop
their attacks on human rights.
Just like they did in 2008, the CCP will try to use games, including
American athletes, to whitewash their history and improve their image.
Today, there is no structure to prepare our athletic delegations for
this threat.
That is why Chairman Engel and I introduced the American Values and
Security in International Athletics Act.
This bipartisan bill would direct the State Department to establish a
briefing program on human rights violations and personal privacy
concerns American athletes will face in countries that denigrate human
rights, like China.
So when we send our American athletes to represent us in
authoritarian countries that flagrantly abuse human rights, those
athletes deserve to know exactly what is happening. Then they can make
an informed decision about their own participation, particularly as we
prepare for the 2022 games.
Mr. Speaker, this is the 40th anniversary of the United States
boycott on the Moscow Olympics.
At that time, in support of President Carter's boycott against the
Soviet Union, famous sports journalist Howard Cosell said:
It seemed absolutely wrong to me to let the Soviet Union
use our athletes and our technology capabilities to broadcast
their perverse propaganda to every corner of the globe.
I agree with Howard Cosell.
Mr. Speaker, we need to come together again to raise awareness for
the next winter Olympics in China.
Silence is not an option. And this bipartisan bill is an important
step to ensure the United States Olympians, many of whom are icons and
adored by our children as role models, to make sure that they are
educated about where they are competing when they go abroad to China.
I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance
of my time.
Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I, again, thank Mr. McCaul for his
bipartisan leadership on this matter. I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, hosting the Olympics is an honor that indicates the host
country's legitimacy on the world stage, but unfortunately, this honor
has been handed to governments who misuse it time and again.
We cannot let the Olympic games become a tool for corrupt and malign
governments to conceal their behavior and portray themselves in a
positive light. We know that the CCP will use international
participation in the Olympics to normalize its atrocities. They have
done it once before.
At the very least, we should ensure that American athletes have the
opportunity to at least be informed and to protect themselves and their
personal privacy.
We have all traveled, as Members of Congress, across the globe to
oppressive governments. Many of us have been under surveillance in
hostile governments like Russia and China and other countries. This
bill simply allows
[[Page H5915]]
for our athletes to have the same courtesy, to be briefed in advance
about the threats that they may face while they are in the host country
at the Olympics in China.
Again, I want to thank the gentleman from New York for his support;
Chairman Engel, my dear friend, for cosponsoring the bill, along with
Representatives Sherman, Spanberger, and Phillips.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Espaillat) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 8405.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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