[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 215 (Tuesday, December 14, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H7804-H7808]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   UYGHUR FORCED LABOR PREVENTION ACT

  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 6256) to ensure 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.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6256

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

       It is the policy of the United States--
       (1) to strengthen the prohibition against the importation 
     of goods made with forced labor, including by ensuring that 
     the Government of the People's Republic of China does not 
     undermine the effective enforcement of section 307 of the 
     Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307), which prohibits the 
     importation of all ``goods, wares, articles, and merchandise 
     mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part in any 
     foreign country by ... forced labor'';
       (2) to lead the international community in ending forced 
     labor practices wherever such practices occur through all 
     means available to the United States Government, including by 
     stopping the importation of any goods made with forced labor, 
     including those goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly 
     or in part 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, including 
     those goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in 
     part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
       (4) to actively work to prevent, publicly denounce, and end 
     human trafficking including with respect to forced labor, 
     whether sponsored by the government of a foreign country or 
     not, and to restore the lives of those affected by human 
     trafficking, a modern form of slavery;
       (5) to regard the prevention of atrocities as it is in the 
     national interest of the United States, 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
       (A) through bilateral diplomatic channels and multilateral 
     institutions where both the United States and the People's 
     Republic of China are members; and
       (B) using all the authorities available to the United 
     States Government, including visa and financial sanctions, 
     export restrictions, and import controls.

     SEC. 2. STRATEGY TO ENFORCE PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF 
                   GOODS MADE THROUGH FORCED LABOR IN THE XINJIANG 
                   UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.

       (a) Public Comment.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 30 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 publish in the Federal Register a notice soliciting 
     public comments on how best to ensure that goods mined, 
     produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor 
     in the People's Republic of China, including by Uyghurs, 
     Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, and members of other persecuted 
     groups in the People's Republic of China, and especially in 
     the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, are not imported into 
     the United States.
       (2) Period for comment.--The Forced Labor Enforcement Task 
     Force shall provide the public with not less than 45 days to 
     submit comments in response to the notice required by 
     paragraph (1).
       (b) Public Hearing.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 45 days after the close of 
     the period to submit comments under subsection (a)(2), the 
     Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force shall conduct a public 
     hearing inviting witnesses to testify with respect to the use 
     of forced labor in the People's Republic of China and 
     potential measures, including the measures described in 
     paragraph (2), to prevent the importation of goods mined, 
     produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor 
     in the People's Republic of China into the United States.
       (2) Measures described.--The measures described in this 
     paragraph are--
       (A) measures that can be taken to trace the origin of 
     goods, offer greater supply chain transparency, and identify 
     third country supply chain routes for goods mined, produced, 
     or manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor in the 
     People's Republic of China; and
       (B) other measures for ensuring that goods mined, produced, 
     or manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor do not 
     enter the United States.
       (c) Development of Strategy.--After receiving public 
     comments under subsection (a) and holding the hearing 
     required by subsection (b), the Forced Labor Enforcement Task 
     Force, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the 
     Director of National Intelligence, shall develop a strategy 
     for supporting enforcement of Section 307 of the Tariff Act 
     of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307) to prevent the importation into the 
     United States of goods mined, produced, or manufactured 
     wholly or in part with forced labor in the People's Republic 
     of China.
       (d) Elements.--The strategy developed under subsection (c) 
     shall include the following:
       (1) A comprehensive assessment of the risk of importing 
     goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with 
     forced labor in the People's Republic of China, including 
     from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or made by 
     Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, or members of other 
     persecuted groups in any other part of the People's Republic 
     of China, that identifies, to the extent feasible--
       (A) threats, including through the potential involvement in 
     supply chains of entities that may use forced labor, that 
     could lead to the importation into the United States from the 
     People's Republic of China, including through third 
     countries, of goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly 
     or in part with forced labor; and
       (B) what procedures can be implemented or improved to 
     reduce such threats.
       (2) A comprehensive description and evaluation--
       (A) of ``pairing assistance'' and ``poverty alleviation'' 
     or any other government labor scheme that includes the forced 
     labor of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, or members of 
     other persecuted groups outside of the Xinjiang Uyghur 
     Autonomous Region or similar programs of the People's 
     Republic of China in which work or services are extracted 
     from Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, or members of other 
     persecuted groups through the threat of penalty or for which 
     the Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, or members of other 
     persecuted groups have not offered themselves voluntarily; 
     and

[[Page H7805]]

       (B) that includes--
       (i) a list of entities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous 
     Region that mine, produce, or manufacture wholly or in part 
     any goods, wares, articles and merchandise with forced labor;
       (ii) a list of entities working with the government of the 
     Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to recruit, transport, 
     transfer, harbor or receive forced labor or Uyghurs, Kazakhs, 
     Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of the 
     Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;
       (iii) a list of products mined, produced, or manufactured 
     wholly or in part by entities on the list required by clause 
     (i) or (ii);
       (iv) a list of entities that exported products described in 
     clause (iii) from the People's Republic of China into the 
     United States;
       (v) a list of facilities and entities, including the 
     Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, that source 
     material from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or from 
     persons working with the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur 
     Autonomous Region or the Xinjiang Production and Construction 
     Corps for purposes of the ``poverty alleviation'' program or 
     the ``pairing-assistance'' program or any other government 
     labor scheme that uses forced labor;
       (vi) a plan for identifying additional facilities and 
     entities described in clause (v);
       (vii) an enforcement plan for each such entity whose goods, 
     wares articles, or merchandise are exported into the United 
     States, which may include issuing withhold release orders to 
     support enforcement of section 4 with respect to the entity;
       (viii) a list of high-priority sectors for enforcement, 
     which shall include cotton, tomatoes, and polysilicon; and
       (ix) an enforcement plan for each such high-priority 
     sector.
       (3) Recommendations for efforts, initiatives, and tools and 
     technologies to be adopted to ensure that U.S. Customs and 
     Border Protection can accurately identify and trace goods 
     made in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region entering at any 
     of the ports of the United States.
       (4) A description of how U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
     plans to enhance its use of legal authorities and other tools 
     to ensure that no goods are entered at any of the ports of 
     the United States in violation of section 307 of the Tariff 
     Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307), including through the 
     initiation of pilot programs to test the viability of 
     technologies to assist in the examination of such goods.
       (5) A description of the additional resources necessary for 
     U.S. Customs and Border Protection to ensure that no goods 
     are entered at any of the ports of the United States in 
     violation of section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 
     1307).
       (6) Guidance to importers with respect to--
       (A) due diligence, effective supply chain tracing, and 
     supply chain management measures to ensure that such 
     importers do not import any goods mined, produced, or 
     manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor from the 
     People's Republic of China, especially from the Xinjiang 
     Uyghur Autonomous Region;
       (B) the type, nature, and extent of evidence that 
     demonstrates that goods originating in the People's Republic 
     of China were not mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or 
     in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; and
       (C) the type, nature, and extent of evidence that 
     demonstrates that goods originating in the People's Republic 
     of China, including goods detained or seized pursuant to 
     section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307), were 
     not mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part with 
     forced labor.
       (7) A plan to coordinate and collaborate with appropriate 
     nongovernmental organizations and private sector entities to 
     implement and update the strategy developed under subsection 
     (c).
       (e) Submission of Strategy.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
     Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force, in consultation with the 
     Department of Commerce and the Director of National 
     Intelligence, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
     committees a report that--
       (A) in the case of the first such report, sets forth the 
     strategy developed under subsection (c); and
       (B) in the case of any subsequent such report, sets forth 
     any updates to the strategy.
       (2) Updates of certain matters.--Not less frequently than 
     annually after the submission under paragraph (1)(A) of the 
     strategy developed under subsection (c), the Forced Labor 
     Enforcement Task Force shall submit to the appropriate 
     congressional committees updates to the strategy with respect 
     to the matters described in clauses (i) through (ix) of 
     subsection (d)(2)(B).
       (3) Form of report.--Each report required by paragraph (1) 
     shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a 
     classified annex, if necessary.
       (4) Public availability.--The unclassified portion of each 
     report required by paragraph (1) shall be made available to 
     the public.
       (f) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
     construed to limit the application of regulations in effect 
     on or measures taken before the date of the enactment of this 
     Act to prevent the importation of goods mined, produced, or 
     manufactured wholly or in part with forced labor into the 
     United States, including withhold release orders issued 
     before such date of enactment.

     SEC. 3. REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION THAT IMPORT PROHIBITION 
                   APPLIES TO GOODS MINED, PRODUCED, OR 
                   MANUFACTURED IN THE XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS 
                   REGION OR BY CERTAIN ENTITIES.

       (a) In General.--The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 
     Border Protection shall, except as provided by subsection 
     (b), apply a presumption that, with respect to any goods, 
     wares, articles, and merchandise mined, produced, or 
     manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur 
     Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China or 
     produced by an entity on a list required by clause (i), (ii), 
     (iv) or (v) of section 2(d)(2)(B)--
       (1) the importation of such goods, wares, articles, and 
     merchandise is prohibited under section 307 of the Tariff Act 
     of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307); and
       (2) such goods, wares, articles, and merchandise are not 
     entitled to entry at any of the ports of the United States.
       (b) Exceptions.--The Commissioner shall apply the 
     presumption under subsection (a) unless the Commissioner 
     determines--
       (1) that the importer of record has--
       (A) fully complied with the guidance described in section 
     2(d)(6) and any regulations issued to implement that 
     guidance; and
       (B) completely and substantively responded to all inquiries 
     for information submitted by the Commissioner to ascertain 
     whether the goods were mined, produced, or manufactured 
     wholly or in part with forced labor; and
       (2) by clear and convincing evidence, that the good, ware, 
     article, or merchandise was not mined, produced, or 
     manufactured wholly or in part by forced labor.
       (c) Report Required.--The Commissioner shall submit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees and make available to 
     the public, not later than 30 days after making a 
     determination of an exception under subsection (b), a report 
     identifying the good and the evidence considered under 
     subsection (b).
       (d) Regulations.--The Commissioner may prescribe 
     regulations--
       (1) to implement paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b); 
     or
       (2) to amend any other regulations relating to withhold 
     release orders in order to implement this section.
       (e) Effective Date.--This section takes effect on the date 
     that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

     SEC. 4. 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 the People's Republic 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, Tibetans, and 
     members of other persecuted groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur 
     Autonomous Region;
       (2) a description of 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
       (3) a plan--
       (A) to coordinate and collaborate with appropriate 
     nongovernmental organizations and private sector entities to 
     raise awareness about goods mined, produced, or manufactured 
     wholly or in part with forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur 
     Autonomous Region; and
       (B) to provide humanitarian assistance, including with 
     respect to resettlement and advocacy for imprisoned family 
     members, to Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Tibetans, and members 
     of other persecuted groups, including members of such groups 
     formerly detained in mass internment camps in the Xinjiang 
     Uyghur Autonomous Region
       (c) Additional Matters to Be Included.--The Secretary shall 
     include in the report required by subsection (a), based on 
     consultations with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary 
     of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of the Treasury, the 
     following--
       (1) to the extent practicable, a list of--
       (A) entities in the People's Republic of China or 
     affiliates of such entities that use or benefit from forced 
     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.
       (2) A plan for working with private sector entities seeking 
     to conduct supply chain due diligence to prevent the 
     importation of goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly 
     or in part with forced labor into the United States.
       (3) A plan 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 Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act 
     of 2018 (Public Law 115-441; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note); and

[[Page H7806]]

       (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 may 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)).

     SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS RELATING TO FORCED LABOR IN 
                   THE XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.

       (a) In General.--Section 6(a)(1) of the Uyghur Human Rights 
     Policy Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-145; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(F) Serious human rights abuses in connection with forced 
     labor.''.
       (b) Effective Date; Applicability.--The amendment made by 
     subsection (a)--
       (1) takes effect on the date of the enactment of this Act; 
     and
       (2) applies with respect to the first report required by 
     section 6(a)(1) of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 
     submitted after such date of enactment.
       (c) Transition Rule.--
       (1) Interim report.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to 
     the committees specified in section 6(a)(1) of the Uyghur 
     Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 a report that identifies each 
     foreign person, including any official of the Government of 
     the People's Republic of China, that the President determines 
     is responsible for serious human rights abuses in connection 
     with forced labor with respect to Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, 
     or members of other persecuted groups, or other persons in 
     the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
       (2) Imposition of sanctions.--The President shall impose 
     sanctions under subsection (c) of section 6 of the Uyghur 
     Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 with respect to each foreign 
     person identified in the report required by paragraph (1), 
     subject to the provisions of subsections (d), (e), (f), and 
     (g) of that section.

     SEC. 6. SUNSET.

       Sections 3, 4, and 5 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, 
     Tibetans, and members of other persecuted groups in the 
     Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

     SEC. 7. 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, the Committee on Ways and Means and the 
     Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on 
     Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Finance 
     and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
     Affairs of the Senate.
       (2) Forced labor.--The term ``forced labor''--
       (A) has the meaning given that term in section 307 of the 
     Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307); and
       (B) includes convict labor and indentured labor under penal 
     sanctions.
       (3) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a 
     person that is not a United States person.
       (4) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or 
     entity.
       (5) 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

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Meeks) and the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 6256.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6256, the Uyghur 
Forced Labor Prevention Act introduced by my good friend, colleague, 
and chair of the Rules Committee, Mr. McGovern.
  Last week, Mr. Speaker, we passed Chair McGovern's original 
legislation on the House floor. I heard my Republican friends comment 
that this bill was being slow-walked by the House Democrats; that we 
were supposedly passing Chairman McGovern's bill to stall and negotiate 
the Senate bill. Even if we did reach agreement, my colleagues across 
the aisle surmised that the President would not support the compromise 
package.
  Here we are, less than 6 days later, and a compromise between the 
House and the Senate versions has already been negotiated. Just a few 
hours ago, unsurprisingly, the Biden administration announced that it 
would sign this vital piece of legislation.
  The biggest difference between the two packages was the House called 
for implementation in 120 days; the Senate wanted to wait 270 days. We 
have negotiated them down to 180 days. The crucial protections of this 
law will come into effect months earlier because of House Democrats.
  Let me be clear, this is a good thing because it is a bipartisan 
measure. I am glad that such important legislation will pass with near 
unanimous support from both parties. That is what this should be.
  Since 2017, the People's Republic of China has systematically carried 
out mass detention, torture, political indoctrination, restrictions on 
religious practices, and inhumane atrocities against Uyghurs and 
members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang.
  We have seen the People's Republic of China expand its extensive 
program of oppression and transform it into a system of state-sponsored 
forced labor. Under the guise of vocational training or poverty 
alleviation, authorities in Xinjiang have forced thousands of adults 
and children to work against their will and under threat of punishment 
to produce goods and raw materials that are then woven into 
international supply chains and then to our homes.
  This bill, which has passed the House before, prohibits the import of 
goods and merchandise from Xinjiang unless the importer can prove the 
products did not come from forced labor, imposes sanctions on officials 
facilitating the use of forced labor against Chinese ethnic minorities, 
adds important financial disclosures for public companies that do 
business in the region, and also calls for a diplomatic strategy to 
address forced labor in Xinjiang.
  This is a straightforward bill. It signals that America will not 
tolerate forced labor, and products made from forced labor shall not 
enter the American marketplace. In 2021, for any country to utilize 
forced labor systematically and to oppress and exploit its population 
is unconscionable, unacceptable, and, indeed, un-American. We cannot 
and will not stand idly by.
  This legislation is critical to showing that we are putting human 
rights at the center of our foreign and economic policy. I support this 
bill, and I look forward to continuing to work.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Barr, Mr. McCaul, and my colleagues 
on both sides of the aisle for coming forward and speaking up, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman of the House Foreign 
Affairs Committee, my good friend from New York (Mr. Meeks), for his 
leadership in helping support this legislation and bringing it to the 
House floor.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for his leadership 
in recognizing this serious human rights travesty that is happening.
  I also want to thank the 11 House Foreign Affairs Committee 
Republicans who are cosponsors of this legislation, including Mr. Smith 
of New Jersey.
  I want to thank Senator Rubio from Florida for working with the 
gentleman from Massachusetts on finding a bipartisan and bicameral 
compromise to bring this important legislation to the floor.

                              {time}  2045

  Mr. Speaker, it is past time for this Chamber and the Congress to act 
to stop the Chinese Communist Party from using American consumers to 
subsidize its brutality. Preventing products made with slave labor from

[[Page H7807]]

contaminating our market is a longstanding priority of U.S. trade, not 
just because it puts American manufacturers at a disadvantage, but 
because the American values that we all share will not tolerate it.
  Truly free trade cannot involve slave labor. But today, the CCP is 
using the forced labor of Uyghurs and other minorities to help bankroll 
its genocide against those very same groups. The repression taking 
place right now in Xinjiang is breathtaking in its scope and in its 
brutality. More than 1 million people have been locked in concentration 
camps and subjected to surveillance and brainwashing on a massive 
scale.
  Families are being broken up and children are being taken from their 
parents. Forced sterilization and forced abortion are being used to 
limit births among ethnic groups targeted by the CCP.
  This is outrageous human rights violations and the world cannot turn 
a blind eye. It is a horrific warning, not only to China's neighbors 
and to the American people, but to the world. The Chinese Communist 
Party is fundamentally focused on expanding its power 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 many of our most critical supply 
chains, it has the ability to hold our national security hostage while 
it uses U.S. consumers to subsidize its atrocities. This cannot stand. 
As many as one in five cotton garments globally are potentially tainted 
with Uyghur slave labor.
  Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized a 13-ton 
shipment of human hair that originated in Xinjiang's forced labor 
system. We have a duty to prevent the CCP from making Americans 
complicit in these sickening abuses. For that reason, I support the 
bipartisan bill before us today, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), the sponsor of this bill and chairman of 
the Rules Committee.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Meeks for 
yielding me the time and for his leadership on this important issue.
  Mr. Speaker, I am glad that we are able to move this compromised 
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act so quickly after the House passed my 
bill, H.R. 1155, last week. And I want to thank my partner in this 
effort in the Senate, Senator Marco Rubio, for working quickly and 
diligently with us to negotiate this agreement. I wanted to especially 
thank Speaker Pelosi for her strong moral leadership in getting this 
done. No one in this body--and I mean no one--has had a more consistent 
and principled position in standing up for the human rights of the 
people of China and Tibet. She has been a critical part of nearly every 
single piece of China human rights legislation focused on China that 
Congress has passed in recent years, and her steadfast commitment to 
getting this bill across the finish line is why we are here today.
  Forced labor is a serious human rights abuse. It is illegal under 
United States law to import goods made with forced labor. But we are 
compelled to move this legislation by the genocide and crimes against 
humanity being committed by the Chinese Government against Uyghurs and 
other Muslim minorities, of which forced labor is a key factor.
  We must pass this legislation to give Americans the peace of mind 
that the clothes they wear, the food they eat, and the technology that 
they use are not tainted by forced labor perpetrated by the Chinese 
Government.
  This bill combines my legislation, which passed the House by a vote 
of 428-1 last week, and Senator Rubio's bill, which passed by voice 
vote, into a version that both Chambers can support. This is a strong, 
bipartisan, bicameral consensus bill. This bill shortens the time the 
forced labor import ban goes into effect to 180 days, from the Senate's 
300 days.
  It requires a strong, clear and convincing evidence standard for 
exceptions to the rebuttable presumption.
  It empowers the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to devise and 
oversee the strategy to prohibit the import of forced labor goods from 
Xinjiang.
  In short, this is a good bill. It is a tougher bill than what passed 
the Senate, and I want to thank my House colleagues for this report.
  I want to thank Chairman Meeks again. I want to thank Ranking Member 
McCaul, Chairman Neal, and Chairwoman Waters for their work. I want to 
thank Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey for all of his support.
  On the Senate side, I want to thank Senators Rubio and Merkley for 
their leadership. And, again, I want to thank Speaker Pelosi for her 
strong and steadfast commitment to getting this done.
  So let's stand up for human rights. Let's stand against genocide and 
against crimes against humanity. And let's get the Uyghur Forced Labor 
Prevention Act to the President's desk as soon as possible.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), a Member of this body who, for 
many, many years, has been a champion of human rights and, frankly, no 
one has done more to advance the cause of human rights than my 
colleague from New Jersey.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding and for his leadership, and I want to thank the chairman and 
the ranking member for their concerted efforts to get this legislation 
and like-minded legislation moving forward; and, of course,  Jim 
McGovern, he is the prime sponsor, and I am the prime Republican 
cosponsor, I want to thank him for his leadership on this as well. It 
is so very, very important.
  Mr. Speaker, Mihrigul Tursun said she pleaded with God to end her 
life as her Chinese jailers increased the electrical currents coursing 
through her body.

  Mihrigul, a Muslim Uyghur, whose escape from Xi Jinping's genocide 
led her to the United States, actually broke down weeping at a November 
28, 2018, congressional hearing co-chaired by Senator Marco Rubio and 
I--as co-chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China--as 
she recounted her experience in one of China's infamous concentration 
camps.
  She testified, and I quote her in part, that ``there were around 60 
people kept in a 430-square-foot cell, so at night, 10 to 15 women 
would stand up while the rest of us would sleep on our sides.'' She 
said, ``There were people there who had not taken a shower in over a 
year.
  ``I clearly remember the torture . . .'' she said, ``in the tiger 
chair the second time I was incarcerated. I was taken to a special room 
with an electric chair. It was the interrogation room, and it had one 
light and one chair. There were belts and whips hanging on the wall. I 
was placed in a high chair that clicked to lock my arms and legs in 
place and tightened when they pressed the button.''
  She goes on, ``My head was shaved beforehand for the maximum impact. 
The authorities put a helmet-like thing on my head. Each time I was 
electrocuted,'' she went on, ``my whole body would shake violently, and 
I could feel the pain in my veins. I thought I would rather die than go 
through this torture and begged them to kill me. They insulted me with 
humiliating words and pressured me to admit my guilt.
  ``The nights were the busiest time in the camps,'' she went on. ``A 
lot of activities such as transferring people between cells and 
removing the dead bodies would happen all night long. In the silence of 
the night, we would hear the men from the other cells groaning in 
agony. We could hear the beatings, the men screaming. . . .''
  ``While burying my 4-month-old baby,'' she had had triplets, ``I was 
tormented and filled with the guilt of not being able to save my son.''
  She admonished us, pleaded with us, ``Please take action against the 
Chinese officials responsible for my torture and the death of my little 
boy and the death of so many innocent Uyghurs in the camps.''
  Mr. Speaker, there are millions and millions of stories just like 
this waiting to be told, truly nightmarish accounts of President Xi 
Jinping's genocide.
  In response, I, joined by my friend and colleague,  Tom Suozzi, 
introduced

[[Page H7808]]

the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2018.
  But this bill, H.R. 1155, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, 
which, again, I cosponsored with Mr. McGovern, is important and 
necessary to end or at least mitigate our complicity in Xi Jinping's 
genocide.
  Let's not forget the documents obtained by The New York Times which 
made clear that this is Xi Jinping's genocide. He ordered it. And early 
next year he will be hosting the Winter Olympics.
  The leaked documents show Xi saying things like show ``absolutely no 
mercy'' in dealing with the Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim 
minorities. In one speech he said: ``The weapons of the people's 
democratic dictatorship must be wielded without any hesitation or 
wavering.''
  Mr. Speaker, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act prohibits imports 
from Xinjiang to the U.S. by creating a rebuttable presumption. That is 
the core of this bill, a 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. It is a good bill and deserves the 
support of every Member of this body.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), a great member of the 
Foreign Affairs Committee.
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding and 
thank him for his extraordinary bipartisan leadership on this issue and 
on so many issues that come before our committee. I want to begin by 
acknowledging the leadership of the Speaker who has been an advocate 
and a strong voice for human rights around the world, but particularly 
in China for many, many years.
  I rise, Mr. Speaker, in strong support of this bicameral version of 
the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, to ensure that the United 
States does all we can to condemn the appalling human rights record of 
the Chinese Government against Uyghur Muslims. With the ongoing 
genocide against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang, and with the 
crackdown on democracy and the rule of law in Hong Kong, the world has 
seen what a glimpse of Chinese leadership in the international system 
would mean: a rejection of human rights; a commitment to 
authoritarianism; a silenced press; and the abandonment of the rule of 
law.
  In Xinjiang, over 1 million members of the Uyghur population have 
been forced to live in squalor; forced to abandon their beliefs; forced 
to abandon their children; and forced to work. Many have been tortured. 
Many have died. All have suffered.
  Policies undertaken in Xinjiang continue to stir the conscience and 
represent this country's most agonizing human rights catastrophes ever. 
The Chinese Government has unleashed a series of draconian measures 
that should give anyone in the civilized world a pause. They have 
mandated abortions, they have forcibly sterilized men and women; they 
have forcibly taken over half a million children from their families, 
and they have sent them to so-called reeducation centers.
  They monitor the movements and the online activities of millions, 
ensuring Uyghurs and other minorities are robbed of their privacy; and 
they force Uyghurs and other minorities into factories for no pay and 
with no recourse.
  We must recognize that the Chinese Government built this policy over 
time. What has happened to the Uyghur population is not borne out of 
spontaneous brutality; it has been a well-planned endeavor designed to 
extinguish a population that China finds undesirable.
  This is a systematic policy that denies the Uyghurs their humanity, 
their dignity, and seeks to ultimately deny them of their existence.
  We must do all we can to ensure that the clarion call of ``never 
again'' reverberates around the globe. This bill would ensure that 
goods made in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region imported into the 
United States are not made with forced labor.
  I want to thank Chairman McGovern for his extraordinary leadership 
and urge all of my colleagues to support the Uyghur Forced Labor 
Prevention Act and again thank the chairman for his courtesy.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, in recent years the world has stood by as the Chinese 
Communist Party has detained more than 1 million ethnic minorities in 
concentration camps where they are tortured, brainwashed, and put into 
forced 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 to speak out against these horrifying crimes, 
but we have an even greater duty to avoid funding this genocide by 
paying for slave labor in Xinjiang.
  Many American companies have built their businesses on values that 
include respect for basic human rights. The United States must continue 
to lead the world in setting corporate responsibility standards. There 
can no longer be business as usual with China. The world is watching.
  While this bill did not go through regular order in the Foreign 
Affairs Committee, I commend Chairman McGovern and Senator Marco Rubio 
for coming to this important bipartisan agreement.
  I appreciate the chairman's leadership, and it is good to have a 
bipartisan bill where we stand united in one voice for human rights, 
and to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable.
  I support this bill. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.

                              {time}  2100

  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  H.R. 6256, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, is an opportunity 
for this body to send a resounding message to the world. We are engaged 
in a strategic competition with China around the world, and our stance 
on this issue, I believe, will define why our system is better. We 
aggressively oppose forced labor and Islamophobia, and we will back up 
our values with our actions.
  In this major piece of legislation, we are doing it together, 
Democrats and Republicans, working with Ranking Member McCaul and 
others, because it is the right thing to do. It is the right message to 
send.
  So let us do it; let us get it out; let us stand tall; let us be true 
to our values. Let not China get away with Islamophobia. Let's make 
sure we wipe out Islamophobia, racism, and anti-Semitism from all 
corners of this place that we call the planet Earth.
  Mr. Speaker, 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. Meeks) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 6256.
  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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