[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 55 (Monday, March 27, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H1446-H1449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                STOP FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING ACT OF 2023

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 1154) to combat forced organ harvesting and 
trafficking in persons for purposes of the removal of organs, and for 
other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1154

       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 ``Stop Forced Organ Harvesting 
     Act of 2023''.

     SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

       It shall be the policy of the United States--
       (1) to combat international trafficking in persons for 
     purposes of the removal of organs;
       (2) to promote the establishment of voluntary organ 
     donation systems with effective enforcement mechanisms in 
     bilateral diplomatic meetings and in international health 
     forums;
       (3) to promote the dignity and security of human life in 
     accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 
     adopted on December 10, 1948; and
       (4) to hold accountable persons implicated, including 
     members of the Chinese Communist Party, in forced organ 
     harvesting and trafficking in persons for purposes of the 
     removal of organs.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
     ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
     the Judiciary of the Senate; and
       (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
     the Judiciary of the House of Representatives.
       (2) Forced organ harvesting.--The term ``forced organ 
     harvesting'' means the removal of one or more organs from a 
     person by means of coercion, abduction, deception, fraud, or 
     abuse of power or a position of vulnerability.
       (3) Organ.--The term ``organ'' has the meaning given the 
     term ``human organ'' in section 301(c)(1) of the National 
     Organ Transplant Act (42 U.S.C. 274e(c)(1)).
       (4) Trafficking in persons for purposes of the removal of 
     organs.--The term ``trafficking in persons for purposes of 
     the removal of organs'' means the recruitment, 
     transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of a person 
     for the purpose of removing one or more of such person's 
     organs, by means of--
       (A) coercion;
       (B) abduction;
       (C) deception;
       (D) fraud;
       (E) abuse of power or a position of vulnerability; or
       (F) transfer of payments or benefits to achieve the consent 
     of a person having control over a person described in the 
     matter preceding subparagraph (A).

     SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO DENY OR REVOKE PASSPORTS.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of State may refuse to issue 
     a passport to any individual who has been convicted of an 
     offense under section 301 of the National Organ Transplant 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 274e) and is subject to imprisonment or parole 
     or other supervised release as the result of such conviction 
     if such individual, in the commission of such an offense, 
     used a passport or crossed an international border.
       (b) Revocation.--The Secretary of State may revoke a 
     passport previously issued to any individual described in 
     subsection (a).

     SEC. 5. REPORTS ON FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING AND TRAFFICKING IN 
                   PERSONS FOR PURPOSES OF THE REMOVAL OF ORGANS 
                   IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

       The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) 
     is amended--
       (1) in section 116 (22 U.S.C. 2151n), by adding at the end 
     the following:
       ``(h) Forced Organ Harvesting and Trafficking in Persons 
     for Purposes of the Removal of Organs.--
       ``(1) In general.--The report required by subsection (d) 
     shall include an assessment of forced organ harvesting and 
     trafficking in persons for purposes of the removal of organs 
     in each foreign country.
       ``(2) Definitions.--In this subsection:
       ``(A) Forced organ harvesting.--The term `forced organ 
     harvesting' means the removal of one or more organs from a 
     person by means of coercion, abduction, deception, fraud, or 
     abuse of power or a position of vulnerability.
       ``(B) Organ.--The term `organ' has the meaning given the 
     term `human organ' in section 301(c)(1) of the National Organ 
     Transplant Act (42 U.S.C. 274e(c)(1)).
       ``(C) Trafficking in persons for purposes of the removal of 
     organs.--The term `trafficking in persons for purposes of the 
     removal of organs' means the recruitment, transportation, 
     transfer, harboring, or receipt of a person for the purpose 
     of removing one or more of such person's organs, by means 
     of--
       ``(i) coercion;
       ``(ii) abduction;
       ``(iii) deception;
       ``(iv) fraud;
       ``(v) abuse of power or a position of vulnerability; or
       ``(vi) transfer of payments or benefits to achieve the 
     consent of a person having control over a person described in 
     the matter preceding clause (i).''; and
       (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304)--
       (A) by redesignating the second subsection (i) (relating to 
     child marriage status) as subsection (j); and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(k) Forced Organ Harvesting and Trafficking in Persons 
     for Purposes of the Removal of Organs.--
       ``(1) In general.--The report required by subsection (b) 
     shall include an assessment of forced organ harvesting and 
     trafficking in

[[Page H1447]]

     persons for purposes of the removal of organs in each foreign 
     country.
       ``(2) Definitions.--In this subsection, the terms `forced 
     organ harvesting', `organ', and `trafficking in persons for 
     purposes of the removal of organs' have the meanings given 
     those terms in section 116(h)(2).''.

     SEC. 6. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FORCED ORGAN 
                   HARVESTING OR TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS FOR 
                   PURPOSES OF THE REMOVAL OF ORGANS.

       (a) List Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to 
     the appropriate committees of Congress a list of each person 
     that the President determines funds, sponsors, or otherwise 
     facilitates forced organ harvesting or trafficking in persons 
     for purposes of the removal of organs.
       (b) Imposition of Sanctions.--The President shall impose 
     the following sanctions with respect to a person on the list 
     required by subsection (a):
       (1) Property blocking.--The President shall exercise all of 
     the powers granted by the International Emergency Economic 
     Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (except that the 
     requirements of section 202 of such Act (50 U.S.C. 1701) 
     shall not apply) to the extent necessary to block and 
     prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in 
     property of the person if such property and interests in 
     property are in the United States, come within the United 
     States, or are or come within the possession or control of a 
     United States person.
       (2) Aliens inadmissible for visas, admission, or parole.--
       (A) Visas, admission, or parole.--In the case of an 
     individual, that individual 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.--The visa or other entry documentation of 
     the individual shall be revoked, regardless of when such 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 individual's possession.

       (c) Exceptions.--
       (1) Exception relating to importation of goods.--
       (A) In general.--The authorities and requirements to impose 
     sanctions under subsection (b)(1) shall not include the 
     authority or a requirement to impose sanctions on the 
     importation of goods.
       (B) Good defined.--In this paragraph, the term ``good'' 
     means any article, natural or manmade substance, material, 
     supply or manufactured product, including inspection and test 
     equipment, and excluding technical data.
       (2) Exception to comply with international obligations.--
     Subsection (b)(2) shall not apply to the admission of an 
     individual if the admission of the individual is necessary to 
     comply with United States obligations under the Agreement 
     between the United Nations and the United States of America 
     regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at 
     Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force November 
     21, 1947, under the Convention on Consular Relations, done at 
     Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into force March 19, 1967, 
     or under other applicable international agreements or 
     treaties.
       (3) Exception relating to the provision of humanitarian 
     assistance.--Sanctions under this section may not be imposed 
     with respect to transactions or the facilitation of 
     transactions for--
       (A) the sale of agricultural commodities, food, or 
     medicine;
       (B) the provision of vital humanitarian assistance;
       (C) financial transactions relating to vital humanitarian 
     assistance or for vital humanitarian purposes; or
       (D) transporting goods or services that are necessary to 
     carry out operations relating to vital humanitarian 
     assistance.
       (4) Waiver.--The President may, on a case-by-case basis and 
     for periods not to exceed 180 days each, waive the 
     application of sanctions or restrictions imposed with respect 
     to a person under this section if the President certifies to 
     the appropriate committees of Congress not later than 15 days 
     before such waiver is to take effect that the waiver is vital 
     to the national security interests of the United States.
       (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.--A person that violates, attempts to 
     violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this 
     section or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry 
     out this section shall be subject to the penalties set forth 
     in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the 
     International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) 
     to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act 
     described in subsection (a) of that section.
       (e) Definitions.--In this section--
       (1) the term ``person''--
       (A) means an individual or entity; and
       (B) includes a non-state actor (as such term is defined in 
     Public Law 114-281); and
       (2) 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 
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Wild) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend 
their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, every year under General Secretary Xi Jinping and his 
Chinese Communist Party, between 60,000 to 100,000 young victims, 
average age 28, are murdered in cold blood to steal their organs.
  These crimes against humanity are unimaginably cruel. Ethnic groups 
targeted for this mass harvesting include Uyghurs who suffer from Xi 
Jinping's ongoing genocide and the Falun Gong, whose peaceful 
meditation and exercise practices and exceptional good health make 
their organs highly desirable.
  The Chinese Communist Party has declared them to be an evil cult fit 
for butchering.
  Mr. Speaker, in May of last year, I chaired an absolutely chilling 
congressional hearing at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission titled 
``Forced Organ Harvesting in China: Examining the Evidence.''
  The China Tribunal, chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice--and this is the man 
who prosecuted Slobodan Milosevic at the International Criminal 
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, a tribunal that I worked very hard 
on and was very supportive of, as were other Members of this body--
conducted the world's first independent legal analysis of forced organ 
harvesting from prisoners of conscience in China.
  Sir Geoffrey Nice testified at my hearing and said, ``Forced organ 
harvesting has been committed for years throughout China on a 
significant scale,'' and he said that ``. . . Falun Gong practitioners 
have been one--and probably the main--source of organ supply.''
  He said the Falun Gong and the Uyghurs in the PRC each qualify as a 
``group'' for purposes of the crime of genocide.
  Ethan Gutmann, Senior Research Fellow in China Studies, Victims of 
Communism Memorial Foundation, testified that the Kilgour-Matas-Gutmann 
report of 2016 estimated China's total transplant volume--this is 
forced transplantations--at 60,000 to 100,000 annually.
  Mr. Gutmann also pointed out ``. . . at any given time since 2017, 
there are approximately a million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and Hui in 
the camps.'' These are the concentration camps, of course, made up 
mostly of Muslims.

                              {time}  1715

  He said his estimate is that 25,000 to 50,000 camp detainees are 
being harvested every year. Again, he says 28-year-olds from the 
Xinjiang camps can be harvested for two or three organs each, 
translating into a maximum of about 150,000 organs.
  Another expert witness who testified at our hearing, Matthew 
Robertson of the Australian National University, coauthored with Dr. 
Jacob Lavee an examination of Chinese medical journal articles and 
found that ``71 papers gave explicit descriptions of surgeons appearing 
to violate the dead donor rule while procuring hearts from prisoners. 
In plain language, the papers appear to show that the donors, who were 
prisoners, were alive at the time of surgery and were killed by 
transplant surgeons in the process of heart extraction.''
  Their work, published last April in a top peer-reviewed U.S. medical 
journal,

[[Page H1448]]

``The American Journal of Transplantation'' provided additional 
evidence of the People's Republic of China's egregious practices and 
violation of international standards. These are, again, crimes against 
humanity.
  Robert Destro, the former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, 
Human Rights, and Labor testified that, ``The size and scope of the 
organ harvesting and organ trafficking market are staggering.''
  Mr. Speaker, we also know through open-source Chinese language media 
that elderly, high-ranking Chinese Communist Party officials have 
received replacement organs from the very people they despise, like the 
Falun Gong, like the Uyghurs. There is one particular hospital, Army 
Hospital 301 in Beijing, that excels at this.
  While this still shocks me, and I know it shocks my colleagues, I 
cannot say it surprises me.
  Almost 25 years ago, I chaired a hearing. Doug Anderson, who is 
sitting right here, was a part of that hearing as the top staff on the 
committee. I chaired a human rights hearing with a Chinese security 
officer who testified that he and other security agents were executing 
patients with the doctors right there with ambulances ready to harvest 
their organs after the bullets were fired.
  Indeed, at last year's hearing, we produced a doctor who testified 
that he had performed one such surgery on a victim--he was forced to, 
he claimed--a botched execution who as he began cutting discovered that 
the victim was in a state of shock--he wasn't dead yet--a live 
vivisection on a living human being. He has nightmares to this day.
  To combat these heinous and inhumane practices, the Stop Forced Organ 
Harvesting Act of 2023, a bipartisan piece of legislation, amends the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require reports on forced organ 
harvesting and trafficking in persons for purposes of the removal of 
organs in foreign countries, including and especially in China; and the 
imposition of serious sanctions on any person the President determines 
funds, sponsors or otherwise facilitates forced organ harvesting or 
trafficking for purposes of the removal of organs.
  What does that mean? It means civil penalties up to $250,000 and 
criminal penalties including a fine of up to $1 million and 
imprisonment for not more than 20 years or both. So we are serious 
about sanctioning this egregious practice.
  Sanctions also include blocking and prohibiting all transactions in 
property and interests in property and making such persons inadmissible 
to the United States and ineligible to receive a visa.
  State-sponsored forced organ harvesting is big business for Xi 
Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party and shows absolutely no signs 
of abating, which is why we and the rest of the world need to step up, 
particularly the democracies of this world.
  We must act, and we must act decisively.
  I thank Chairman McCaul for his cosponsorship and his tremendous 
leadership on this bill, as well as Ranking Member Meeks for his strong 
support. I also thank our Democratic cosponsor, Bill Keating, as well 
as Kathy Manning, for their strong support and cosponsorship of this 
legislation. I extend a very special thanks to Mary Vigil; Janice 
Kaguyutan, who is sitting over here on my right on the Democrat side; 
Piero Tozzi, who is the staff director for the China Commission of 
which I am the chairman; and Doug Anderson, who has done a wonderful 
job throughout all of this; and Mary McDermott Noonan, my chief of 
staff, all who have worked so diligently in such a cooperative and 
bipartisan way to bring this piece of legislation to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                                         House of Representatives,


                                 Committee on Foreign Affairs,

                                   Washington, DC, March 17, 2023.
     Hon. Jim Jordan,
     Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Jordan: Thank you for consulting with the 
     Foreign Affairs Committee and agreeing to be discharged from 
     further consideration of H.R. 1154, the ``Stop Forced Organ 
     Harvesting Act of 2023,'' so that the measure may proceed 
     expeditiously to the House floor.
       I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure 
     does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of 
     your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives 
     on this measure or similar legislation in the future. I would 
     support your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate 
     number of conferees from your committee to any House-Senate 
     conference on this legislation.
       I will seek to place our letters on this bill into the 
     Congressional Record during floor consideration. I appreciate 
     your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward 
     to continuing to work together as this measure moves through 
     the legislative process.
           Sincerely,
                                                Michael T. McCaul,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                   Committee on the Judiciary,

                                   Washington, DC, March 15, 2023.
     Hon. Michael McCaul,
     Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman McCaul: I write regarding H.R. 1154, the 
     ``Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2023.'' Provisions of 
     this bill fall within the Judiciary Committee's Rule X 
     jurisdiction, and I appreciate that you consulted with us on 
     those provisions. The Judiciary Committee agrees that it 
     shall be discharged from further consideration of the bill so 
     that it may proceed expeditiously to the House floor.
       The Committee takes this action with the understanding that 
     forgoing further consideration of this measure does not in 
     any way alter the Committee's jurisdiction or waive any 
     future jurisdictional claim over these provisions or their 
     subject matter. We also reserve the right to seek appointment 
     of an appropriate number of conferees in the event of a 
     conference with the Senate involving this measure or similar 
     legislation.
       I ask that you please insert this letter in the 
     Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 1154 on the 
     House floor. I appreciate the cooperative manner in which our 
     committees have worked on this matter, and I look forward to 
     working collaboratively in the future on matters of shared 
     jurisdiction. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Jim Jordan,
                                                         Chairman.

  Ms. WILD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and 
I rise in support of H.R. 1154.
  This is a measure authored by Representative Chris Smith, who is the 
chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Health, Global 
Human Rights, and International Organizations of which I am the ranking 
member. He has been a long-time leader in this body on human rights 
challenges, and I am glad to be supporting this measure today. I look 
forward to continuing to work with Representative Smith to address many 
important global human rights challenges in the coming months on our 
subcommittee.
  I also thank Representative Keating, the Democratic co-lead of this 
measure, for working across the aisle to refine this bill and make it 
bipartisan.
  According to the State Department's 2022 Country Reports on Human 
Rights Practices, there have been troubling reports regarding the PRC 
``forcibly harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience, including 
religious and spiritual adherents.''
  This is beyond the pale and absolutely unacceptable. It is important, 
therefore, that the State Department look more deeply into this issue.
  H.R. 1154 shines a light on this horrible practice and calls on the 
State Department to make its annual reporting on the issue more robust 
and in depth. Not only does it call for more regular assessments of the 
problem, it also imposes sanctions on individuals that are involved in 
forced organ harvesting and trafficking.
  This legislation will make sure that the United States is carefully 
gathering all of the facts to make an informed assessment regarding the 
magnitude and prevalence of this problem.
  We should never look away from injustice and repression wherever it 
takes place. In that spirit, I support this legislation, and I urge all 
of my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Ms. WILD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for 
the purpose of closing.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1154 is an important, bipartisan measure. We know 
that organ harvesting has been a problem in China. We also know that 
PRC officials in Xinjiang have collected biometric data from Uyghur and 
other ethnic minority detainees. Given the ongoing genocide in 
Xinjiang, we simply cannot take Beijing at its word

[[Page H1449]]

about what it is and is not doing. We need to investigate, and we need 
to verify.
  H.R. 1154 does just that. It calls on the State Department to provide 
important information to Congress, to the American public, as well as 
to the world about the scope of organ harvesting and trafficking around 
the world so that we may respond appropriately.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume for the purpose of closing.
  I thank Ms. Wild for her strong support and for her wonderful and 
strong remarks today in favor of this bipartisan legislation.
  I do believe that we are really at a point now where if not us, who? 
We need to speak, and we need to speak boldly. This legislation, again, 
was crafted across the aisle. We have worked very closely together on 
it. I believe this legislation will make a huge difference.
  Not so long ago I was in the intensive care unit. I am fine now, but 
when I was lying there, I kept thinking about this bill and some poor 
28-year-old in the People's Republic of China who is not there being 
treated in a benign way by doctors and nurses but is being strapped 
down--not always anesthetized sufficiently--to steal their organs and 
to kill them.
  It is happening--as I indicated earlier, and this is a very reliable 
number--between 60 to 100,000 times against 60 to 100,000 20-year-olds 
each and every year.
  This is Nazi-like.
  Xi Jinping needs to be held accountable. The fact that he and the 
high officials of the Chinese Communist Party are benefiting not just 
with unbelievable amounts of money for the Chinese Communist Party and 
for them personally, but also, if they need any organ, they turn to the 
very people that they hate, especially Falun Gong and Muslim Uyghurs, 
in order to procure their organs.
  This must get strong support from this body, strong support from the 
Senate, and I believe it will be signed by the President if we can get 
it to his desk.
  We need to make a difference.
  Again, I urge Members to vote ``yes,'' 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 Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1154.
  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. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________