[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 106 (Tuesday, June 25, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H4133-H4136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1630
FALUN GONG PROTECTION ACT
Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
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bill (H.R. 4132) to provide for the imposition of sanctions with
respect to forced organ harvesting within the People's Republic of
China, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 4132
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 ``Falun Gong Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to--
(1) avoid any cooperation with the PRC in the organ
transplantation field while the Chinese Communist Party
remains in power;
(2) take appropriate measures, including using relevant
sanctions authorities, to coerce the Chinese Communist Party
to end any state-sponsored organ harvesting campaign; and
(3) work with allies, partners, and multilateral
institutions to highlight China's persecution of Falun Gong
and coordinate closely with the international community on
targeted sanctions and visa restrictions.
SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FORCED ORGAN
HARVESTING WITHIN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF
CHINA.
(a) Imposition of Sanctions.--The President shall impose
the sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to
each foreign person included in the most recent list
submitted pursuant to subsection (b).
(b) List of Persons.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a list of foreign
persons who the President determines to have knowingly and
directly engaged in or facilitated the involuntary harvesting
of organs within the People's Republic of China.
(2) Updates or lists.--The President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees an updated list under
paragraph (1)--
(A) as new information becomes available;
(B) not later than one year after the date of the enactment
of this Act; and
(C) annually thereafter until the date of termination under
subsection (h).
(3) Form.--The list required by paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified
annex.
(c) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this
subsection are the following:
(1) Blocking of property.--The President shall exercise all
of the powers granted to the President 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 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) Inadmissibility of certain individuals.--
(A) Ineligibility for visas, admission, or parole.--A
foreign person included in the most recent list submitted
pursuant to subsection (b) 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) Currrnt visas revoked.--A foreign person described in
subparagraph (A) is also subject to the following:
(i) Revocation of any visa or other entry documentation
regardless of when the visa or other entry documentation is
or was issued.
(ii) A revocation under clause (i) shall take effect
immediately and automatically cancel any other valid visa or
entry documentation that is in the foreign person's
possession.
(3) Exception.--Sanctions under paragraph (2) shall not
apply to an alien if admitting or paroling the alien into the
United States is necessary 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 of the United States.
(d) 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 person
who violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or
causes a violation of regulations promulgated to carry out
subsection (a) to the same extent that such penalties apply
to a person who commits an unlawful act described in section
206(a) of that Act.
(e) Exception To Comply With National Security.--The
following activities shall be exempt from sanctions under
this section:
(1) Activities subject to the reporting requirements under
title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091
et seq.).
(2) Any authorized intelligence or law enforcement
activities of the United States.
(f) Exception Relating to Provision of Humanitarian
Assistance.--Sanctions under this section may not be imposed
with respect to transactions or the facilitation of
transactions for--
(1) the sale of agricultural commodities, food, or
medicine;
(2) the provision of vital humanitarian assistance;
(3) financial transactions relating to humanitarian
assistance or for humanitarian purposes; or
(4) transporting goods or services that are necessary to
carry out operations relating to humanitarian assistance or
humanitarian purposes.
(g) Waiver Authority.--
(1) Waiver.--The President may, on a case by case basis,
waive the imposition of any sanction under this section if
the President determines such waiver is in the vital national
security interest of the United States.
(2) Reports.--Not later than 120 days after the date on
which the President submits the list under subsection (b),
and every 120 days thereafter until the date of termination
under subsection (h), the President shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report on the extent
to which the President has used the waiver authority under
paragraph (1) during the period covered by that report.
(h) Sunset.--The authority to impose sanctions under this
section shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services
and the Director of the National Institutes of Health, shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
on the organ transplant policies and practices of the
People's Republic of China.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required under
subsection (a) shall include--
(1) a summary of de jure and de facto policies toward organ
transplantation in the PRC, including with respect to
prisoners of conscience (including Falun Gong) and other
prisoners;
(2)(A) the number of organ transplants that are known to
occur or are estimated to occur on an annual basis in the
PRC;
(B) the number of known or estimated voluntary organ donors
in the PRC;
(C) an assessment of the sources of organs for transplant
in the PRC; and
(D) an assessment of the time, in days, that it takes to
procure an organ for transplant within the Chinese medical
system and an assessment of whether such timetable is
possible based on the number of known or estimated organ
donors in the PRC;
(3) a list of all United States grants over the past ten
years that have supported research on organ transplantation
in the PRC or in collaboration between a Chinese and a United
States entity; and
(4) a determination as to whether the persecution of Falun
Gong practitioners within the People's Republic of China
constitutes an ``atrocity'' (as such term is defined in
section 6 of the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities
Prevention Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-441; 22 U.S.C. 2656
note)).
(c) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall
be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
classified annex.
SEC. 5. EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF GOODS.
(a) In General.--The authorities and requirements to impose
sanctions authorized under this Act shall not include the
authority or requirement to impose sanctions on the
importation of goods.
(b) Good Defined.--In this section, the term ``good'' means
any article, natural or man-made substance, material, supply
or manufactured product, including inspection and test
equipment, and excluding technical data.
SEC. 6. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional
committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. McCormick) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stanton)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.
General Leave
Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, for decades the House of Representatives has been
raising alarms about the ghoulish organ harvesting perpetrated by the
Chinese Communist Party.
The People's Republic of China executes thousands of people a year,
several times more than the rest of the
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world combined, but they hide those killings from outsiders, claiming
that execution information is a state secret.
Behind that veil of secrecy lies a terrifying reality. For years,
testimony and investigative reports have asserted that organs are
forcibly harvested as part of an extremely lucrative trade in human
organs for transplant into those in the good graces of the party, and
for those, including foreigners, willing to pay top dollar.
As summarized in 2021 by United Nations human rights officials,
``forced organ harvesting in China appears to be targeting specific
ethnic, linguistic, or religious minorities held in detention, often
without being explained the reasons for arrest or given arrest
warrants.''
Falun Gong adherents and Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang are among those
reportedly targeted. Certain religious and ethnic minority detainees
are reportedly subjected to nonconsensual tests not required of other
prisoners, such as blood tests, organ exams, and ultrasound scans, with
the results being entered into a database of living organ sources.
These depraved CCP abuses must stop. The bill before us today
requires the identification and sanctioning of those involved in
China's involuntary organ harvesting.
I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) and his
bipartisan cosponsors for introducing this legislation. I also commend
Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks for marking it up and getting
it to the floor.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. STANTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4132, and
I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4132 imposes sanctions on individuals who knowingly
and directly engaged in or facilitated the involuntary harvesting of
organs within the People's Republic of China. The State Department's
2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices highlight that the
Government of the PRC has been accused of forcibly harvesting organs
from prisoners of conscience, including religious and spiritual
adherents.
The illegal harvesting of organs is not only a violation of human
rights but also an assault on human dignity. Imagine the terror and
despair of those who are imprisoned for their beliefs, only to have
their organs forcibly taken from them. These individuals are subjected
to unimaginable suffering, their most basic rights stripped away, and
their bodies violated in the most grotesque manner. This is not just a
statistic or a distant issue, these are real people, people with
families and dreams who endure unbelievable pain and fear.
The House has already spoken on this issue by passing Mr. Smith's
Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act in March. Today we have another
opportunity to take a stand against this inhumane practice. By
supporting H.R. 4132, we are sending a clear message that the United
States will not tolerate such egregious violations of human rights.
This bill ensures that those who knowingly and directly engaged in or
facilitated forced organ harvesting face significant sanctions.
We don't know a lot about this crime of forced organ harvesting, but
the report required in this bill will give us a better understanding of
the scope of the problem so that we may address it in a targeted way.
We cannot remain silent in the face of such cruelty. We must stand up
for the victims, show them that they are not forgotten, and hold the
perpetrators accountable.
It is our moral duty to act, to protect the vulnerable, and to uphold
human dignity. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support
this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry), who is the author of the bill.
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from
Georgia, for yielding, and I thank my colleagues for their support of
the bill. It is amazing, and it is very frightening that in 2024 we are
having this discussion on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Since the early 1990s, the Falun Gong has been targeted by the
Chinese Communist Party. The Falun Gong is a spiritual practice of mind
and body in which adherents follow the core principles of truth,
compassion, and tolerance.
In 1999, the Chinese Communist Party estimated that 70 to 100 million
people were practicing Falun Gong, the equivalent of 5 to 7 percent of
the Chinese population today. Mr. Speaker, Falun Gong's popularity
quickly initiated violent persecution, including illegal detentions,
forced labor, torture, and, yes, forced organ harvesting, which is a
form of mass murder.
This is something out of the thirties and Josef Mengele, but it is
happening today.
On July 20, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party detained hundreds of
thousands of Falun Gong practitioners and banned any further practice
of this religion. Since this date, the Chinese Communist Party has
continued to escalate its systematic oppression against Falun Gong
practitioners.
On March 1, 2020, the Independent Tribunal into Forced Organ
Harvesting from Prisoners of Conscience in China found there to be an
incomprehensible gap between the number of transplant operations
carried out in the People's Republic of China in comparison to the
number of eligible registered donors.
What does that mean?
That means in China, Mr. Speaker, if you have got the money, then
there is no waiting list for you to get an organ. Go anywhere else in
the civilized world and find that.
What would that mean?
That means there is a ready supply of these organs, because there is.
Now their report concluded that forced organ harvesting has been
committed for years throughout China on a significant scale and that
Falun Gong practitioners have been and probably are the main source of
organs for forced organ harvesting.
In the U.S., many of those working in organ transplantation and those
who benefit from transplantation systems are likely unaware. They just
don't know of China's illegal practices.
Through its repressive control of information, the CCP has created
the infrastructure and resources needed to persecute millions of its
own citizens, not only Falun Gong practitioners, but also Uyghurs,
Tibetans, Christians, and any other the Chinese Communist Party chooses
to target.
This bill is the first binding commitment by Congress to take strong
legal action against the persecution and the forced organ harvesting of
Falun Gong, making Falun Gong the centerpiece of legislation, an action
long overdue after 25 years.
The Falun Gong Protection Act imposes sanctions on those who
participate in or facilitate the forced harvesting of organs in China.
This bill directs the Secretary of State to determine whether the CCP's
persecution of Falun Gong constitutes crimes against humanity or
genocide alongside a required report on the CCP's organ transplant
policies and practices.
The Communist Party of China doesn't want us to see this. When you
take a trip to China, Mr. Speaker, and see all the wonderful things and
the wonderful people there, they are not going to invite you to see
this. It is going to take us looking. It is going to take us focusing
on it.
Additionally, H.R. 4132 makes it U.S. policy to avoid any cooperation
with the People's Republic of China in the illicit organ transplant
industry.
Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I thank my friends on
both sides of the aisle for their support.
Mr. STANTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for
the purpose of closing.
Mr. Speaker, by supporting H.R. 4132, we are sending a clear message
that the United States will sanction those who knowingly and directly
engaged in or facilitated involuntary harvesting of organs within the
People's Republic of China. This legislation sheds light on and
condemns this horrific practice and holds to account those responsible.
Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this
important bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. McCORMICK. Mr. Speaker, in closing, the idea that a member of a
religious minority could be targeted and killed so that their organs
could be harvested is worthy of a horror movie. It violates the basic
tenets of our God-given rights, but that is allegedly what
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the Chinese Communist Party has been doing for years.
This bill before us today will impose visa- and property-blocking
sanctions against those responsible for such atrocities. It deserves
our unanimous support, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4132,
the Falun Gong Protection Act, introduced by the gentleman from
Pennsylvania, Rep. Scott Perry.
The issue of the forced harvesting of human organs is one that is so
horrific, and so evil, that it has truly consumed me ever since
evidence of the practice began to trickle out at the end of the last
century.
I held a congressional hearing in 2012 that focused on ``Organ
Harvesting of Religious and Political Dissidents by the Chinese
Communist Party,'' though as early as 1998, witnesses at hearings I
chaired had testified to the taking of organs from executed prisoners
by Chinese government officials. This heinous practice soon
matriculated to the most cruel instrument of religious and political
persecution, targeting in particular peaceful practitioners of the
Falun Gong religion.
I co-convened a follow-up hearing in June of 2016 on ``Organ
Harvesting: An Examination of a Brutal Practice.'' I noted at the time
that the gruesome practice was not limited to the People's Republic of
China--ISIS, for example, issued fatwas allowing the harvesting of
organs of ``infidels,'' and Eritrean trafficking victims who could not
produce sufficient funds were placed on a gurney and carved up in human
chop shops in the Sinai peninsula. Yet by far and away the most
systematic, and state-sanctioned harvesting of human organs, has
occurred in Communist China.
In 2022, a meta study came out in the American Journal of
Transplantation that examined over 2,800 Chinese language academic
articles concluding that Chinese transplant surgeons had routinely
violated the ``dead donor'' rule, unethically removing organs before
victims had been declared brain dead. Since 2015, data indicated that
Chinese hospitals have performed many times more organ transplants than
the highest estimates of ethically-available donors can account for.
I thus invited one of the authors of that study, Dr. Matthew
Robertson, to testify at a hearing I convened at the Tom Lantos Human
Rights Commission on ``Forced Organ Harvesting in China: Examining the
Evidence.''
Finally, just this past March, the Congressional-Executive Commission
on China held a hearing which I chaired on ``Stopping the Crime of
Organ Harvesting--What More Must Be Done?''
Shockingly, one of our witnesses, Dr. Maya Mitalipova, from MIT,
implicated an American company, Thermo Fisher Scientific, in selling
kits to identify human leukocyte antigens and other DNA profiling
products in China, which enables the finding of compatible organ
matches, to be obtained forcibly from hapless and helpless ``donors,''
killed for their organs.
Beyond the hearings I have held over the years, I introduced the Stop
Forced Organ Harvesting Act in 2021, and again reintroduced this bill
at the beginning of this Congress. Indeed, our legislation passed out
of the House over a year ago, in March of 2023, and has been
languishing in the Senate since then.
I view Rep. Perry's and my legislation as complementary, and I call
upon the House to pass Mr. Perry's bill, and the Senate to move H.R.
1154, the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2023, so that it can
arrive on the President's desk for his signature.
Finally, I note that the just-released State Department 2024
Trafficking in Persons Report has focused its attention on the
trafficking of persons for the purpose of organ removal as a topic of
special interest, citing reports of systematic, forcible removal of
organs from political prisoners by the government of the People's
Republic of China.
That the State Department did so I believe was in part due to the
pressure imposed by Congress, which underscores the importance of what
we are doing here today.
I therefore call upon the House to pass H.R. 4132, and the Senate to
move H.R. 1154 onto the President's desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. McCormick) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 4132, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________