[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 132 (Thursday, July 31, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S5109]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3353. Mr. MERKLEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle F of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1067. DENIAL OF ENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES OF CURRENT
OR FORMER OFFICIALS ENGAGED IN THE FORCED
REPATRIATION OF UYGHURS AND OTHER DESIGNATED
ALIENS TO THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
(a) Denial of Entry.--
(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law
and except as provided in subsection (b), the Secretary of
State may not issue any visa, and the Attorney General or the
Secretary of Homeland Security may not admit to the United
States or grant any immigration benefit or status to any
current or former government official who the Secretary of
State determines is or was responsible for, or complicit in,
the forced departure from their country of last habitual
residence and return to the People's Republic of China of--
(A) any Uyghur individual; or
(B) any alien who--
(i) is a member of any other ethnic or religious group; and
(ii) is more likely than not to be subject to persecution
by the Government of the People's Republic of China, as
determined by the Secretary of State.
(2) Referral to office of foreign assets control.--
Concurrent with the application of paragraph (1) to an
official described in that subsection, the Secretary shall
refer the matter to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of
the Department of the Treasury to determine whether to apply
sanctions authorities in accordance with United States law to
block the transfer of property and interests in property, and
all financial transactions, in the United States involving
such official.
(b) Waiver.--The Secretary of State may waive the
application of subsection (a) with respect to an official
described in that subsection if the Secretary determines
that--
(1) such a waiver is in the national interest of the United
States; or
(2) the circumstances that caused the official to be
ineligible under that subsection for a visa or an immigration
benefit or status have changed sufficiently.
(c) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter
until the date on which this section ceases to have effect
under subsection (d), the Secretary of State shall submit to
the appropriate committees of Congress a report that
includes, for the period covered by the report--
(A) information on each official denied admission or an
immigration benefit or status under subsection (a)(1); and
(B) a list of waivers granted under subsection (b), and the
justification for each waiver.
(2) Form.--Each report submitted under this subsection
shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a
classified annex.
(3) Appropriate committees of congress defined.--In this
subsection, 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.
(d) Termination.--This section shall cease to have effect
on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
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