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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 817 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 817
To provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to forced organ
harvesting within the People's Republic of China, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 3, 2025
Mr. Cruz (for himself, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Scott of Florida, and Mr.
Tillis) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to forced organ
harvesting within the People's Republic of China, and for other
purposes.
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--
(1) to avoid any cooperation with the People's Republic of
China in the organ transplantation field while the Chinese
Communist Party remains in power;
(2) to take appropriate measures, including using relevant
sanctions authorities, to coerce the Chinese Communist Party to
end any state-sponsored organ harvesting campaign;
(3) to work with allies, partners, and multilateral
institutions to highlight the People's Republic of China's
persecution of Falun Gong; and
(4) to 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 under 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
that 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 of 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 a foreign person on the most recent list submitted under
subsection (b) 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.--An alien included in the most recent list
submitted under 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) Current visa revoked.--
(i) In general.--An alien described in
subparagraph (A) is subject to revocation of
any visa or other entry documentation
regardless of when the 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 alien'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 first list under subsection
(b)(1), 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 120-day period preceding submission of
the 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.
(i) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Admission; admitted; alien; lawfully admitted for
permanent residence.--The terms ``admission'', ``admitted'',
``alien'', and ``lawfully admitted for permanent residence''
have the meanings given those terms in section 101 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
(2) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means an
individual or entity that is not a United States person.
(3) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'', with respect to
conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person had
actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the
circumstance, or the result.
(4) 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;
(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;
or
(C) any person located in the United States.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON ORGAN TRANSPLANT POLICIES AND PRACTICES OF THE
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
(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 People's Republic of China, 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
People's Republic of China;
(B) the number of known or estimated voluntary organ donors
in the People's Republic of China;
(C) an assessment of the sources of organs for transplant
in the People's Republic of China; 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
People's Republic of China;
(3) a list of all United States grants during the 10 years
before the date of the enactment of this Act that have
supported research on organ transplantation in the People's
Republic of China or in collaboration between a Chinese entity
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 and the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
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