COVID–19 Accountability Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3683 To authorize the imposition of sanctions with respect to the People’s Republic of China for its obstruction or failure to cooperate in investigations relating to the outbreak of COVID–19, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 11, 2020 Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. DAINES, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. WICKER, and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To authorize the imposition of sanctions with respect to the People’s Republic of China for its obstruction or failure to cooperate in investigations relating to the out- break of COVID–19, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘COVID–19 Accountability Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3683.IS S3683 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3683 IS Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Statement of policy. TITLE I—SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Sec. 101. Sanctions with respect to the obstruction or failure of the People’s Republic of China to cooperate in investigations relating to the outbreak of COVID–19. TITLE II—ENSURING A SAFE AND SECURE SUPPLY OF PHARMACEUTICALS FOR THE UNITED STATES Sec. 201. Food and Drug Administration reporting requirements. TITLE III—ENCOURAGING THE RETURN AND DEVELOPMENT OF UNITED STATES INDUSTRY Sec. 301. Increase in alternative simplified research credit. Sec. 302. Special rules for certain United States manufacturers. Sec. 303. Domestic purchasing requirement for personal protective equipment acquisitions for the Strategic National Stockpile. TITLE IV—MATTERS RELATING TO TAIWAN Sec. 401. Participation of Taiwan in the World Health Organization. Sec. 402. Briefing on United States strategy regarding Taiwan’s international recognition. Sec. 403. Sense of Congress on the implementation of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) The People’s Republic of China, including 3 the Government of the People’s Republic of China 4 and the Chinese Communist Party, has mishandled 5 its management and response to the outbreak of 6 coronavirus disease 2019 (commonly known as 7 ‘‘COVID–19’’) in Wuhan, Hubei Province. 8 (2) On December 31, 2019, the World Health 9 Organization headquarters in Geneva learned of 10 pneumonia with an unknown cause, not from Chi- 11 nese authorities, but from a United States-based 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3683.IS S3683 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3683 IS listserv, Pro-MED, a platform for sharing early, 1 open-source intelligence about potential epidemics. 2 (3) On January 9, 2020, the Chinese Com- 3 munist Party officially announced a coronavirus out- 4 break, 2 days after the World Health Organization 5 announced an outbreak and 8 days after closing the 6 Wuhan Hua’nan wet market. 7 (4) The Chinese Communist Party continually 8 suppressed medical information, such as early 9 knowledge of the risk of human-to-human trans- 10 mission of the SARS–CoV–2 virus, which causes 11 COVID–19, from doctors and medical professionals 12 while subjecting them to humiliating reprimands. 13 (5) On January 20, 2020, the Chinese Com- 14 munist Party finally acknowledged that the SARS– 15 CoV–2 virus can be transmitted human to human, 16 despite denials as recently as January 15, 2020. 17 (6) On January 2, 2020, researchers in the 18 People’s Republic of China completed a genomic 19 analysis of the SARS–CoV–2 virus, but failed to 20 share the results with the international community 21 until January 12, 2020. 22 (7) On January 6, 2020, officials from the 23 United States Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 24 vention offered to visit the People’s Republic of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3683.IS S3683 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3683 IS China to help respond to the COVID–19 epidemic, 1 but the offer was declined by the Chinese Com- 2 munist Party, and the Centers for Disease Control 3 and Prevention were informed that United States 4 medical researchers were not permitted to enter the 5 People’s Republic of China until February 16, 2020, 6 as part of a World Health Organization delegation. 7 (8) The Chinese Communist Party exponen- 8 tially increased the spread of COVID–19 domesti- 9 cally and internationally by continuing to permit 10 international flights well after domestic quarantines 11 were put in place. 12 (9) The Chinese Communist Party contributed 13 to the community spread of COVID–19 by, on Janu- 14 ary 18, 2020, permitting a 40,000-family potluck 15 banquet in the Bubuting Community of Wuhan as 16 part of the Lunar New Year festivities. 17 (10) On March 12, 2020, officials within the 18 Chinese Communist Party knowingly spread 19 disinformation that the SARS–CoV–2 virus had 20 originated with the United States Armed Forces. 21 (11) COVID–19 has decimated the global econ- 22 omy, caused trillions of dollars in economic damage, 23 and cost millions of United States citizens their jobs. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3683.IS S3683 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3683 IS (12) As of the end of April 2020, COVID–19 1 has— 2 (A) infected more than 3,000,000 individ- 3 uals globally and almost 1,000,000 people in 4 the United States; and 5 (B) caused more than 200,000 deaths 6 globally and more than 50,000 deaths in the 7 United States. 8 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 9 It is the policy of the United States— 10 (1) to fully investigate the outbreak of the 11 SARS–CoV–2 virus, including the role the Govern- 12 ment of the People’s Republic of China and the Chi- 13 nese Communist Party played in withholding infor- 14 mation and knowingly misinforming international or- 15 ganizations and countries impacted by COVID–19; 16 (2) to ensure that the Government of the Peo- 17 ple’s Republic of China immediately closes all oper- 18 ating wet markets that have a potential to expose 19 humans to health risks through the introduction of 20 zoonotic disease into the human population; 21 (3) to draw international attention to— 22 (A) any violations by the Government of 23 the People’s Republic of China of the funda- 24 mental rights of the people of Hong Kong, as 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3683.IS S3683 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3683 IS provided by the International Covenant on Civil 1 and Political Rights; and 2 (B) any encroachment on the autonomy 3 guaranteed to Hong Kong by the Basic Law of 4 Hong Kong and the Joint Declaration of the 5 Government of the United Kingdom of Great 6 Britain and Northern Ireland and the Govern- 7 ment of the People’s Republic of China on the 8 Question of Hong Kong, done at Beijing on De- 9 cember 19, 1984; and 10 (4) to reduce the reliance of essential United 11 States industries on the People’s Republic of China 12 to fulfill supply chain needs. 13 TITLE I—SANCTIONS WITH RE- 14 SPECT TO THE PEOPLE’S RE- 15 PUBLIC OF CHINA 16 SEC. 101. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE OBSTRUC- 17 TION OR FAILURE OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUB- 18 LIC OF CHINA TO COOPERATE IN INVESTIGA- 19 TIONS RELATING TO THE OUTBREAK OF 20 COVID–19. 21 (a) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Not later than 60 22 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 23 180 days thereafter, the President shall submit to Con- 24 gress— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3683.IS S3683 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3683 IS (1) a certification that the Government of the 1 People’s Republic of China— 2 (A) is completely cooperating with any ef- 3 forts relating to the COVID–19 outbreak led by 4 the United States, partners of the United 5 States, or any institution affiliated with the 6 United Nations; 7 (B) has prohibited the operation of wet 8 markets that have a potential to expose humans 9 to health risks through the introduction of 10 zoonotic disease into the human population; and 11 (C) has released and dropped all charges 12 for anyone arrested or detained in the People’s 13 Republic of China since November 2019 relat- 14 ing to their participation in the protests in 15 Hong Kong relating to COVID–19; or 16 (2) a report describing the reasons the Presi- 17 dent is not able to make the certification described 18 in paragraph (1). 19 (b) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS AND PROHIBI- 20 TIONS.—If the President is unable to make a certification 21 described in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) by a date re- 22 quired by that subsection, the President may impose 2 or 23 more of— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3683.IS S3683 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3683 IS (1) the sanctions described in subsection (c) 1 with respect to— 2 (A) any official of the Government of the 3 People’s Republic of China; 4 (B) any entity owned, directed, or other- 5 wise controlled by that Government; and 6 (C) any individual associated with an enti- 7 ty described in paragraph (2); or 8 (2) the prohibition described in subsection (d). 9 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions that 10 may be imposed with respect to an official, entity, or indi- 11 vidual under this subsection are the following: 12 (1) PROPERTY BLOCKING.—The President may, 13 pursuant to the International Emergency Economic 14 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), block and pro- 15 hibit all transactions in property and interests in 16 property of such an official, entity, or individual 17 (and, in the case of an official or other individual, 18 the immediate family members of the official or indi- 19 vidual) if such property and interests in property are 20 in the United States, come within the United States, 21 or are or come within the possession or control of a 22 United States person. 23 (2) ALIENS INELIGIBLE FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, 24 OR PAROLE.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3683.IS S3683 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3683 IS (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—Not- 1 withstanding section 221 of the Immigration 2 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201), the Sec- 3 retary of State may deny a visa to, and the Sec- 4 retary of Homeland Security may deny admis- 5 sion or parole into the United States for, such 6 an official or individual who is an alien. 7 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 8 (i) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to section 9 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality 10 Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), the issuing con- 11 sular officer, the Secretary of State, or the 12 Secretary of Homeland Security (or a des- 13 ignee of any such officer or Secretary) may 14 revoke any visa or other entry documenta- 15 tion issued to an alien described in sub- 16 paragraph (A), regardless of when the visa 17 or other documentation was issued. 18 (ii) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.—A rev- 19 ocation under clause (i) may take effect 20 immediately and shall automatically cancel 21 any other valid visa or entry documenta- 22 tion that is in the alien’s possession. 23 (3) LOANS FROM UNITED STATES FINANCIAL 24 INSTITUTIONS.—The President may prohibit any 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3683.IS S3683 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3683 IS United States financial institution from making 1 loans, underwriting, or providing credits to any such 2 entity unless the entity is determined by the United 3 States Government to be engaged in activities to re- 4 lieve human suffering and the loans or credits have 5 been approved by the United States Government for 6 such activities. 7 (4) LOANS FROM AND PROCUREMENT BY 8 INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.—The 9 President shall direct the United States executive di- 10 rector of each international financial institution (as 11 defined in section 1701(c) of the International Fi- 12 nancial Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 262r(c))) to use 13 the voice and vote of the United States to oppose— 14 (A) any financial assistance from the inter- 15 national financial institution that would benefit 16 any such entity; and 17 (B) the awarding by the international fi- 18 nancial institution of procurement contracts to 19 any such entity. 20 (5) LIMITATION ON CHINESE OWNERSHIP IN- 21 TERESTS IN UNITED STATES ISSUERS OF SECURI- 22 TIES.— 23 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Securities and Ex- 24 change Commission may prohibit a covered en- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3683.IS S3683 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3683 IS tity from listing securities issued by the entity 1 on a national securities exchange if an entity or 2 individual subject to subsection (b) has a ma- 3 jority ownership interest in the covered entity. 4 (B) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 5 (i) COVERED ENTITY.—The term 6 ‘‘covered entity’’ means an entity— 7 (I) that is incorporated under the 8 laws of any State, or whose principal 9 place of business is within a State; 10 and 11 (II) that produces components 12 that may be used in— 13 (aa) services supplied by an 14 entity subject to subsection (b); 15 or 16 (bb) goods produced, or ex- 17 ported, by an entity subject to 18 subsection (b). 19 (ii) EXCHANGE; SECURITY.—The 20 terms ‘‘exchange’’ and ‘‘security’’ have the 21 meanings given those terms in section 3(a) 22 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 23 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 May 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3683.IS S3683 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3683 IS (iii) MAJORITY OWNERSHIP INTER- 1 EST.—An entity or individual holds a ‘‘ma- 2 jority ownership interest’’ in a covered en- 3 tity if the entity or individual owns— 4 (I) more shares in the covered 5 entity than any other shareholder; and 6 (II) enough shares in the covered 7 entity to control decisions of the enti- 8 ty. 9 (iv) NATIONAL SECURITIES EX- 10 CHANGE.—The term ‘‘national securities 11 exchange’’ means an exchange that is reg- 12 istered as a national secu [Text truncated for display. 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