Justice for Victims of Coronavirus Around the World Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3673 To investigate the role of the Chinese Communist Party in the novel coronavirus global pandemic and to secure damages on behalf of victims in the United States and abroad. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 11, 2020 Mr. HAWLEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To investigate the role of the Chinese Communist Party in the novel coronavirus global pandemic and to secure damages on behalf of victims in the United States and abroad. 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Justice for Victims 4 of Coronavirus Around the World Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3673.IS S3673 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3673 IS (1) beginning in December 2019, if not earlier, 1 the Government of the People’s Republic of China 2 concealed the emergence and spread of the novel 3 coronavirus (referred to in this Act as ‘‘COVID– 4 19’’) by, among other things— 5 (A) silencing medical professionals, jour- 6 nalists, and academic researchers; 7 (B) halting research and destroying or oth- 8 erwise denying access by Chinese and inter- 9 national public health authorities to COVID–19 10 viral samples and relevant medical information 11 and research; 12 (C) obstructing access by international 13 public health authorities to parts of the 14 COVID–19 outbreak epicenter; 15 (D) releasing partial or incorrect data 16 about the number of COVID–19 cases and 17 deaths in the People’s Republic of China and 18 COVID–19 modes of transmission; 19 (E) using the World Health Organization 20 to amplify its false messaging; and 21 (F) waging a global propaganda offensive 22 to deflect attention away from its mishandling 23 of the COVID–19 outbreak and create un- 24 founded accounts of the origins of the virus; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3673.IS S3673 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3673 IS (2) since December 2019, COVID–19 has 1 transformed from a local disease outbreak in 2 Wuhan, China, into a global pandemic, as declared 3 by the World Health Organization on March 11, 4 2020, that is infecting millions, killing hundreds of 5 thousands, and imposing severe economic hardship 6 on billions of people worldwide; 7 (3) initial actions or omissions by the Govern- 8 ment of the People’s Republic of China to conceal 9 the emergence and spread of COVID–19 facilitated 10 the transformation of COVID–19 from a local dis- 11 ease outbreak into a global pandemic by obstructing 12 the timely and effective containment of the virus 13 within the Chinese mainland and limiting the avail- 14 ability of information that other nations needed to 15 prevent or control the spread of the virus into their 16 territories; 17 (4) the failure by the Government of the Peo- 18 ple’s Republic of China to fully disclose information 19 on the COVID–19 outbreak in a timely manner to 20 the World Health Organization and other nations 21 appears to constitute a violation of the International 22 Health Regulations (2005), a legally binding agree- 23 ment among 196 countries, including the People’s 24 Republic of China; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3673.IS S3673 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3673 IS (5) the Government of the People’s Republic of 1 China should be held accountable for the harm in- 2 flicted upon the lives and livelihoods of the people of 3 the United States and other nations due to its ef- 4 forts to conceal the emergence and spread of 5 COVID–19; 6 (6) the United States Government should there- 7 fore establish and lead an international commission 8 to determine fully how actions or omissions by the 9 Government of the People’s Republic of China to 10 conceal the emergence and spread of COVID–19 11 contributed to the transformation of COVID–19 12 from a local disease outbreak into a global pan- 13 demic; and 14 (7) if the international investigation establishes 15 that actions or omissions by the Government of the 16 People’s Republic of China to conceal the emergence 17 and spread of COVID–19 caused or substantially 18 aggravated the transformation of COVID–19 from a 19 local disease outbreak into a global pandemic, or if 20 the Government of the People’s Republic of China 21 refuses to cooperate fully with the international in- 22 vestigation, then the United States Government 23 should lead international efforts— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3673.IS S3673 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3673 IS (A) to quantify the harm caused or sub- 1 stantially aggravated by actions or omissions by 2 the Government of the People’s Republic of 3 China to conceal the emergence and spread of 4 COVID–19 to the health and economic well- 5 being of the people of the United States and 6 other nations; and 7 (B) to secure damages from the Govern- 8 ment of the People’s Republic of China, espe- 9 cially by identifying ways to compel the Govern- 10 ment of the People’s Republic of China to pay 11 damages. 12 SEC. 3. JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF CORONAVIRUS TASK 13 FORCE. 14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 15 the Justice for Victims of Coronavirus Task Force (re- 16 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Task Force’’) to investigate 17 and secure damages from the Government of the People’s 18 Republic of China. 19 (b) LEADERSHIP.—The President shall appoint the 20 Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, 21 or a designee serving at the level of Deputy Assistant to 22 the President or higher, to oversee and coordinate activi- 23 ties by Task Force members. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3673.IS S3673 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3673 IS (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall consist of 1 the heads of the following Federal agencies, who may act 2 through their respective designees at or above the level of 3 Under Secretary or equivalent rank: 4 (1) The Department of State. 5 (2) The Department of Health and Human 6 Services. 7 (3) The Department of Justice. 8 (4) The Department of Commerce. 9 (5) The Department of the Treasury. 10 (6) The Department of Agriculture. 11 (7) The Office of the United States Trade Rep- 12 resentative. 13 (8) The Office of Science and Technology Pol- 14 icy. 15 (9) The Office of the Director of National Intel- 16 ligence. 17 (10) Any other Federal agency that the Assist- 18 ant to the President for National Security Affairs, 19 or his or her designee, determines to be appropriate. 20 (d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Task Force members shall 21 ensure relevant offices in their respective Federal agencies 22 take all appropriate measures to support— 23 (1) the Delegation established under section 24 4(a); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3673.IS S3673 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3673 IS (2) the Working Group to Quantify Harm es- 1 tablished under section 5(a); and 2 (3) the Working Group to Secure Damages es- 3 tablished under section 6(a). 4 (e) MEETINGS.—Task Force members shall meet at 5 least quarterly— 6 (1) to update the Assistant to the President for 7 National Security Affairs, or his or her designee, on 8 contributions by their respective Federal agencies to 9 the activities of the organizations listed under para- 10 graphs (1) through (3) of subsection (d); 11 (2) to notify the Assistant to the President for 12 National Security Affairs, or his or her designee, of 13 any disputes requiring resolution to ensure the abil- 14 ity of the organizations listed under paragraphs (1) 15 through (3) of subsection (d) to perform the duties 16 assigned to them under this Act; and 17 (3) to provide the Assistant to the President for 18 National Security Affairs, or his or her designee, 19 and other Task Force members with recommenda- 20 tions to strengthen coordination between or other- 21 wise improve the effectiveness of the organizations 22 listed under paragraphs (1) through (3) of sub- 23 section (d). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3673.IS S3673 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3673 IS (f) TERMINATION.—The Assistant to the President 1 for National Security Affairs, or his or her designee, shall 2 terminate and disband the Task Force following the termi- 3 nation and disbandment of— 4 (1) the Delegation established under section 5 4(a); 6 (2) the Working Group to Quantify Harm es- 7 tablished under section 5(a); and 8 (3) the Working Group to Secure Damages es- 9 tablished under section 6(a). 10 SEC. 4. UNITED STATES DELEGATION TO THE INTER- 11 NATIONAL COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE 12 THE ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE 13 PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA IN THE 14 COVID–19 GLOBAL PANDEMIC. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 16 establishment of the Task Force, the Secretary of State 17 shall form the United States Delegation to the Inter- 18 national Commission to Investigate the Role of the Gov- 19 ernment of the People’s Republic of China in the COVID– 20 19 Global Pandemic (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Dele- 21 gation’’). 22 (b) LEADERSHIP.—The Secretary of State, acting 23 through the United States Special Representative for 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3673.IS S3673 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3673 IS Global Health Diplomacy, shall direct and coordinate the 1 activities of the Delegation. 2 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Delegation shall include rep- 3 resentatives, at the level of Deputy Assistant Secretary or 4 equivalent rank, from the following Task Force member 5 agencies: 6 (1) The Department of State. 7 (2) The Department of Health and Human 8 Services. 9 (3) The Department of Justice. 10 (4) The Department of Agriculture. 11 (5) The Office of Science and Technology Pol- 12 icy. 13 (6) Any other Task Force member agency that 14 the Assistant to the President for National Security 15 Affairs, or his or her designee, determines to be ap- 16 propriate. 17 (d) DUTIES.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 19 the formation of the Delegation, the Delegation shall 20 undertake to establish and lead the International 21 Commission to Investigate the Role of the Govern- 22 ment of the People’s Republic of China in the 23 COVID–19 Global Pandemic (referred to in this Act 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3673.IS S3673 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3673 IS as the ‘‘International Commission’’) in accordance 1 with this subsection. 2 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Delegation shall estab- 3 lish the International Commission in cooperation 4 with— 5 (A) allies and partners of the United 6 States; and 7 (B) other similar nations, if their member- 8 ship in the International Commission would not 9 adversely affect the ability of the International 10 Commission to fulfill the purpose described in 11 paragraph (3). 12 (3) PURPOSE.—The International Commission 13 shall allow the United States Government and other 14 members of the International Commission (referred 15 to in this Act as ‘‘International Commission Mem- 16 bers’’) to work together to gather, share, and ana- 17 lyze data in order— 18 (A) to understand how COVID–19 grew 19 from a local disease outbreak into a global pan- 20 demic; and 21 (B) to prevent similar tragedies in the fu- 22 ture. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3673.IS S3673 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3673 IS (4) FUNCTIONS.—The International Commis- 1 sion shall enable the United States Government and 2 other International Commission Members— 3 (A) to share and coordinate the collection 4 of information related to the emergence and 5 spread of COVID–19; 6 (B) to leverage unique expertise or other 7 capabilities resident in individual International 8 Commission Members to advance the under- 9 standing of all International Commission Mem- 10 bers of the emergence and spread of COVID– 11 19; 12 (C) to apply multilateral pressure to the 13 Government of the People’s Republic of China 14 or other parties, as necessary, in order to en- 15 courage their cooperation with the international 16 investigation; and 17 (D) to develop ways to generate actionable 18 findings irrespective of the cooperation of the 19 Government of the People’s Republic of China. 20 (5) ADMINISTRATION.—The Delegation, in ne- 21 gotiation with other International Commission Mem- 22 bers, shall determine— 23 (A) the organizational structure of the 24 International Commission; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3673.IS S3673 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3673 IS (B) the rules and procedures governing ac- 1 tivities by the International Commission; 2 (C) whether the International Commission 3 will issue reports on findings and recommenda- 4 tions or defer to International Commission 5 Members to issue their own reports on findings 6 and recommendations; and 7 (D) other items related to the administra- 8 tion of the International Commission, as the 9 Delegation determines to be appropriate. 10 (e) TRIANNUAL REPORT.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 12 after the formation of the Delegation, and every 4 13 months thereafter until the Delegation is disbanded, 14 the Delegation shall submit a report to the appro- 15 priate congressional committees and to the public 16 that describes the activities undertaken and the in- 17 formation produced by the International Commis- 18 sion. 19 (2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—Each report 20 under paragraph (1) shall include— 21 (A) procedural updates regarding— 22 (i) changes in International Commis- 23 sion membership; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:42 May 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3673.IS S3673 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 3673 IS (ii) changes related to the administra- 1 tion of the International Commission; 2 (iii) investigative or other official ac- 3 tions taken by the International Commis- 4 sion; and 5 (iv) responses by the Gover [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]