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IIB
116TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 8405
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
NOVEMBER 30, 2020
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
AN ACT
To direct the Department of State to ensure persons rep-
resenting the United States in international athletic com-
petitions in certain countries are appropriately informed,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Values and
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Security in International Athletics Act’’.
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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Congress finds the following:
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(1) In 2017, the International Olympic Com-
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mittee (IOC) revised its Host City Contract to re-
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quire host countries to ‘‘protect and respect human
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rights and ensure any violation of human rights is
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remedied in a manner consistent with international
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agreements, laws, and regulations applicable in the
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Host Country and in a manner consistent with all
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internationally recognised human rights standards
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and principles, including the United Nations Guiding
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Principles on Business and Human Rights, applica-
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ble in the Host Country’’.
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(2) The Olympic Charter states the goal of
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Olympism is ‘‘to place sport at the service of the
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harmonious development of humankind, with a view
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to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the
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preservation of human dignity’’.
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(3) The IOC set up an advisory committee on
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human rights in December 2018, and IOC President
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Thomas Bach said, ‘‘Promoting humanistic values in
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sport has been a core feature of the IOC since its
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beginning. Our mission, to put sport at the service
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of humanity, goes hand-in-hand with human rights,
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which is part of our DNA.’’.
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(4) In the report, ‘‘The Cybersecurity of Olym-
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pic Sports: New Opportunities, New Risks’’, the UC
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Berkley Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity listed
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the ‘‘hacking and release of sensitive athletic data’’
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as one of the four significant categories of
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cyberattacks on major sporting events.
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(5) According to the State Department’s 2019
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Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the
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People’s Republic of China’s Ministry of Public Se-
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curity employs ‘‘tens of millions of surveillance cam-
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eras’’ to monitor the general public, as well as ‘‘po-
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litical dissidents, religious leaders and adherents, Ti-
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betans, and Uyghurs’’.
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(6) The People’s Republic of China (PRC) Gov-
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ernment’s extensive use of artificial intelligence sur-
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veillance technology, including facial and voice pat-
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tern recognition technology, poses grave humani-
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tarian, privacy, and security concerns. PRC authori-
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ties have used surveillance technology to monitor,
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control, and repress an estimated 1.8 million
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Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the
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Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. PRC State
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media has confirmed that ‘‘voice, image, position
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and behavior recognition technologies’’ will be used
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in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
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SEC. 3. HUMAN RIGHTS AWARENESS FOR AMERICAN ATH-
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LETIC DELEGATIONS.
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(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
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gress that individuals representing the United States at
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international athletic competitions in foreign countries
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should have the opportunity to be informed about human
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rights and security concerns in such countries and how
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best to safeguard their personal security and privacy.
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(b) IN GENERAL.—
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days
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after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
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retary of State shall devise and implement a strategy
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for disseminating briefing materials, including infor-
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mation described in subsection (c), to individuals
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representing the United States at international ath-
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letic competitions in a covered country.
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(2) TIMING AND FORM OF MATERIALS.—
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(A) IN GENERAL.—The briefing materials
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referred to in paragraph (1) shall be offered not
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later than 180 days prior to the commencement
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of an international athletic competition in a
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covered country.
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(B) FORM OF DELIVERY.—Briefing mate-
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rials related to the human rights record of cov-
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ered countries may be delivered electronically or
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disseminated in person, as appropriate.
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(C) SPECIAL
CONSIDERATION.—Informa-
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tion briefing materials related to personal secu-
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rity risks may be offered electronically, in writ-
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ten
format,
by
video
teleconference,
or
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prerecorded video.
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(3) CONSULTATIONS.—In devising and imple-
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menting the strategy required under paragraph (1),
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the Secretary of State shall consult with the fol-
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lowing:
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(A) The Committee on Foreign Affairs of
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the House of Representatives and the Com-
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mittee on Foreign Relations in the Senate, not
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later than 90 days after the date of the enact-
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ment of this Act.
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(B) Leading human rights nongovern-
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mental organizations and relevant subject-mat-
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ter experts in determining the content of the
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briefings required under this subsection.
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(C) The United States Olympic and
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Paralympic Committee and the national gov-
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erning bodies of amateur sports that play a role
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in determining which individuals represent the
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United States in international athletic competi-
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tions, regarding the most appropriate and effec-
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tive method to disseminate briefing materials.
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(c) CONTENT OF BRIEFINGS.—The briefing mate-
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rials required under subsection (b) shall include, with re-
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spect to a covered country hosting an international athletic
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competition in which individuals may represent the United
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States, the following:
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(1) Information on the human rights concerns
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present in such covered country, as described in the
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Department of State’s Annual Country Reports on
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Human Rights Practices.
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(2) Information, as applicable, on risks such in-
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dividuals may face to their personal and digital pri-
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vacy and security, and recommended measures to
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safeguard against certain forms of foreign intel-
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ligence targeting, as appropriate.
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(d) COVERED COUNTRY DEFINED.—In this section,
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the term ‘‘covered country’’ means, with respect to a coun-
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try hosting an international athletic competition in which
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individuals representing the United States may partici-
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pate, any of the following:
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(1) Any Communist country specified in sub-
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section (f) of section 620 of the Foreign Assistance
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Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2370(f)).
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(2) Any country ranked as a Tier 3 country in
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the most recent Department of State’s annual Traf-
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ficking in Persons Report.
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(3) Any other country the Secretary of State
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determines present serious human rights concerns
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for the purpose of informing such individuals.
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(4) Any country the Secretary of State, in con-
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sultation with other cabinet officials as appropriate,
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determines presents a serious counterintelligence
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risk.
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Passed the House of Representatives November 18,
2020.
Attest:
CHERYL L. JOHNSON,
Clerk.
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