Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1770 To expand the imposition of sanctions under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 with respect to human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China and to counter the genocidal policies of the Government of the People’s Republic of China. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 31 (legislative day, MAY 30), 2023 Mr. RUBIO (for himself and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Hous- ing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To expand the imposition of sanctions under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 with respect to human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Re- gion of the People’s Republic of China and to counter the genocidal policies of the Government of the People’s Republic of China. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1770.IS S1770 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1770 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act of 3 2023’’. 4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 5 this Act is as follows: 6 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Expansion of sanctions under Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020. Sec. 3. Sense of Congress on application of sanctions under Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020. Sec. 4. Denial of United States entry for individuals complicit in forced abor- tions or forced sterilizations. Sec. 5. Physical and psychological support for Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other ethnic groups. Sec. 6. Preservation of cultural and linguistic heritage of ethnic groups op- pressed by the People’s Republic of China. Sec. 7. Determination of whether actions of certain Chinese entities meet cri- teria for imposition of sanctions. Sec. 8. Countering propaganda from the People’s Republic of China about genocide. Sec. 9. Documenting atrocities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Sec. 10. Prohibition on certain United States Government agency contracts. Sec. 11. Disclosures to Securities and Exchange Commission of certain activi- ties related to Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF SANCTIONS UNDER UYGHUR HUMAN 7 RIGHTS POLICY ACT OF 2020. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6 of the Uyghur Human 9 Rights Policy Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–145; 22 10 U.S.C. 6901 note) is amended— 11 (1) in subsection (a)— 12 (A) in paragraph (1)— 13 (i) in the matter preceding subpara- 14 graph (A), by striking ‘‘persons in 15 Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region’’ and 16 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1770.IS S1770 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1770 IS inserting ‘‘persons residing in the Xinjiang 1 Uyghur Autonomous Region or members 2 of those groups in countries outside of the 3 People’s Republic of China’’; 4 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 5 (F) the following: 6 ‘‘(G) Systematic rape, coercive abortion, 7 forced sterilization, or involuntary contraceptive 8 implantation policies and practices. 9 ‘‘(H) Human trafficking for the purpose of 10 organ removal. 11 ‘‘(I) Forced separation of children from 12 their parents to be placed in boarding schools. 13 ‘‘(J) Forced deportation or refoulement to 14 the People’s Republic of China.’’; 15 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 16 paragraph (3); and 17 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 18 following: 19 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL MATTERS TO BE IN- 20 CLUDED.—The President shall include in the report 21 required by paragraph (1) an identification of— 22 ‘‘(A) each foreign person that knowingly 23 provides significant goods, services, or tech- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1770.IS S1770 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1770 IS nology to or for a person identified in the re- 1 port; and 2 ‘‘(B) each foreign person that knowingly 3 engages in a significant transaction relating to 4 any of the acts described in subparagraphs (A) 5 through (J) of paragraph (1).’’; 6 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘subsection 7 (a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)’’; and 8 (3) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol- 9 lows: 10 ‘‘(d) IMPLEMENTATION; REGULATORY AUTHOR- 11 ITY.— 12 ‘‘(1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may 13 exercise all authorities provided under section 203 of 14 the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 15 (50 U.S.C. 1702) to carry out this section. 16 ‘‘(2) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The President 17 shall issue such regulations, licenses, and orders as 18 necessary to carry out this section.’’. 19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.—The amend- 20 ments made by this section— 21 (1) take effect on the date of the enactment of 22 this Act; and 23 (2) apply with respect to the first report re- 24 quired by section 6(a)(1) of the Uyghur Human 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1770.IS S1770 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1770 IS Rights Policy Act of 2020 submitted after such date 1 of enactment. 2 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON APPLICATION OF SANC- 3 TIONS UNDER UYGHUR HUMAN RIGHTS POL- 4 ICY ACT OF 2020. 5 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that, as of the date of 6 the enactment of this Act— 7 (1) the report required by section 6(a)(1) of the 8 Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (Public 9 Law 116–145; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note) has not been 10 submitted to Congress; and 11 (2) the sanctions provided for under that Act 12 have not been employed. 13 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 14 gress that the President should employ the sanctions pro- 15 vided for under the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 16 2020— 17 (1) to address ongoing atrocities, in particular 18 the use of forced labor, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Au- 19 tonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China; 20 and 21 (2) to hold officials of the People’s Republic of 22 China accountable for those ongoing atrocities. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1770.IS S1770 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1770 IS SEC. 4. DENIAL OF UNITED STATES ENTRY FOR INDIVID- 1 UALS COMPLICIT IN FORCED ABORTIONS OR 2 FORCED STERILIZATIONS. 3 Section 801 of the Admiral James W. Nance and 4 Meg Donovan Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal 5 Years 2000 and 2001 (Public Law 106–113; 8 U.S.C. 6 1182e) is amended— 7 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘may not’’ 8 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘shall not’’; 9 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 10 following: 11 ‘‘(c) WAIVER.—The Secretary of State may waive the 12 prohibitions in subsection (a) with respect to a foreign na- 13 tional if the Secretary— 14 ‘‘(1) determines that— 15 ‘‘(A) the foreign national is not directly 16 complicit in atrocities, specifically the oversight 17 of programs or policies the intent of which is to 18 destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, 19 racial, or religious group through the use of 20 forced sterilization, forced abortion, or other 21 egregious population control policies; 22 ‘‘(B) admitting or paroling the foreign na- 23 tional into the United States is necessary— 24 ‘‘(i) to permit the United States to 25 comply with the Agreement regarding the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1770.IS S1770 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1770 IS Headquarters of the United Nations, 1 signed at Lake Success on June 26, 1947, 2 and entered into force November 21, 1947, 3 between the United Nations and the 4 United States, or other applicable inter- 5 national obligations of the United States; 6 or 7 ‘‘(ii) to carry out or assist law en- 8 forcement activity of the United States; 9 and 10 ‘‘(C) it is important to the national secu- 11 rity interest of the United States to admit or 12 parole the foreign national into the United 13 States; and 14 ‘‘(2) provides written notification to the appro- 15 priate congressional committees containing a jus- 16 tification for the waiver. 17 ‘‘(d) NOTICE.—The Secretary of State shall make a 18 public announcement whenever the prohibitions under 19 subsection (a) are imposed under this section. 20 ‘‘(e) INFORMATION REQUESTED BY CONGRESS.—The 21 Secretary of State, upon the request of a Member of Con- 22 gress, shall provide— 23 ‘‘(1) information about the use of the prohibi- 24 tions under subsection (a), including the number of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1770.IS S1770 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1770 IS times such prohibitions were imposed, disaggregated 1 by country and by year; or 2 ‘‘(2) a classified briefing that includes informa- 3 tion about the individuals subject to such prohibi- 4 tions or subject to sanctions under any other Act au- 5 thorizing the imposition of sanctions with respect to 6 the conduct of such individuals.’’. 7 SEC. 5. PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT FOR 8 UYGHURS, KAZAKHS, AND OTHER ETHNIC 9 GROUPS. 10 (a) AUTHORIZATION.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Using funds appropriated to 12 the Department of State in annual appropriations 13 bills under the heading ‘‘DEVELOPMENT ASSIST- 14 ANCE’’, the Secretary of State, in conjunction and in 15 consultation with the Administrator of the United 16 States Agency for International Development, is au- 17 thorized, subject to the requirements under chapters 18 1 and 10 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 19 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) and section 634A of 20 such Act (22 U.S.C. 2394–1)— 21 (A) to provide the assistance described in 22 paragraph (2) to individuals who— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1770.IS S1770 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1770 IS (i) belong to the Uyghur, Kazakh, 1 Kyrgyz, or another oppressed ethnic group 2 in the People’s Republic of China; 3 (ii) experienced torture, forced steri- 4 lization, rape, forced abortion, forced labor, 5 or other atrocities in the People’s Republic 6 of China; and 7 (iii) are residing outside of the Peo- 8 ple’s Republic of China; and 9 (B) to build local capacity for the care de- 10 scribed in subparagraph (A) through— 11 (i) grants to treatment centers and 12 programs in foreign countries in accord- 13 ance with section 130(b) of the Foreign 14 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 15 2152(b)); and 16 (ii) research and training to health 17 care providers outside of such treatment 18 centers or programs in accordance with 19 section 130(c)(2) of such Act. 20 (2) AUTHORIZED ASSISTANCE.—The assistance 21 described in this paragraph is— 22 (A) medical care; 23 (B) physical therapy; and 24 (C) psychological support. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1770.IS S1770 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1770 IS (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 1 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 2 submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations 3 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 4 the House of Representatives that describes— 5 (1) the direct care or services provided in for- 6 eign countries for individuals described in subsection 7 (a)(1)(A); and 8 (2) any projects started or supported in foreign 9 countries to provide the care or services described in 10 paragraph (1). 11 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.—Not more than 50 percent of 12 the costs of providing the assistance authorized under sub- 13 section (a) may be paid by the United States Government. 14 SEC. 6. PRESERVATION OF CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC 15 HERITAGE OF ETHNIC GROUPS OPPRESSED 16 BY THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 17 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that the genocide per- 18 petrated by officials of the Government of the People’s Re- 19 public of China in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Re- 20 gion aims to erase the distinct cultural and linguistic her- 21 itage of oppressed ethnic groups. 22 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 23 gress that the United States Government should use its 24 diplomatic, development, and cultural activities to promote 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1770.IS S1770 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1770 IS the preservation of cultural and linguistic heritages of eth- 1 nic groups in the People’s Republic of China threatened 2 by the Chinese Communist Party. 3 (c) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than one year 4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 5 of State, in consultation with the Administrator of the 6 United States Agency for International Development, shall 7 submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen- 8 ate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 9 of Representatives a report that assesses the feasibility of 10 establishing a grant program to assist communities facing 11 threats to their cultural and linguistic heritage from offi- 12 cials of the Government of the People’s Republic of China. 13 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 14 authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for each of fis- 15 cal years 2024 through 2027, to support the establishment 16 of a Repressed Cultures Preservation Initiative within the 17 Smithsonian Institution to pool Institution-wide efforts to- 18 ward research, exhibitions, and education related to the 19 cultural and linguistic heritage of ethnic and religious 20 groups the cultures of which are threatened by repressive 21 regimes, including the Chinese Communist Party. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1770.IS S1770 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1770 IS SEC. 7. DETERMINATION OF WHETHER ACTIONS OF CER- 1 TAIN CHINESE ENTITIES MEET CRITERIA FOR 2 IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 5 Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and 6 the Attorney General, shall— 7 (1) determine whether any entity specified in 8 subsection (b)— 9 (A) is responsible for or complicit in, or 10 has directly or indirectly engaged in, serious 11 human rights abuses against Uyghurs or other 12 predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in the 13 Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the 14 People’s [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]