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118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 4000
To authorize States to bring civil actions against the Government of the
People’s Republic of China for harm suffered by the State as a result
of the COVID–19 pandemic.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 12, 2023
Mr. SANTOS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To authorize States to bring civil actions against the Govern-
ment of the People’s Republic of China for harm suffered
by the State as a result of the COVID–19 pandemic.
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 ‘‘CCP Virus Reimburse-
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ment For States Act of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. CIVIL ACTION AUTHORIZED FOR STATES RELATED
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TO COVID–19 HARM.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
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sion of law (including chapter 85 of title 28, United States
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Code, commonly referred to as the ‘‘Foreign Sovereign Im-
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munities Act’’) a State may bring an action for damages
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in an appropriate district court of the United States
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against the Government of the People’s Republic of China
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for harm suffered by the State as a result of the COVID–
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19 pandemic.
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(b) PAYMENT BY UNITED STATES.—If a State is
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awarded damages in an action under this section, and the
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Government of the People’s Republic of China has not sat-
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isfied such award before the date that is one year after
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the date on which the damages were awarded, the State
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may seek an order from the court directing the United
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States to pay such award to the State. The payment by
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the United States of any such award shall be deducted
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from any interest or debt owed by the United States to
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the People’s Republic of China, or from any amounts
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made available to provide United States assistance to the
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People’s Republic of China.
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(c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘harm’’
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includes costs associated with—
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(1) the payment of overtime to frontline work-
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ers;
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(2) purchasing masks and sanitizing products;
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(3) purchasing vaccines;
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(4) research and development;
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(5) developing COVID–19 testing sites and
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testing individuals for COVID–19;
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(6) purchasing medical equipment related to
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COVID–19;
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(7) unemployment payments; and
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(8) laws to provide other assistance during the
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COVID–19 pandemic.
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