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118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 4142
To provide for a cause of action for any United States national who lost
a relative due to COVID–19.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 15, 2023
Mr. SANTOS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To provide for a cause of action for any United States
national who lost a relative due to COVID–19.
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 Wrongful Death
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Accountability Act of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. CAUSE OF ACTION.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
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sion of law, a United States national, if an immediate rel-
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ative of that national has died of COVID–19, may, in a
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civil action against the Government of China, recover ap-
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propriate relief.
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(b) ACTION BY CITIZEN OF UNITED STATES.—Not-
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withstanding any other provision of law (including chapter
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85 of title 28, United States Code, commonly referred to
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as the ‘‘Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act’’) a citizen of
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the United States may bring an action for damages in an
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appropriate district court of the United States against the
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Government of the People’s Republic of China for harm
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suffered by the citizen as a result of the COVID–19 pan-
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demic.
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(c) PAYMENT BY UNITED STATES.—If an individual
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is awarded damages in an action under this section, and
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the Government of the People’s Republic of China has not
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satisfied such award before the date that is one year after
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the date on which the damages were awarded, the indi-
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vidual may seek an order from the court directing the
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United States to pay such award to the individual. The
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payment by the United States of any such award shall
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be deducted from any interest or debt owed by the United
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States to the People’s Republic of China, or from any
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amounts made available to provide United States assist-
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ance to the People’s Republic of China.
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(d) DEFINITION.—In this section:
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(1) HARM.—The term ‘‘harm’’ includes costs
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associated with—
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(A) the payment of overtime to frontline
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workers;
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(B) purchasing masks and sanitizing prod-
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ucts;
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(C) purchasing vaccines;
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(D) research and development;
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(E) developing COVID–19 testing sites
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and testing individuals for COVID–19;
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(F) purchasing medical equipment related
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to COVID–19;
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(G) unemployment payments; and
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(H) laws to provide other assistance during
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the COVID–19 pandemic.
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(2) IMMEDIATE RELATIVE.—The term ‘‘imme-
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diate relative’’ means a brother, sister, mother, or
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father, either biological or adopted.
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