119-s817

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 817 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 817

To provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to forced organ 
 harvesting within the People's Republic of China, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 March 3, 2025

 Mr. Cruz (for himself, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Scott of Florida, and Mr. 
 Tillis) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
 referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to forced organ 
 harvesting within the People's Republic of China, and for other 
 purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Falun Gong Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

 It is the policy of the United States--

    (1) to avoid any cooperation with the People's Republic of 
 China in the organ transplantation field while the Chinese 
 Communist Party remains in power;

    (2) to take appropriate measures, including using relevant 
 sanctions authorities, to coerce the Chinese Communist Party to 
 end any state-sponsored organ harvesting campaign;

    (3) to work with allies, partners, and multilateral 
 institutions to highlight the People's Republic of China's 
 persecution of Falun Gong; and

    (4) to coordinate closely with the international community 
 on targeted sanctions and visa restrictions.

SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING 
 WITHIN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

    (a) Imposition of Sanctions.--The President shall impose the 
sanctions described in subsection
            (c) with respect to each foreign 
person included in the most recent list submitted under subsection

    (b) .

    (b) List of Persons.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
 the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the 
 appropriate congressional committees a list of foreign persons 
 that the President determines to have knowingly and directly 
 engaged in or facilitated the involuntary harvesting of organs 
 within the People's Republic of China.

    (2) Updates of lists.--The President shall submit to the 
 appropriate congressional committees an updated list under 
 paragraph

    (1) --
        (A) as new information becomes available;
        (B) not later than one year after the date of the 
 enactment of this Act; and
            (C) annually thereafter until the date of 
 termination under subsection

    (h) .

    (3) Form.--The list required by paragraph

    (1) shall be 
 submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified 
 annex.
            (c) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this 
subsection are the following:

    (1) Blocking of property.--The President shall exercise all 
 of the powers granted to the President by the International 
 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (except 
 that the requirements of 

section 202 of such Act (50 U.S.C. 
 1701) shall not apply) to the extent necessary to block and 
 prohibit all transactions in property and interests in property 
 of a foreign person on the most recent list submitted under 
 subsection

    (b) if such property and interests in property are 
 in the United States, come within the United States, or are or 
 come within the possession or control of a United States 
 person.

    (2) Inadmissibility of certain individuals.--
        (A) Ineligibility for visas, admission, or 
 parole.--An alien included in the most recent list 
 submitted under subsection

    (b) is--
            (i) inadmissible to the United States;
            (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 
 documentation to enter the United States; and
            (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 
 or paroled into the United States or to receive 
 any other benefit under the Immigration and 
 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
        (B) Current visa revoked.--
            (i) In general.--An alien described in 
 subparagraph
        (A) is subject to revocation of 
 any visa or other entry documentation 
 regardless of when the visa or other entry 
 documentation is or was issued.
            (ii) Immediate effect.--A revocation under 
 clause
            (i) shall--
            (I) take effect immediately; and
            (II) automatically cancel any other 
 valid visa or entry documentation that 
 is in the alien's possession.

    (3) Exception.--Sanctions under paragraph

    (2) shall not 
 apply to an alien if admitting or paroling the alien into the 
 United States is necessary to permit the United States to 
 comply with the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the 
 United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and 
 entered into force November 21, 1947, between the United 
 Nations and the United States, or other applicable 
 international obligations of the United States.
            (d) Penalties.--The penalties provided for in subsections

    (b) and
            (c) of 

section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 
(50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person who violates, attempts to 
violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of regulations 
promulgated to carry out subsection

    (a) to the same extent that such 
penalties apply to a person who commits an unlawful act described in 

section 206

    (a) of that Act.

    (e) Exception To Comply With National Security.--The following 
activities shall be exempt from sanctions under this section:

    (1) Activities subject to the reporting requirements under 
 title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et 
 seq.).

    (2) Any authorized intelligence or law enforcement 
 activities of the United States.

    (f) Exception Relating to Provision of Humanitarian Assistance.--
Sanctions under this section may not be imposed with respect to 
transactions or the facilitation of transactions for--

    (1) the sale of agricultural commodities, food, or 
 medicine;

    (2) the provision of vital humanitarian assistance;

    (3) financial transactions relating to humanitarian 
 assistance or for humanitarian purposes; or

    (4) transporting goods or services that are necessary to 
 carry out operations relating to humanitarian assistance or 
 humanitarian purposes.

    (g) Waiver Authority.--

    (1) Waiver.--The President may, on a case by case basis, 
 waive the imposition of any sanction under this section if the 
 President determines such waiver is in the vital national 
 security interest of the United States.

    (2) Reports.--Not later than 120 days after the date on 
 which the President submits the first list under subsection

    (b)

    (1) , and every 120 days thereafter until the date of 
 termination under subsection

    (h) , the President shall submit to 
 the appropriate congressional committees a report on the extent 
 to which the President has used the waiver authority under 
 paragraph

    (1) during the 120-day period preceding submission of 
 the report.

    (h) Sunset.--The authority to impose sanctions under this section 
shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
            (i) === Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Admission; admitted; alien; lawfully admitted for 
 permanent residence.--The terms ``admission'', ``admitted'', 
 ``alien'', and ``lawfully admitted for permanent residence'' 
 have the meanings given those terms in 

section 101 of the 
 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).

    (2) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means an 
 individual or entity that is not a United States person.

    (3) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'', with respect to 
 conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person had 
 actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the 
 circumstance, or the result.

    (4) United states person.--The term ``United States 
 person'' means--
        (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully 
 admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
        (B) an entity organized under the laws of the 
 United States or any jurisdiction within the United 
 States, including a foreign branch of such an entity; 
 or
            (C) any person located in the United States.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON ORGAN TRANSPLANT POLICIES AND PRACTICES OF THE 
 PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the National 
Institutes of Health, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report on the organ transplant policies and practices of 
the People's Republic of China.

    (b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required under subsection

    (a) shall include--

    (1) a summary of de jure and de facto policies toward organ 
 transplantation in the People's Republic of China, including 
 with respect to prisoners of conscience (including Falun Gong) 
 and other prisoners;

    (2)
        (A) the number of organ transplants that are known to 
 occur or are estimated to occur on an annual basis in the 
 People's Republic of China;
        (B) the number of known or estimated voluntary organ donors 
 in the People's Republic of China;
            (C) an assessment of the sources of organs for transplant 
 in the People's Republic of China; and
            (D) an assessment of the time, in days, that it takes to 
 procure an organ for transplant within the Chinese medical 
 system and an assessment of whether such timetable is possible 
 based on the number of known or estimated organ donors in the 
 People's Republic of China;

    (3) a list of all United States grants during the 10 years 
 before the date of the enactment of this Act that have 
 supported research on organ transplantation in the People's 
 Republic of China or in collaboration between a Chinese entity 
 and a United States entity; and

    (4) a determination as to whether the persecution of Falun 
 Gong practitioners within the People's Republic of China 
 constitutes an ``atrocity'' (as such term is defined in 

section 6 of the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 
 2018 (Public Law 115-441; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note)).
            (c) Form.--The report required under subsection

    (a) shall be 
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.

SEC. 5. EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF GOODS.

    (a) In General.--The authorities and requirements to impose 
sanctions authorized under this Act shall not include the authority or 
requirement to impose sanctions on the importation of goods.

    (b) Good Defined.--In this section, the term ``good'' means any 
article, natural or man-made substance, material, supply or 
manufactured product, including inspection and test equipment, and 
excluding technical data.

SEC. 6. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.

 In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
means--

    (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
 Representatives; and

    (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
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