No Dollars to Uyghur Forced Labor Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1724) to prohibit the use of funds supporting any activities within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1724

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 ``No Dollars to Uyghur Forced Labor Act''. SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS SUPPORTING ANY ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.

(a) In General.--No funds authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development may be used to develop, design, plan, promulgate, implement, or execute a policy, program, or contract that knowingly uses goods, wares, articles, or merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China or produced by a covered entity, unless such activity is specifically authorized pursuant to subsection (b).

(b) Specific Authorization.--The Secretary of State may specifically authorize an activity otherwise prohibited by subsection (a) if--

(1) the Secretary--

(A) obtains in writing an assurance from the relevant program partner, implementor, or contractor that such partner, implementor, or contractor--

(i) will not use goods, wares, articles, or merchandise mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the PRC with respect to the program; and

(ii) will develop a system to ensure compliance with the requirements in subsection (a); and

(B) provides notice to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Chair and Ranking Member of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate not later than 15 days before authorizing the activity; and

(2) the activity is not otherwise prohibited.

(c) Report.--The Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on an annual basis for three years that describes--

(1) all activities prohibited by subsection (a) that were carried out in violation of such prohibition and not specifically authorized pursuant to subsection (b) in the previous year;

(2) any challenges in enforcing the requirements of this section; and

(3) a plan to improve enforcement of the requirements of this section.

(e) Definitions.--In this section:

(1) The term ``covered entity'' means an entity listed pursuant to clause (i), (ii), (iv), or (v) of section 2(d)(2)(B) of Public Law 117-78 (135 Stat. 1527) under the strategy developed by section 2(c) of such Public Law 117-78.

(2) The term ``forced labor'' has the meaning given that term in section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the No Dollars to Uyghur Forced Labor Act.

The Chinese Communist Party is carrying out a campaign of genocide against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.

The evidence, documented by human rights organizations, journalists, and survivors, is overwhelming: over a million people detained, families torn apart, entire communities forced into labor in factories that feed global supply chains. Some of those goods end up right here in the United States on our shelves and in our homes.

The No Dollars to Uyghur Forced Labor Act makes one principle clear: Not a single American taxpayer dollar should be used to purchase goods, raw materials, or services tainted by Uyghur forced labor.

It ensures that Federal contracts, programs, and policies only go to companies that can certify their supply chains are free from this abuse.

American consumers should not be complicit in human rights violations. American businesses should not profit from forced labor, and our government, our tax dollars, must never enable oppression.

Mr. Speaker, I urge strong support, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill, this debate, and previous bills send a clear message to the Chinese Communist Party and to the world, the United States does not turn a blind eye to China's atrocities. I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Moran) for his leadership.

We must pass this bill and say with one voice: Not one more dollar.

I urge my colleagues to pass this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source