[Pages H5063-H5070]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

UYGHUR FORCED LABOR DISCLOSURE ACT OF 2020

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1129, I call up
the bill (H.R. 6270) to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to
require issuers to make certain disclosures relating to the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region, and for other purposes, and ask for its
immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cuellar). Pursuant to House Resolution
1129, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text
of Rules Committee Print 116-64 is adopted and the bill, as amended, is
considered read.
The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:

H.R. 6270

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 ``Uyghur Forced Labor
Disclosure Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) Since early 2017, the Government of the People's
Republic of China has conducted a policy of disappearance,
mass internment, and imprisonment of Turkic Muslims,
particularly Uyghurs, in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region (XUAR).
(2) Since 2014, Chinese authorities have detained between
800,000 and possibly up to three million Uyghurs, ethnic
Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other ethnic minorities in forced
education, training, and labor camps.
(3) The bi-partisan, bi-cameral Congressional-Executive
Commission on China's 2019 Annual Report found numerous
reports of forced labor associated with government repression
of ethnic minority groups in the XUAR. Detainees performed
forced labor in factories both within and outside of
internment camps in XUAR.
(4) Radio Free Asia reported in January 2019 that
authorities had also sent Uyghurs and Kazakhs from the XUAR
to other provinces in China for forced labor.
(5) Comments in March 2018 from the president of the China
National Textile and Apparel Council suggested that textile
manufacturers were working with XUAR authorities to exploit
forced labor.
(6) Companies that work in the XUAR are at great risk of
complicity in the human rights abuses being committed in the
region.
(7) In a March 2020 report, the Australian Strategic Policy
Institute identified 27 factories in nine Chinese provinces
that are using Uyghur labor transferred from Xinjiang. These
factories indirectly supply global brands, including many
American multinational companies.
(8) Forced labor in XUAR is Chinese government policy and
due diligence efforts to ensure clean supply chains is nearly
impossible due to mass surveillance, pervasive police
presence, and intimidation of workers.

SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN ACTIVITIES RELATING TO THE
XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION.

Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15
U.S.C. 78m) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(s) Disclosure of Certain Activities Relating to the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than the end of the 180-day
period beginning on the date of enactment of this subsection,
the Commission shall issue rules to require each issuer
required to file an annual report under this section or
section 15(d) or a proxy statement under section 14 to
disclose in each such report or proxy statement whether,
during the period covered by the report or proxy statement--
``(A) the issuer or any affiliate of the issuer, directly
or indirectly, engaged with an entity or the affiliate of an
entity to import--
``(i) manufactured goods, including electronics, food
products, textiles, shoes, and teas, that originated in the
XUAR; or
``(ii) manufactured goods containing materials that
originated or are sourced in the XUAR;
``(B) with respect to any goods or materials described
under subparagraph (A), whether the goods or material
originated in forced labor camps; and
``(C) with respect to each manufactured good or material
described under subparagraph (A)--
``(i) the nature and extent of the commercial activity
related to such good or material;
``(ii) the gross revenue and net profits, if any,
attributable to the good or material; and
``(iii) whether the issuer or the affiliate of the issuer
intends to continue with such importation.
``(2) Availability of information.--The Commission shall
make all information disclosed pursuant to this subsection
available to the public on the website of the Commission.
``(3) Reports.--
``(A) Annual report to congress.--The Commission shall--
``(i) conduct an annual assessment of the compliance of
issuers with the requirements of this subsection; and
``(ii) issue a report to Congress containing the results of
the assessment required under clause (i).
``(B) GAO report.--The Comptroller General of the United
States shall periodically evaluate and report to Congress on
the effectiveness of the oversight by the Commission of the
disclosure requirements under this subsection.
``(4) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Forced labor camp.--The term `forced labor camp'
means--
``(i) any entity engaged in the `mutual pairing assistance'
program which subsidizes the establishment of manufacturing
facilities in XUAR;
``(ii) any entity using convict labor, forced labor, or
indentured labor described under section 307 of the Tariff
Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1307); and
``(iii) any other entity that the Commission determines is
appropriate.
``(B) XUAR.--The term `XUAR' means the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region.''.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for
1 hour, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking
minority member of the Committee on Financial Services.
The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) and the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Huizenga) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.

General Leave

Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
on H.R. 6270 and to insert extraneous material thereon.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6270, the Uyghur Forced
Labor Disclosure Act of 2020, important legislation introduced by
Representative Wexton, a valued member of the Committee on Financial
Services.
The Uyghurs are a Turkic-speaking Muslim group and are one of a
number of Muslim groups in Xinjiang that are persecuted, arbitrarily
arrested, detained in forced labor concentration camps, and even
executed. It has been reported by human rights advocates that over 1
million people are being held by the Chinese Government in detention
camps across the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
The Government of the People's Republic of China falsely refers to
these concentration camps as vocational camps or reeducation camps.
Make no mistake: The truth is that today, in 2020, 1 million human
beings are being held in concentration camps where they are beaten,
starved, and forced to work long hours in conditions

[[Page H5064]]

that can only be described as inhumane. Their relatives often have no
idea where they are or whether they are alive. They are dying each day
due to the cruelty of their living conditions and the brutality of the
Chinese Government, which executes them with impunity.
Within these concentration camps, the Uyghurs are used as slave labor
to make goods and products for unsuspecting American consumers. Each
day, millions of us unknowingly buy, use, and transport products made
by the hands of people who are held in these government-run detention
centers while their families wait for some proof of life that may never
come.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote for H.R. 6270.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume,
and I rise today in opposition to H.R. 6270.
Republicans are unwavering in our support to hold China accountable
for the human rights violations that are occurring in the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region, or the XUAR.
We agree with each other on the facts on the ground, from the
oppression that the Uyghurs are feeling, to the forced labor camps.
In fact, Mr. Speaker, I would remind my colleagues that we passed
H.R. 6210 last week, literally last week, on a bipartisan basis to
address these human rights violations.
Moreover, to date, the Trump administration has taken significant
action to punish human rights violators in the region, including recent
sanctions and additions to the Commerce Department's Entity List.
On the other hand, this window-dressing bill, put forth by the
Democrats less than a month before the election and a week after we
actually passed legislation, will not hold any bad actors accountable.
Adding additional mandatory disclosures for public companies is not
the appropriate way to curtail human rights atrocities.
Sanctioning is the most effective way to hold these human rights
abusers accountable.
The framework of this bill is deeply flawed. First, the Securities
and Exchange Commission, the SEC, has no foreign policy expertise. The
SEC's three-part mission is to: one, protect investors; two, maintain
fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and third, facilitate capital
formation here in the United States.
The Treasury and State Department handle the sanctions regime.
We should instead be working with both the State Department and
Treasury to hold these bad actors accountable, not the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
I would point out, Mr. Speaker, that we are working with the State
Department and Treasury.
To be clear, this bill would require the SEC to issue rules regarding
American companies, and only American companies, to disclose whether
they or any of their affiliates directly or indirectly engaged with an
entity or an affiliate of an entity to import not only goods from the
XUAR, but also goods containing materials originating or sourced from
the XUAR.
Now, we all have been talking about Disney a lot and a lot of other
places that have had content from, seemingly, this area.
So now let's look at what this would mean for a manufacturer. Let's
look at what this would mean in so many various areas of our economy.
This means that companies would be required to know if its
affiliates, its suppliers, anyone they may have a relationship with,
are ``indirectly engaged with affiliates of certain companies.''
So you may not be doing something directly, but an affiliate or a
partner of yours may be doing something with an affiliate or a partner
of somebody else that may be dealing and doing some business in that
area.
This is a poorly constructed disclosure regime where a public company
would be required to disclose impossible-to-discern information, and it
would be liable for securities fraud, a very powerful word, if it is
impossible to discern information that is not disclosed correctly.

So think about that. They may not know they are breaking the law,
this law, but they would be held accountable for that.
Further, the bill does not contain a sunset clause, and the
disclosure requirement would apply indefinitely even if behavior in the
region has changed.
This bill's framework has proven disastrous.
Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act mandated disclosures relating to
the use of conflict minerals that originated in the DRC, or the
Democratic Republic of Congo, or an adjoining country. There is an
entire Great Lakes region, they call it, in Africa.
The implementation of section 1502 cost billions of dollars--Democrat
estimates put it at over $7 billion--and the provisions led to
devastating job losses, not here in America, but in Africa.
Mr. Speaker, this bill did not go through regular order either, I
might add.
Committee Republicans have not had the opportunity to make
substantive changes or suggestions, let alone examine the bill's likely
harmful consequences.
So, again, just last week, the House passed H.R. 6210, the Uyghur
Forced Labor Prevention Act, to hold China accountable. That is where
the responsibility lies, with China, not U.S. companies or the
Securities and Exchange Commission.

{time} 1130

Today, we are only trying to give a vulnerable Member and other
Democrats who feel the need to ``get tough on China all of a sudden'' a
win--sad, in my opinion.
I urge my colleagues to oppose H.R. 6270, as it will limit
opportunities for everyday investors, reduce the number of public
companies, increase compliance costs on businesses, and may harm,
actually, the Uyghurs themselves who this bill is intending to protect.
Let's go after China. Let's not go after the Uyghurs.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. Wexton), a distinguished member of the
Financial Services Committee and the sponsor of this legislation.
Ms. WEXTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Waters for working with
me on this important legislation and for her unwavering commitment to
defending human rights and demanding accountability, two things that
H.R. 6270 would do.
I also wish to thank Representatives Jim McGovern and Chris Smith
for their leadership and commend them on their hard work on the Uyghur
Forced Labor Prevention Act, which passed the House overwhelmingly last
week. Both of them have worked tirelessly to shine a light on the
atrocities taking place in Xinjiang.
Speaker Pelosi pointed out that it was Congressman Smith and
Congressman Frank Wolf who, years ago, visited a forced labor camp and
reported back to the U.S. Congress and to the world about what was
happening there.
Frank Wolf held my seat in Virginia's 10th Congressional District for
34 years, so I am proud to continue his important work defending
religious freedom and human rights. For that reason, I rise in strong
support of H.R. 6270, the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act.
This legislation is a critical and long-overdue human rights
disclosure bill that will inform investors and the markets of publicly
traded companies' passive complicity or active exploitation of one of
the most pressing and ongoing human rights violations of our lifetime.
For years, the Government of the People's Republic of China has been
engaged in the mass internment of religious minorities in the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region. Because of the well-documented and massive
scale of abuses committed in the region, Xinjiang has become globally
notorious for human rights violations, including the extensive use of
forced labor.
Chinese authorities have used the pretext of terrorism to suspend
civil and political rights, including the internment of more than 1
million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in reeducation centers
across Xinjiang, where they are subjected to harsh abuse and forbidden
from practicing their religious or cultural beliefs.

[[Page H5065]]

These reeducation centers also function as forced labor camps where
various goods, especially those made from cotton, the region's top
export, are manufactured with forced Uyghur labor and sent to producers
and consumers around the world.
Chinese manufacturers are provided development assistance to build
factories in or near the camps to take advantage of detainee labor.
Through government-sponsored endeavors like the mutual pairing
assistance program, former detainees are transferred from Xinjiang to
other parts of China for factory labor, where they are separated from
their families, live in segregated dormitories, and are assigned
minders who monitor their every move.
It is important to point out that a lot of these workers were
accomplished people in Uyghur society. We are talking about professors,
doctors, and journalists, educated, successful people who had their
livelihoods taken from them. Their only crime was being Uyghur.
Shockingly, reports show that many of these factories supply
manufactured materials for some of the largest companies in the world,
and some of these products are finding their way to U.S. consumers.
The U.S. has banned imports made with forced labor since 1930, and
U.S. companies are required to exercise due diligence in order to
better understand their supply chains and potential links to forced
labor. But traditional human rights due diligence efforts are falling
short in Xinjiang, where forced labor is widespread and systemic in the
regional economy.
Xinjiang is also tightly controlled. Travel to the region is
restricted, making efforts to audit supply chains nearly impossible.
Auditors have reportedly been detained, threatened, and stopped at
airports. Workers are intimidated not to talk.
Just last week, five supply chain auditing organizations pulled out
of Xinjiang, citing restricted access and increased difficulty in
meeting auditing standards.
Despite all of this, international companies continue to source from
Xinjiang or allow products from labor from the region to come into
their supply chains.
My legislation, the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act, would require
the SEC to issue rules requiring publicly traded companies to annually
disclose imports of manufactured goods and materials that originate in
or are sourced from Xinjiang.
Because of the strong likelihood that products from Xinjiang were
created using forced labor from concentration camp prisoners, companies
that import products and materials from the region face greater legal
reputational and financial risks that may impact their short- and long-
term value.
Just as important, shareholders and consumers have the right to know
whether their hard-earned dollars are being invested in companies whose
supply chains benefit from forced labor. It is critical that publicly
traded companies disclose this so that investors have the information
that they need to make the best investment decisions possible and to
ensure that no parts of our market or economy utilize forced labor or
are complicit in further violations of human rights.
The gentleman from Michigan believes that sanctions would be a better
option. Sanctions need to be part of the solution, and I, along with
others, pushed the Trump administration to sanction the Chinese
Government officials and entities. When they finally did, I finally
supported that. I firmly agree with what they did.
But sanctions alone aren't effective. We need a multipronged approach
that deals with the supply side and the demand side.
It was mentioned that it is not possible to exercise the kind of due
diligence necessary. What price a human life? There are lots of
opportunities for publicly traded companies to pressure their suppliers
not to take advantage of this forced labor, and it could cause
reputational and financial risks and burdens to the company if they are
found out that they are profiting from this forced labor.
My bill, along with Chairman McGovern's, H.R. 6270, which passed
overwhelmingly last week, sends a strong message that the United States
economy and the financial system will not tolerate human rights abuse.
I urge my colleagues to support the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act.
Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gonzalez).
Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 6270
before us here today.
China is the greatest existential threat that our country has faced
in my lifetime. From their efforts to displace the U.S. as an
international leader, to hurting our job creators and workers, to
China's human rights abuses, the U.S. needs to work in a bipartisan and
strategic way with our allies to fight back against the CCP.
That is why I was honored to serve on the House China Task Force that
just today released our comprehensive report. From this report, we have
recommended hundreds of policy proposals and ideas, over 60 percent of
which are bipartisan, on the most effective ways to counter the Chinese
Communist Party.
Unfortunately, this piece of legislation before us today misses the
mark, though I do appreciate my colleagues' intent.
Once again, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are
attempting to use the SEC, which has no foreign policy expertise and
whose mission is to, one, protect investors; two, maintain fair,
orderly, and efficient markets; and, three, facilitate capital
formation. This bill seeks to make that group, the SEC, an enforcer to
accomplish a policy objective completely unrelated to their mission and
expertise.
This responsibility is better housed in the Treasury Department,
where we do have the expertise and the tools to effectively punish
those who support the grotesque human rights violations that the CCP
inflicts on the Uyghurs.
One final point. I would like to remind everyone that this bill never
went through a markup and received zero hearings on the Financial
Services Committee, primarily because, as we all know, these virtual
hearings are awful, to put it kindly. The virtual hearings do not work,
and they serve as a tremendous disservice to our constituents.
Since the pandemic struck, we have not held a single markup as a
committee. What is the purpose of our committee if we can't even figure
out how to mark up a bill?
There is so much work to be done here, and we aren't seriously taking
up any of it. We can and must find a way to safely and effectively hold
real hearings and real markups in a socially distanced way so that we
can do the job that the American people sent us here to do.
I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Green).
Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman, Ms. Wexton,
for bringing this legislation before the House.
To be very candid with you, upon reviewing the materials that have
been submitted to me, I was absolutely amazed that this kind of
activity is taking place.
Forced labor. Is that what they are calling it now when you force
people to work, when you separate families, when you have persons
denounce their religion, when you put them in reeducation centers? Is
that what this is all about, forced labor?
I have a history that requires me to speak up and speak out on these
issues. Forced labor is how I got to this country. If you understand my
history, you have to understand why I am absolutely, totally, and
completely opposed to what is happening to the Uyghurs. This is
unconscionable, and it is unacceptable.
I am proud to be a person who will strongly recommend to my
colleagues that we not allow this to continue. It is one thing to have
the forced labor, and then to compound it by having American companies
benefit from the forced labor, that is sinful. It is criminal in
international courts, but it is also just sinful that American
companies would participate in this kind of activity.

I think this notion that they should be audited, their supply chains
should be audited, is more than reasonable. Why would we not want to
know whether American companies are participating in this kind of
behavior? We need to know.

[[Page H5066]]

How do we find out? Audit the supply chain. It just makes sense that
we would do this.
I don't understand how we can oppose trying to find out if this kind
of activity is being engaged in by American companies.
Finally, this: I don't understand how we consistently find people
opposed to making inquiries about the suffering of other people. At
some point, the people who are suffering have to be given some
opportunity to have their suffering addressed. And it doesn't matter
where they are in the world. Suffering has to be addressed. We cannot
allow it to happen there because, if we do, it can happen here.
I am absolutely supportive of H.R. 6270, and I strongly encourage my
colleagues to help us end the suffering of the Uyghur people.
I just spoke to a constituent who is of Chinese ancestry who said to
me that she believes all of this to be true.
I just don't understand how we can oppose this piece of legislation,
and I strongly urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Michigan has 23 minutes
remaining. The gentlewoman from California has 18 minutes remaining.
Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Virginia (Ms. Wexton).

{time} 1145

Mr. HUIZENGA. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.
Is it appropriate--
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will suspend. The gentlewoman
from Virginia may yield for a parliamentary inquiry.
The gentlewoman is recognized.
Mr. HUIZENGA. Will the gentlewoman yield for a parliamentary inquiry?
Ms. WEXTON. The gentlewoman will not yield, no.
Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Michigan raises a couple of points in
his argument saying that H.R. 6270 is redundant because of the McGovern
bill. None of the disclosures that are required by this bill are
required under H.R. 6210, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. There
is no overlap. In fact, we worked very hard to make sure that the two
bills were complementary.
H.R. 6210 imposes a disclosure obligation for certain activities the
issuer is knowingly engaged in, which is appropriate in certain
circumstances. Import-related activities are covered under H.R. 6270.
The issuer would have an affirmative obligation to know their
suppliers, so they would have to engage in due diligence to determine
whether they were engaging in supporting these forced labor practices.
Companies that continue to import from the region despite the
overwhelming evidence of forced labor practices should, at the very
least, be required to actively audit their supply chains, and that is
what this legislation would require.
Another issue that was brought up by the gentleman from Michigan is
that this is like a supply chain disclosure requirement under Dodd-
Frank. Rule 1502 had required publicly traded companies to disclose
whether their products contained certain minerals that have been known
to finance violent conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa, but that comparison
misses the point. The implication is that businesses will find these
disclosure requirements so burdensome that they will have to divest
from the region and local jobs will be lost.
The business environment is not the same in the DRC as it is in
Xinjiang, where free enterprise does not exist and people are being put
into concentration camps and work camps against their will. We should
be pushing companies to reassess their supply chains in Xinjiang and
find alternatives, preferably here in America, where they are not
exploiting forced labor. Unlike legitimate mining jobs in the DRC, we
want these forced labor jobs to go away.
Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my
time.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, a report published earlier this year by the Australian
Strategic Policy Institute noted that Nike, Adidas, and Apple all had
supply chains that included Uyghur workers laboring under forced
conditions. It is critical that investors in these companies be given
the information they need to consider the legal, reputational, and
financial risks associated with investing in these and other publicly
traded U.S. companies with forced labor in their supply chain. And it
is equally critical that, when required to disclose this information,
these companies confront the reality of their choices and make
decisions that don't contribute to suffering, racism, and death.
Representative Wexton's bill, H.R. 6270, is a necessary step in
ending this injustice. Her bill would require the SEC to issue rules
requiring publicly traded companies to annually disclose imports of
manufactured goods and materials that originate or are sourced in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It would also require the SEC and
the GAO to provide information to Congress regarding these disclosures,
as well as oversight.
So I would like to just speak briefly to the misleading letter from
the Chamber of Commerce opposing H.R. 6270 on the grounds that a
similar supply chain due diligence effort--that is, section 1502 of the
Dodd-Frank Act, the Congo conflict mineral law--failed and caused the
situation to worsen. I am encouraged by their letter because, when your
opponents have to use dishonest arguments to their make their case, Mr.
Speaker, it means they have no legitimate ones to make.
So, despite every effort on the other side of the aisle to take down
the conflict mineral law and to weaken and eliminate the conflict
mineral rule, I am proud to say that support for section 1502 has been
sustained by a sense of moral responsibility and by the fact that
evidence is showing that the rule is having positive effects. Indeed,
the conflict mineral rule continues to spur these intense efforts to
operationalize and expand regional, national, and industry due
diligence systems.
The U.N. Group of Experts on the DRC has reported that section 1502
``has had a massive and welcome impact so far, requiring chain
participants all over the world to take due diligence and conflict
financing seriously. This should not and must not be thrown away or
weakened.''
Likewise, H.R. 6270 is a critical component of the effort by the
House to marshal the might of the United States economy and American
conscience to make clear the reprehensible nature of China's actions on
a minority in its country.
This bill complements another bill that passed the House last week,
H.R. 6210, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. That bill provides
mechanisms that will require the United States to establish a
diplomatic strategy and issue reports that will assist all interested
parties in implementing H.R. 6270 and provides complementary
disclosures for public companies. So, if you supported H.R. 6210, Mr.
Speaker, then you should also vote for H.R. 6270.

The bill before us also enjoys the support of a wide array of civic-
minded organizations, including the AFL-CIO, Public Citizen, the Uyghur
American Association, Human Rights First, and the Uyghur Human Rights
Association.
We must all stand up against the unjust and inhumane treatment of the
Uyghurs and push China to end this brutality once and for all. I
believe that resolve will not weaken just because China happens to be
the second largest economy in the world. Just as each Member of this
Chamber knows that this is wrong, so do our U.S. companies, investors,
and the American public.
So I would like to just relate to some of what Mr. Green has said as
he tried to make our friends on the opposite side of the aisle
understand why we are so invested in this legislation.
We are descendants of slaves--let me say that one more time; we are
descendants of slaves--and when we learn about slavery anywhere in the
world, we are opposed to it. There is no justification for it. It does
not matter whether it is the principals or their associates who are
involved with products and services, et cetera, as a result of slave
labor. We are opposed to it, and we would ask our Members on the
opposite side of the aisle to have a sensitivity to that when they
oppose slavery no matter where it is and who is causing it.

[[Page H5067]]

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I consume.
Let me just address the point that was just brought up, Mr. Speaker.
There is a sensitivity to that. There has been an injustice in our
history, there is no doubt, and we need to address that now. Obviously,
it was addressed at the time, but it has been ongoing.
But whether it was the slave trafficking that the chairlady was
talking about or whether it was family members of my wife who were
enslaved by Nazis in work camps or whether they are modern-day slave
labor camps like this with the Uyghurs, this must be stamped out. This
must be stamped out. We are in robust agreement about the problem and
about the issue.
The question here is enforcement and responsibility. So, Mr. Speaker,
I am going to read a quote from the head of the Securities and Exchange
Commission. We heard about moral obligation and those kinds of things.
This is what the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission said:
``As we all know, the SEC has little or no experience in crafting trade
sanctions or articulating and enforcing human rights policy, two areas
which have not traditionally been within the purview of securities
regulation.''
This is from Mary Jo White, Barack Obama's head of the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
So this is not a partisan issue. This is not a question of whether
you support Uyghur slavery or not. I am offended if our colleagues are
trying to portray it as that. I don't think they are, but that may be
kind of how they are tinting it. And I might refer everybody to the
fact that, last week, we passed a bipartisan bill addressing this very
issue.
But this is about enforcement. This is about the State Department
doing its job. This is about the Treasury Department doing its job,
and, yes, our Financial Services Committee, which has done its job with
sanctions. We are very much a part of that sanction regime with the
Department of the Treasury.
So, please, Mr. Speaker, do not misunderstand, and please don't
misconstrue opposition to this particular bill. Again, we have no
disagreement about the atrocities. We have no disagreement about what
is happening on the ground to the Uyghurs and, frankly, to others.
By the way, if this was about others, we would include others, but it
is narrowed down to the Uyghurs.
So I am hoping and I am praying that this isn't just a political ploy
to look tough on China, finally, but I hope this is really about
helping people, because I know that is why I am here.
So I want to make sure, whether it is a young lady in the Philippians
who is in sex slavery or whether it is a Uyghur in a labor camp or
whether it was my wife's family that was imprisoned by the Japanese in
internment camps in Indonesia or in the Netherlands under the Nazis or
whether it was our brothers and sisters who came here involuntarily as
slaves, we have to recognize the evil and the sinfulness behind this,
as my friend and colleague from Texas had talked about its being
sinful. I wholeheartedly agree.
The question is: How are we going to remediate that and address it?
Unfortunately, the Securities and Exchange Commission is not the right
vehicle for that.
Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inquire through the Chair if
my colleague has any remaining speakers on his side. I have no further
speakers, and I am prepared to close.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, we are hoping to get one more person here
who is on their way, so I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to
help buy some time until the opposite side gets its speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HUIZENGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, we have had a good, robust conversation, and we have
agreed violently here on the problem and on the issue that we need to
address. Again, we have no disagreement about the atrocities against
the Uyghurs. We have no disagreement about what is happening on the
ground and the despicableness of the CCP, the Chinese Government.
Mr. Speaker, I really hope that it is not simply that the Democrats
are wanting to appear ``tough on China'' by pushing through an empty
window dressing bill that hurts U.S. investors and companies but,
unfortunately, simply pays lip service to the Uyghurs with a framework
that has already been proven disastrous.
And I just read a short while ago the quote from Barack Obama's head
of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Jo White, who said that
the Securities and Exchange Commission is not equipped for this. Using
the SEC as social police didn't work with conflict minerals, and it
won't work as we all attempt to protect the Uyghurs.

{time} 1200

I would remind my Democrat colleagues, again, that a year ago,
Republicans put forth strong proposals to prohibit taxpayer-backed
financing through the Export-Import Bank from going to the CCP, the
Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese Government. Our proposals had real
teeth in them.
Sadly, the Democrats on our committee rejected this proposal with no
real explanation. So instead, Democrats want to target our securities
laws and make the SEC responsible for foreign policy. In fact,
targeting our securities law is the Democrats' solution for virtually
everything--climate change, outsourcing, conflict minerals, not enough
mustard at the ballpark. It is not the job of the SEC to make sure that
these things are happening. It is our job and Treasury's job and the
State Department's job to make sure that those sanctions are in place.
This bill does not target the problem. Instead, it simply puts, not
just inconvenient duties on the plates of these publicly traded
companies, no, it accuses them of fraud--fraud--over something that is
impossible for them to determine. On top of it, it requires enforcement
from an agency that simply cannot do it.
Sanctioning bad actors is the appropriate and most effective way to
punish human rights abusers, as sanctions hurt the Chinese Communist
Party without hurting the Uyghurs or the American capital markets or
other investors and employees around the world. And ironically,
sanctions cover everyone. If you are a privately held company that is
using materials from a source that is under sanctions, guess what? You
just broke the law. You can't do that.
Now under this, if we are only using the SEC, guess who the SEC
applies to? Publicly traded companies only. So those private companies
could still go along their merry way doing business with those folks.
Yet, these publicly traded companies have this massive burden put on
them, enforced by an agency that says it cannot enforce them. I would
like to see everyone covered, not just these publicly traded companies.
Mr. Speaker, both the House and the administration have taken
meaningful action to combat human rights violators in the Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region. This includes recent sanctions imposed by the
administration on a number of China's 25-member ruling Politburo and
party secretary of the region, as well as additions to the Commerce
Department's Entity List.
Mr. Speaker, that is why I request my colleagues oppose H.R. 6270,
not because we don't agree on the goal, not that we don't want to make
sure that the Uyghurs are protected, but because using an agency to
enforce the law is the wrong direction to go. We are literally asking
the street department to go be the police department. And whether you
are doing the fire department or the street maintenance, or something
else in the city government, you may be good at that but that doesn't
mean you are a good police department or a good fire department. So
let's not ask the SEC to do that job, the job of the State Department.
Mr. Speaker, this is only going to be hurting those American
investors, those American companies, everyday investors, who are trying
to make sure that they get a reasonable return, yet, have a concern to
protect the Uyghurs

[[Page H5068]]

that, unfortunately, this bill fails to do.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have
remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman has 10 minutes remaining
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, disclosure may seem to be a small thing. It is a
powerful thing. It will force publicly traded companies to audit their
supply chains and ensure investors are better informed regarding their
investments. Moreover, the reports Congress will receive under this
legislation will help us shape our future legislative efforts.
In its letter, supporting H.R. 6270, the Uyghur American Association
stated:

Passing the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act of 2020,
H.R. 6270, is one necessary step in leveraging our collective
power to put a stop to this genocide.

Mr. Speaker, let me just take a moment to talk about slavery. And as
I mentioned earlier, those of us who are descendants of slaves are very
much always interested in what we can do to stop slavery wherever it is
or to stop it before it starts.
Mr. Speaker and Members, let me just say, while my friend on the
opposite side of the aisle makes an argument about the inconvenience
and the loss of money to American firms, slavery is always about money.
Slavery in this country was about labor. It was about using those who
they brought over on slave ships from Africa to pick cotton, and to
enrich those owners on the plantations that were involved with cotton
as its major trade, as its major source of income and profit.
So we cannot be sympathetic to any argument that talks about it is
going to inconvenience investors or American companies. Slavery is
about exploitation and the use of other human beings in order,
basically, to derive a profit from their work and from the fact that
they are slaves. So when my friend on the opposite side of the aisle
talks about, he, too, is sympathetic to the arguments that are made
against slavery--and he points out that his own wife was a victim of
slavery, as he talks about what happened to her and her family, as we
all know, and we certainly are opposed to the Holocaust and what
happened--let us focus on the fact that whether you are talking about
the Holocaust or whether you are talking about slavery with the
Uyghurs, whether you are talking about slavery that we experienced as
African Americans brought over on slave ships, slavery is slavery no
matter where it takes place.
So, no, we are not sympathetic to the fact that investors may lose
money if, in fact, we stop slavery. We are not sympathetic to the fact
that it is an inconvenience and that somehow the SEC should not be
burdened with the responsibility to deal with this, they don't know how
to deal with this.

Well, I will tell you something: History has taught us that for all
of those who turned their backs and said, they didn't understand, they
didn't see, but they didn't agree, but they didn't know what was going
on, that is how these injustices continue, when people turn a blind
eye.
I don't care whether it is the SEC or any other agency of government
who can make the argument that they are not equipped to do what we are
asking them to do. Then go and get your act together and get equipped
because the Congress of the United States is charging you with this
responsibility. And when you tell me that we should respect the SEC,
saying that it has not had the kind of experience that is needed in
order to deal with this issue, let me just share with you that I don't
care whether it is an appointee by Obama or anybody else. One of the
reasons I have created a subcommittee on diversity and inclusion is
because most of the agencies of government, particularly in financial
services, you don't have people who look like me who are going to stand
up and take on these issues.
Unfortunately, a lack of caring, a lack of understanding, a lack of
experience--or whatever you want to call it--we are about opening up
these agencies so that we have people who will stand up, just like I am
standing up here today, and teach you about that which you don't know,
or you don't understand.
So when I take a look at the SEC or the OCC or the Treasury or the
Federal Reserve, none of them, none of them have people in management
positions who will talk about the experiences of those in this
country--African Americans and our ancestors--in a way that will create
the sensitivity for change. So we are always focused and centered on
justice, and we understand injustice when we see it--we feel it very
deeply--and we are opening up these agencies and we are providing the
leadership on diversity and inclusion so that we can get people in
these agencies who are willing to do the job and to help share the
information that is needed to create change.
Mr. Speaker, again, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation,
which is a most important step towards protecting our investors and
doing our part as global citizens. It is our moral imperative to do
everything we can to stand up against injustice.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 1129, the previous question is ordered
on the bill, as amended.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.

Motion to Recommit

Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman opposed to the bill?
Mr. McHENRY. In its current form, yes.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to
recommit.
The Clerk read as follows:

Mr. McHenry moves to recommit the bill H.R. 6270 to the
Committee on Financial Services with instructions to report
the same back to the House forthwith with the following
amendment:
Page 3, after line 2, insert the following:
(9) The bi-partisan, bi-cameral Congressional Executive
Commission on China's 2019 Annual Report made recommendations
to address the human rights atrocities occurring in the XUAR,
including recommending the Administration ``aggregate policy
responses within the U.S. Government to address gross human
rights violations in the XUAR, including by Using Global
Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (Public Law No.
114-328) sanctions to hold accountable Chinese business
entities and officials complicit in the mass internment and
surveillance of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities
and to encourage like-minded allies to issue their own
sanctions''.
(10) In the same report, the Commission recommended Holding
Chinese Government Officials Accountable for Abuses by
levying financial sanctions against Chinese officials
complicit in human rights violations against the Uyghur
people in XUAR.
(11) The Trump Administration has taken meaningful action
to combat human rights violators in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region (XUAR), including recent sanctions and
additions to the Commerce Department's Entity List.
(12) Targeted sanctions, such as financial sanctions led by
the Department of Treasury, are the more effective method for
addressing the issue of human rights violations against the
Uyghurs by authorities of the People's Republic of China and
for punishing those bad actors.
Add at the end the following:

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

The sense of the Congress is the following:
(1) Using securities law is misguided and will not protect
the vulnerable in the XUAR nor does it appropriately target
or punish those that continue to oppress them.
(2) Attempts to address human rights violations of the type
being committed against the Uyghur people in XUAR using the
securities laws will not improve the quality of life for the
Uyghur people. Freedom for the Uyghur people will only come
by holding the Chinese Communist Party accountable.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

The amendment made by section 3 shall take effect on the
date that the commissioners of the Securities and Exchange
Commission unanimously report to Congress that the amendment
required by section 3 will improve the lives of the oppressed
in the XUAR and ultimately lead to their freedom, target bad
actors in the Chinese Communist Party in a more effective
manner than sanctions would, and will cause no negative
impact on the population similar to the unintended negative
effects caused by the conflict minerals provisions under
section 13(p) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Mr. McHENRY (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous
consent to dispense with the reading of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from North Carolina?
There was no objection.

[[Page H5069]]

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
North Carolina is recognized for 5 minutes in support of his motion.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, this amendment will not kill the bill. It
will make this a serious piece of legislation rather than just a
political talking point, which is what it currently is. The legislation
will then target real human rights abuses.
Mr. Speaker, Republicans in this House have been standing against the
Chinese Communist Party and the rising threat it presents, not only to
the American businesses in our community, in our economy, but also to
national security. And Republicans have also worked to address the
atrocities committed against the Uyghur people, including in the House
Committee on Financial Services. Republicans stand with the Trump
administration against communism and the global threat the Chinese
Government poses, while Democrats have excused the Chinese Communist
Party's actions for years.
Just last year, we offered House Democrats an opportunity in the
Committee on Financial Services, to stand up against the Chinese
Communist Party, and they didn't. And we offered them the opportunity
to stand against human rights abuses against religious minorities in
China, and they didn't work with us.
We had those votes when we considered the reauthorization of U.S.
Export-Import Bank. Instead of joining us, Democrats voted to allow
companies owned by the Chinese Communist Party to receive U.S.-taxpayer
subsidies, subsidies that support the very people committing these
human rights atrocities in which they are now, all of a sudden, a few
days before the election, against.
Mr. Speaker, if you look at that vote tally, you will see today's
bill's sponsor's name. She voted against these Republican measures to
hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable, including holding them
accountable for abuses against the Uyghur people. So what has changed?
Mr. Speaker, I would submit that it is an election that has made
these things more of a reality for these Democrats that were very weak
on communist China. Democrats in the House failed to stand up for the
American people and stand against the human rights abuses of the Uyghur
people. And now 33 days before the election, they are scrambling to
look tough on China.

{time} 1215

Let me be clear: This bill is not tough on China. It actually won't
do the things that the bill's sponsor is saying and committee Democrats
are saying.
If we really want to be tough on China, we would target and sanction
those responsible to the greatest extent possible. That is what we did
in a bipartisan way last week with a good bill that is very workable.
We would support a whole-of-government approach to combat the rising
threat and ensure the freedom of the Uyghur people.
This bill doesn't do that. This bill uses the same mechanisms that
have previously failed in their intended purpose. In fact, the last
time the Democrats paid lip service to similar human rights abuses in
the Democratic Republic of Congo, they failed to support the Congolese
miners, while at the same time costing American companies an estimated
$7 billion. That is just one example.
If you need more evidence that the Democrats are not serious about
combating the Chinese Communist Party, just look at their new COVID
relief bill, which would send more than $170 billion to the Chinese
Government. What does that do for small businesses and their employees
who are still hurting and need our support because of COVID?
Now, there are many good news items here. Because Democrats are
feeling vulnerable on China leading up to this election, we were able
to get together on some pieces of legislation that would do some
positive things in terms of our relationship with China and holding
them accountable. The bill last week is a good example of that.
The bill before us today is nothing more than a press release for an
election. I think we will see that. I think we will probably see
Democrats using this in campaign ads, maybe.
My amendment recognizes that sanctioning is the most effective way to
punish bad actors and to address the human rights violations in
Xinjiang, in the Uyghur Autonomous Region, as recommended by the
bipartisan, bicameral Congressional-Executive Committee on China in
their 2019 report, the very same report, I might add, that the author
of this bill cites in her bill to describe the atrocities against the
Uyghur people.
It also ensures the bill accomplishes its intended purpose: cracking
down on the Chinese Communist Party and ending the human rights
atrocities in the ongoing struggle that the Uyghur people are facing.
A vote for this amendment says that you are serious about addressing
the threats of China and what it poses to our national security. A vote
for this amendment says that we are serious about ending the human
rights atrocities and serious as legislators.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this motion to recommit,
urge its adoption, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. WEXTON. Mr. Speaker, I claim time in opposition to this motion to
recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Virginia is recognized
for 5 minutes.
Ms. WEXTON. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is trying to make this about
me, and nothing could be further from the truth. This is about the
Uyghur people. This is not about me. This is not about an election.
Before I was even elected to Congress, I met with Uyghur Muslims in
my district. I have one of the largest populations of Uyghur diaspora
in my district, and they told me their horrible stories about relatives
who disappeared into the camps, who perished in those camps. So don't
try to make this about me.
Before I came to Congress, I served in the Virginia State Senate, and
there we had an expression for when people tried to change our bills on
the floor or on the fly, and that was, ``Get your own bill.''
It is disappointing that my Republican colleagues are politicizing
this issue and opposing this bill, especially when we have been hearing
for so long how Democrats are weak on China. But, when given the chance
to hold the Chinese Government responsible for gross human rights
abuses and reveal the extent of the system of forced labor, it turns
out Republicans aren't all that interested.
Crimes against humanity, and perhaps even genocide, are being
committed by the Chinese Government. Republicans talk a good game, but
only if it doesn't create any kind of burden on U.S. corporations or
their profit margins, profit that may be earned off of the backs of
slave labor.
During debate on this bill, the other side made it clear that they
don't believe that corporations, publicly traded companies, should be
held responsible for knowing the origins of their products. The other
side is saying that companies can turn a blind eye to genocide and not
have to disclose to their shareholders about the use of slave labor in
their supply chains.
This MTR is more of the same. It neuters the bill and adds a sense of
Congress. Well, Congress has a sense already: The exploitation and
enslavement of the Uyghurs must stop. Americans don't want to purchase
goods made with slave labor.
So maybe my colleagues are following the lead of the President, who
seems to be okay with what is happening in Xinjiang. When given the
opportunity to confront Xi over the mass internment of Uyghurs, Trump
actually encouraged them to carry on building the camps. He said it was
``the right thing to do.'' That is according to his former National
Security Advisor, John Bolton.
With only the interpreters present, Xi had explained to Trump why he
was basically building concentration camps in Xinjiang. According to
our interpreter, Trump said that Xi should go ahead and build the
camps, which Trump thought was exactly the right thing to do.
Maybe you don't believe John Bolton--I certainly question his
integrity--but Donald Trump admitted it. When he was asked, he said:
``Well, we were in the middle of a major trade deal.''

[[Page H5070]]

Mr. Speaker, we are better than this. With this bill, we can stand up
against forced labor; we can stand up against genocide; we can stand up
for religious freedom and the Uyghur people by defeating this motion to
recommit and passing the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is
ordered on the motion to recommit.
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the noes appeared to have it.
Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution
965, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question
are postponed.

____________________