{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-smith-suozzi-introduce-bill-to-stop-chinese-forced-organ-harvesting", "Cotton, Smith, Suozzi Introduce Bill to Stop Chinese Forced Organ Harvesting", "2020-12-16", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "AR", "Tom Cotton", "C001095", "www.cotton.senate.gov", "cotton", "https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\n\nContact: Caroline Tabler orJames Arnold (202) 734-0430\n\nDecember 16, 2020\n\nCotton, Smith, Suozzi Introduce Bill to Stop Chinese Forced Organ Harvesting\n\nWashington, D.C. \u2014 Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Congressmen Chris Smith (R-New Jersey) and Tom Suozzi (D-New York) today announced the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act, which aims to prevent the Chinese Communist Party from harvesting organs from prisoners of conscience. According to an international tribunal in London, Chinese doctors harvest organs from detainees in Chinese prison camps\u2014sometimes while patients are still alive\u2014for sale in a market worth $1 billion a year.\n\nBill text may be found here.\n\n\u201cThere is growing evidence that the Chinese Communist Party has and continues to harvest organs from prisoners and members of Chinese religious groups. This bill will identify and punish CCP members involved in forced organ harvesting. It\u2019s past time to hold Beijing accountable for these heinous acts,\u201d said Cotton.\n\n\u201cOrgan harvesting is a barbaric, inhumane and egregious act of global significance as transnational human trafficking gangs, terrorist organizations, profiteers and even governments \u2013 China\u2019s Communist regime in particular \u2013 kill innocent people and sell their organs for profit,\u201d said Smith. \u201cA global problem requires a global response. Under our bill, organ harvesters and traffickers, who often prey on vulnerable populations like political prisoners or minorities, will be identified and exposed by the State Department with the goal of punishing perpetrators and promoting effective sanctions and restrictions on travel. The bill will help shed more light on these horrific activities, enable the naming of names of the vicious perpetrators and ultimately help put an end this gruesome human rights abuse.\u201d\n\n\"For years, the Chinese Communist Party has continued to take advantage of prisoners and members of ethnic minority and religious groups. Today, we are still witnessing them take further advantage of these groups through organ harvesting,\" said Suozzi. \"Members of the Chinese Communist Party must be held accountable for these unspeakable actions. Forced organ harvesting has no place in our world.\"\n\nBackground\n\nThe Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act:\n\nAuthorizes the U.S. government to deny or revoke passports for illegal organ purchasers.\n\nMandates annual reporting on forced organ harvesting in foreign countries. This State Department reporting would identify foreign officials and entities responsible for forced organ harvesting.\n\nMandates an annual report on U.S. institutions that train organ transplant surgeons affiliated with foreign entities involved in forced organ harvesting.\n\nProhibits the export of organ transplant surgery devices to entities responsible for forced organ harvesting.\n\nSanctions foreign officials and entities that engage in or otherwise support forced organ harvesting.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-smith-suozzi-introduce-bill-to-stop-chinese-forced-organ-harvesting"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.469350816681981, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}