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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E909]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
UYGHUR FORCED LABOR DISCLOSURE ACT OF 2020
______
speech of
HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE
of texas
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor and a senior member of
the Committees on the Judiciary and Homeland Security, I rise in strong
support of H.R. 6270, the ``Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act of
2020'', which directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue
rules requiring U.S. publicly traded companies to disclose imports of
manufactured goods and materials that originate in or are sourced in
part from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) on an annual
basis.
With this bill, companies would also be required to disclose that the
goods and materials did not originate from forced labor as well as
describe the nature and extent of commercial activity related to the
products.
Furthermore, companies must also provide the gross revenue and net
profits attributable to the good.
The legislation also stipulates that companies must say whether they
intend to continue importing from that entity.
H.R. 6270 ensures that both the SEC and GAO would be required to
report to Congress on compliance, oversight, and effectiveness.
For years, the Chinese government has engaged in a systematic
campaign of repression targeting Uyghurs and other Muslim groups.
Chinese authorities have used the pretext of terrorism to suspend the
Uyghurs' civil and political rights and pursue the internment of
Uyghurs in ``educational training centers'' where they are forbidden
from practicing their religious and cultural beliefs.
These same education centers are forced labor camps.
According to the BBC, approximately one million Uyghurs have been
detained without trial, forced into mass internment camps, and
subjected to forced labor, torture, political indoctrination, forced
renunciations of faith, and other severe human rights abuses.
The U.S. Holocaust Museum's Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of
Genocide recently determined that there is reasonable basis to believe
crimes against humanity are being committed in the XUAR.
Furthermore, satellite imagery, leaked official documents from the
Chinese government, and the testimony of camp survivors have confirmed
a widespread and pervasive forced labor system that exists inside the
mass internment camps.
This is a systematic, widespread, and shocking violation of basic
human rights for which the Government of China must be held
accountable.
The United States cannot and should not sit idly by while these gross
injustices are happening.
According to numerous reports, forced labor by the Uyghur detainees
in labor camps and factories feed into the supply chains of more than
80 well-known global brands.
In its 2019 Annual Report, the Congressional-Executive Commission on
China found that goods produced with forced labor included textiles,
electronics, food products, shoes, tea, and handicrafts.
Mr. Speaker, companies have a moral duty to ensure the goods they
purchase are made using free workers who are paid a fair wage, and the
transparency measures in this bill are key to ending the persistence of
modern-day slavery in supply chains.
Importing products made wholly or in part from forced or prison labor
is not only against U.S. law but also international human rights
standards.
However, audits and due diligence efforts to ensure clean supply
chains are nearly impossible due to government surveillance and the
pervasiveness of forced labor in the regional economy.
Time and time again, the United States has been the beacon of freedom
in the world and a fierce defender of human rights.
Today, we, as Members of Congress, have a duty to continue that
legacy by condemning the heinous human rights violations against the
Uyghur people in the XUAR.
By passing H.R. 6270, our actions send a message to China that
Congress not only stands in solidarity with the Uyghur people but also
that we will always speak up for the vulnerable and the voiceless
whether that is in the Xinjiang region of China or anywhere else in the
world.
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank Congresswoman Wexton for
introducing this vital piece of legislation, and I am proud to do my
part in leading this bill through the House.
I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in voting
for H.R. 6270.
____________________