Falun Gong Protection Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. OLSZEWSKI. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1540.

Like H.R. 1503, the Falun Gong Protection Act also imposes sanctions on individuals who knowingly and directly engage in or facilitate the involuntary harvesting of organs within the People's Republic of China while strengthening reporting requirements regarding this heinous crime.

These steps are vital to address the forcible harvesting of organs, a grave violation of human rights and bodily autonomy. The PRC has been accused of forcibly harvesting organs from victims who range from prisoners of conscience, including religious and spiritual adherents, to ethnic minorities. Shining a spotlight on these crimes and the people that perpetrate them while advancing accountability is essential.

The reporting requirements in this bill will help us better understand the scope of these terrible abuses and allow us to address them more effectively. This reporting relies on the very offices and experts at the State Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Institutes of Health that are being gutted currently by the Trump administration, a gift for traffickers and criminals that only illustrates just how dangerous the administration's proposed reorganization and so-called streamlining of the government has been for United States' national security. The sanctions in this bill may help to hold perpetrators accountable and deter the practice, as well.

We cannot remain silent in the face of such cruelty. We must stand with the victims, show them they are not forgotten, and ensure that perpetrators face justice.

I thank my colleagues for their leadership on this effort and other efforts to tackle this heinous crime.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1540 will help Congress better understand the scope of organ harvesting and will enable the sanctioning of individuals who knowingly engage in or facilitate this horrendous crime.

Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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