U.S. Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY), and U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK), announced bipartisan legislation in the House and Senate today called the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act (H.R. 8972, S.5016), intended to prevent the unethical and criminal harvesting organs from minority groups and other victims.

   “Organ harvesting is a barbaric, inhumane and egregious act of global significance as transnational human trafficking gangs, terrorist organizations, profiteers and even governments–China’s Communist regime in particular – kill innocent people and sell their organs for profit,” said Congressman Smith, sponsor and lead Republican for the House bill who has fought organ harvesting for more than 20 years, including chairing a June 2016 hearing on the cruel practice in China.  “A 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.”

  “For years, the Chinese Communist Party has continued to take advantage of prisoners, members of ethnic minority, and religious groups. Today, we are still witnessing them take further advantage of these groups through organ harvesting," said Congressman Suozzi, lead Democrat for the House bill.  "Members of the Chinese Communist Party must be held accountable for these unspeakable actions. Organ harvesting has no place in our world."

   “There is growing evidence that the Chinese Communist Party has and continues to harvest organs from prisoners and members of Chinese religious and minority groups. This bill will identify and punish CCP members involved in forced organ harvesting. It’s past time to hold Beijing accountable for these heinous acts,” said Senator Cotton, the bill’s sponsor in the Senate.

   The bill also defines the ‘trafficking in persons for purposes of the removal of organs’’ as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of a person for the purpose of removing one or more of such person’s organs, by means of coercion; abduction; deception; fraud; abuse of power or a position of vulnerability; or transfer of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over a person.

    The Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act:

• Authorizes the U.S. government to deny or revoke passports for illegal organ purchasers.
• Mandates annual reporting on forced organ harvesting in foreign countries. This State Department reporting would identify foreign officials and entities responsible for forced organ harvesting.
• Mandates an annual report on U.S. institutions that train organ transplant surgeons affiliated with foreign entities involved in forced organ harvesting.
• Prohibits the export of organ transplant surgery devices to entities responsible for forced organ harvesting.
• Sanctions foreign officials and entities that engage in or otherwise support forced organ harvesting.

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