The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1155, Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, with a vote of 428 to one on Wednesday, December 8. Massachusetts’ second district Congressman Jim McGovern authored and introduced the bill which prohibits imports from Xinjiang, China.
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky’s fourth district was the sole vote against the measure.
McGovern said that the evidence of systematic and widespread forced labor in Xinjiang is astounding and irrefutable—and includes evidence from camp detainees, satellite imagery of factories being built at internment camps, and public and leaked Chinese government documents. As many as 1.8 million Uyghurs and members of other predominantly Muslim ethnic minority groups have been arbitrarily detained in the camps and subjected to forced labor, torture, political indoctrination, and other severe human rights abuses.
The Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which McGovern is the Chair, began investigating the issue in 2019. McGovern authored H.R. 6210 of the same name, which also passed the House in September 2020, but died in the Senate.
The Senate has passed a different bill of the same name in July, S. 65, introduced by Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.
Staff members from both McGovern’s and Rubio’s offices are working to agree on language for a unified bill. The two versions may also go to a conference committee, a formal process to produce a unified bill.
Watch Rep. McGovern’s speech in the House of Representatives prior to the vote.
McGovern also announced on Wednesday that he had a procedure to remove basal cell skin cancer on Tuesday, causing the bandage on his face.
Am I auditioning for the lead in Phantom of the Opera? An extra from a Rocky movie?
The truth is cancer prevention and #EarlyDetection saves lives. Please remember to get routine screenings #BackOnTheBooks, take action to prevent cancer & take care of yourself! pic.twitter.com/SxvTMqgDil
— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) December 8, 2021
