H.R. 1540 — Falun Gong Protection Act

This section states the policy of the United States to (1) avoid any cooperation with the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the organ transplantation field while the Chinese Communist Party remains in power; (2) take appropriate measures, including relevant sanctions authorities, to coerce the Chinese Communist Party to end any state-sponsored organ harvesting campaign; and (3) work with allies, partners, and multilateral institutions to highlight China's persecution of Falun Gong and coordinate with the international community on targeted sanctions and visa restrictions.

This section establishes a sanctions regime requiring the President to submit to congressional committees, within 180 days of enactment, a list of foreign persons determined to have knowingly and directly engaged in or facilitated involuntary organ harvesting in the People's Republic of China, with updates as new information becomes available, annually thereafter, and in unclassified form (possibly with a classified annex), until authority sunsets five years after enactment. The section directs the President to block all property and interests in property of listed persons within U.S. jurisdiction using authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA; 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq., excepting consultation requirements), and renders listed persons inadmissible to the United States with revocation of any visas or entry documents (except to comply with U.N. Headquarters Agreement obligations). The section applies IEEPA civil penalties under 50 U.S.C. 1705(b)—up to the greater of $250,000 or twice the amount of the underlying transaction—and criminal penalties under 50 U.S.C. 1705(c)—fines up to $1,000,000 and, for natural persons, imprisonment up to 20 years—to violations of implementing regulations, with a 10-year statute of limitations. The section provides exceptions for U.S. intelligence/law enforcement activities and humanitarian assistance (i.e., agricultural commodities, food, medicine); and authorizes case-by-case waivers if vital to U.S. national security, with reports to Congress every 120 days on waiver use.

This section directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the National Institutes of Health, to submit to the appropriate congressional committees, not later than one year after the date of enactment, a report on organ transplant policies and practices of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The report must include (1) a summary of de jure and de facto organ transplantation policies in the PRC, including with respect to prisoners of conscience (including Falun Gong) and other prisoners; (2) the annual number of known or estimated organ transplants and voluntary organ donors in the PRC, an assessment of organ sources, and an assessment of organ procurement times (in days) and their feasibility based on known or estimated donors; (3) a list of all U.S. grants over the past 10 years supporting organ transplantation research in the PRC or in collaboration with a U.S. entity; and (4) a determination of whether persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in the PRC constitutes an "atrocity" (as defined in section 6 of the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018). The report must be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex.

This section excludes the importation of goods from sanctions authorized under this Act. The section defines a good as any article, natural or man-made substance, material, supply, or manufactured product, including inspection and test equipment but excluding technical data.