Congressman Nathaniel Moran (TX-01) delivers remarks on his legislation, H.R. 4039, No Dollars to Uyghur Forced Labor Act.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KLTV/KTRE) - Congressman Nathaniel Moran (TX-01), member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, celebrated the passage of his legislation, H.R. 4039, No Dollars to Uyghur Forced Labor Act, which prohibits funds to the Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to finance international projects in partnership with entities that import products mined, produced, or manufactured in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China, commonly known for the genocide and forced labor of the Uyghur people.

On June 21, 2023, H.R. 4039 was marked up in the House Foreign Affairs Committee and was reported favorably out of the committee. This week, the No Dollars to Uyghur Forced Labor Act passed the House of Representatives by a voice vote.

“The passage of No Dollars to Uyghur Forced Labor Act is an important step in showing the U.S. government’s commitment to confronting the abuses of the Chinese Communist Party. As a Chinese dissidents and human rights activist, I’ve experienced first-hand the extent that the Chinese government is willing to go to maintain power. After years of evidence and brave survivors speaking out, the world can no longer ignore the Uyghur genocide. It is imperative for our consciences to remove all U.S. funding from the Uyghur region. I am grateful for Representative Moran’s leadership on this resolution and the cosponsors who endorsed it,” said Dr. Rev. Bob Fu, Founder and President of ChinaAid.

“Uyghurs worldwide are thankful to Representative Moran and the U.S. Congress for passing a bill which ensures that our tax dollars do not fund ongoing atrocity crimes and modern-day slavery. This bill also sends a powerful message globally that the United States will continue to exercise all options to ensure that we end complicity in forced labor,” said Omer Kanat, Executive Director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project.

Background:

The Chinese Communist Party is committing genocide against the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China, repressing ethnic minorities for practicing their faith, detaining people in “reeducation centers” and ultimately using them for forced labor in the XUAR. This region of China is essential to their global supply chain, where many basic goods such as yarn, textiles, bricks, cotton, polysilicon, are produced using forced labor.

While the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act prohibited goods made wholly or partly in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region from entering U.S. supply chains, we must ensure that the United States is not developing international contracts for strategic projects with partners overseas that source goods or raw materials from the Xinjiang region.

H.R. 4039 will prohibit funds to the Department of State or the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to finance global projects in partnership with companies or organizations that import products mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or partly from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China.