WASHINGTON — The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) today applauded U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) for introducing the Uyghur Genocide Accountability and Sanctions Act (UGASA). Senators Rubio and Merkley were the main sponsors, along with U.S. Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ) and James P. McGovern (D-MA), of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which was signed into law in December 2021.
Rubio and Merkley’s UGASA would:
- Expand sanctions and travel restrictions on Chinese officials responsible for the ongoing genocide of Uyghurs;
- Authorize the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development to provide assistance to victims of genocide, allow them to broadcast initiatives to counter Chinese propaganda regarding the CCP’s ongoing acts of genocide, and promote the preservation of cultural and linguistic heritages repressed by the CCP;
- Mandate disclosures to the Securities and Exchange Commission of entities directly or indirectly engaged in activity supporting the CCP’s genocide in the XUAR; and
- Fund organizations documenting human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) will introduce companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
“We applaud Senators Rubio and Merkley for once again leading the charge to hold the CCP accountable for its ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” said Robby Stephany Saunders, CPA’s Vice President of National Security. “UGASA continues to build off the success of UFLPA and further bolsters bipartisan efforts by Congress to ensure that the U.S. economy, as well as American investors, are not supporting the CCP’s campaign of evil against Uyghurs and other ethnic groups in Xinjiang.”
