I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8972 

To combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking in persons for purposes 

of the removal of organs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 15, 2020 

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. SUOZZI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and 

in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking in persons 

for purposes of the removal of organs, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Forced Organ 

5 Harvesting Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

7 It shall be the policy of the United States— 


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1 (1) to combat international trafficking in per2 sons for purposes of the removal of organs; 

3 (2) to promote the establishment of voluntary 

4 organ donation systems with effective enforcement 

5 mechanisms in bilateral diplomatic meetings and in 

6 international health forums; and 

7 (3) to promote the dignity and security of 

8 human life in accordance with the Universal Dec9 laration of Human Rights, adopted on December 10, 

10 1948. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON14 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con15 gress’’ means— 

16 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

17 the Senate; and 

18 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

19 the House of Representatives. 

20 (2) FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING.—The term 

21 ‘‘forced organ harvesting’’ means the removal of one 

22 or more organs from a person by means of coercion, 

23 abduction, deception, fraud, or abuse of power or a 

24 position of vulnerability. 


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1 (3) ORGAN.—The term ‘‘organ’’ has the mean2 ing given the term ‘‘human organ’’ in section 

3 301(c)(1) of the National Organ Transplant Act (42 

4 U.S.C. 274e(c)(1)). 

5 (4) TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS FOR PURPOSES

6 OF THE REMOVAL OF ORGANS.—The term ‘‘traf7 ficking in persons for purposes of the removal of or8 gans’’ means the recruitment, transportation, trans9 fer, harboring, or receipt of a person for the purpose 

10 of removing one or more of such person’s organs, by 

11 means of— 

12 (A) coercion; 

13 (B) abduction; 

14 (C) deception; 

15 (D) fraud; 

16 (E) abuse of power or a position of vulner17 ability; or 

18 (F) transfer of payments or benefits to 

19 achieve the consent of a person having control 

20 over a person described in the matter preceding 

21 subparagraph (A). 

22 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO DENY OR REVOKE PASSPORTS. 

23 Section 4076 of the Revised Statutes (22 U.S.C. 212) 

24 is amended— 


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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a)’’ before ‘‘No passport’’; 

2 and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(b)(1) The Secretary of State may refuse to issue 

5 a passport to any individual who has been convicted of 

6 an offense under section 301 of the National Organ 

7 Transplant Act (42 U.S.C. 274e) if such individual, in the 

8 commission of such an offense, used a passport or crossed 

9 an international border. 

10 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of State may revoke a passport 

11 previously issued to any individual described in paragraph 

12 (1).’’. 

13 SEC. 5. REPORTS ON FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING AND 

14 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS FOR PURPOSES 

15 OF THE REMOVAL OF ORGANS IN FOREIGN 

16 COUNTRIES. 

17 (a) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION IN ANNUAL COUN18 TRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES.—The For19 eign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in section 116 (22 U.S.C. 2151n), by add22 ing at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(h) FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING AND TRAF24 FICKING IN PERSONS FOR PURPOSES OF THE REMOVAL

25 OF ORGANS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The report required by 

2 subsection (d) shall include an assessment of forced 

3 organ harvesting and trafficking in persons for pur4 poses of the removal of organs in each foreign coun5 try. 

6 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

7 ‘‘(A) FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING.—The 

8 term ‘forced organ harvesting’ means the re9 moval of one or more organs from a person by 

10 means of coercion, abduction, deception, fraud, 

11 or abuse of power or a position of vulnerability. 

12 ‘‘(B) ORGAN.—The term ‘organ’ has the 

13 meaning given the term ‘human organ’ in sec14 tion 301(c)(1) of the National Organ Trans15 plant Act (42 U.S.C. 274e(c)(1)). 

16 ‘‘(C) TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS FOR PUR17 POSES OF THE REMOVAL OF ORGANS.—The 

18 term ‘trafficking in persons for purposes of the 

19 removal of organs’ means the recruitment, 

20 transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of 

21 a person for the purpose of removing one or 

22 more of such person’s organs, by means of— 

23 ‘‘(i) coercion; 

24 ‘‘(ii) abduction; 

25 ‘‘(iii) deception; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) fraud; 

2 ‘‘(v) abuse of power or a position of 

3 vulnerability; or 

4 ‘‘(vi) transfer of payments or benefits 

5 to achieve the consent of a person having 

6 control over a person described in the mat7 ter preceding clause (i).’’; and 

8 (2) in section 502B (22 U.S.C. 2304)— 

9 (A) by redesignating the second subsection 

10 (i) (relating to child marriage status) as sub11 section (j); and 

12 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(k) FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING AND TRAF14 FICKING IN PERSONS FOR PURPOSES OF THE REMOVAL

15 OF ORGANS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The report required by 

17 subsection (b) shall include an assessment of forced 

18 organ harvesting and trafficking in persons for pur19 poses of the removal of organs in each foreign coun20 try. 

21 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 

22 terms ‘forced organ harvesting’, ‘organ’, and ‘traf23 ficking in persons for purposes of the removal of or24 gans’ have the meanings given those terms in section 

25 116(h)(2).’’. 


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1 (b) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

3 the date on which each annual report required by 

4 sections 116 and 502B of the Foreign Assistance 

5 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n, 2304), as amended 

6 by subsection (a), is submitted, the Assistant Sec7 retary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and 

8 Labor (in this subsection referred to as the ‘‘Assist9 ant Secretary’’), shall submit to the appropriate 

10 committees of Congress a report that includes the 

11 following: 

12 (A) With respect to each foreign country, 

13 an identification of any agencies, instrumental14 ities, or officials of the country that are respon15 sible for forced organ harvesting or trafficking 

16 in persons for purposes of the removal of or17 gans. 

18 (B) A tiered ranking described in para19 graph (2). 

20 (2) TIERED RANKING.—The tiered ranking de21 scribed in this paragraph is a tiered ranking of all 

22 foreign countries as follows: 

23 (A) TIER 1 COUNTRIES.—The Assistant 

24 Secretary shall designate a country as tier 1 if 

25 the country has low levels of forced organ harVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:30 Dec 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8972.IH H8972

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1 vesting or trafficking in persons for purposes of 

2 the removal of organs and the government of 

3 such country is making significant efforts to 

4 combat those practices. 

5 (B) TIER 2 COUNTRIES.—The Assistant 

6 Secretary shall designate a country as tier 2 if 

7 the country has— 

8 (i) low or intermediate levels of forced 

9 organ harvesting or trafficking in persons 

10 for purposes of the removal of organs and 

11 the government of such country is not 

12 making significant efforts to combat those 

13 practices; or 

14 (ii) intermediate levels of forced organ 

15 harvesting or trafficking in persons for 

16 purposes of the removal of organs and the 

17 government of such country is making sig18 nificant efforts to combat those practices. 

19 (C) TIER 3 COUNTRIES.—The Assistant 

20 Secretary shall designate a country as tier 3 

21 if— 

22 (i) the country has high levels of 

23 forced organ harvesting or trafficking in 

24 persons for purposes of the removal of or25 gans; or 


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1 (ii) the government of such country is 

2 directly or indirectly supporting forced 

3 organ harvesting or trafficking in persons 

4 for purposes of the removal of organs. 

5 (3) FORM.—The report required by this sub6 section shall be submitted in unclassified form. 

7 (c) INTERIM REPORTS.—In addition to the annual re8 ports required by sections 116 and 502B of the Foreign 

9 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n, 2304), as 

10 amended by subsection (a), the Secretary of State may 

11 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress at any 

12 time one or more interim reports with respect to the status 

13 of forced organ harvesting and trafficking in persons for 

14 purposes of the removal of organs in foreign countries, in15 cluding information about countries whose governments 

16 have begun or ceased to make significant efforts to combat 

17 those practices since the date on which the most recent 

18 annual report was submitted under such sections. 

19 (d) CONSIDERATION OF SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS.—In 

20 determining whether the government of a country is mak21 ing significant efforts to combat forced organ harvesting 

22 and trafficking in persons for purposes of the removal of 

23 organs under subsections (b) and (c), the Secretary of 

24 State shall consider— 


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1 (1) the extent to which the country is a country 

2 of origin, transit, or destination for forced organ 

3 harvesting and trafficking in persons for purposes of 

4 the removal of organs; 

5 (2) the extent of efforts by the government to 

6 combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking in 

7 persons for purposes of the removal of organs, and, 

8 particularly, the extent to which officials or employ9 ees of the government have participated in, facili10 tated, or condoned, or are otherwise complicit in, 

11 those practices; and 

12 (3) the measures that would be reasonable for 

13 the government to combat forced organ harvesting 

14 and trafficking in persons for purposes of the re15 moval of organs, considering the resources and capa16 bilities of the government. 

17 SEC. 6. REPORT ON UNITED STATES MEDICAL AND EDU18 CATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AT WHICH ORGAN 

19 TRANSPLANT SURGEONS FROM TIER 3 COUN20 TRIES ARE TRAINED. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

22 date on which each annual report required by sections 116 

23 and 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

24 U.S.C. 2151n, 2304), as amended by section 5(a), is sub25 mitted, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 


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1 Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall submit to 

2 Congress a report on medical and educational institutions 

3 and other entities in the United States at which organ 

4 transplant surgeons are trained. 

5 (b) ELEMENTS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each report required by 

7 subsection (a) shall include an identification of each 

8 medical or educational institution or other entity in 

9 the United States at which one or more organ trans10 plant surgeons described in paragraph (2) are 

11 trained as of the date on which the report is sub12 mitted. 

13 (2) ORGAN TRANSPLANT SURGEON DE14 SCRIBED.—An organ transplant surgeon described 

15 in this paragraph is an organ transplant surgeon 

16 who— 

17 (A) as of the date on which the report re18 quired by subsection (a) is submitted, is em19 ployed by or affiliated with an agency or instru20 mentality identified in the most recent addi21 tional report required by section 5(b) as being 

22 responsible for forced organ harvesting or traf23 ficking in persons for purposes of the removal 

24 of organs; and 


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1 (B) is a citizen or national of a country 

2 designated as a tier 3 country in the most re3 cent additional report required by section 5(b). 

4 SEC. 7. PROHIBITION ON THE EXPORT OF ORGAN TRANS5 PLANT SURGERY DEVICES TO CERTAIN ENTI6 TIES. 

7 Section 801 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 

8 Act (21 U.S.C. 381) is amended by adding at the end the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(v) PROHIBITION ON EXPORT OF ORGAN TRANS11 PLANT SURGERY DEVICES TO CERTAIN ENTITIES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

13 provision of this Act, a device that is intended for 

14 use in organ transplant surgery may not be exported 

15 to any entity that is identified in the most recent ad16 ditional report required by section 5(b) of the Stop 

17 Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2020 as being re18 sponsible for forced organ harvesting or trafficking 

19 in persons for purposes of the removal of organs. 

20 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH THE SECRETARY OF

21 COMMERCE.—The Secretary shall coordinate with 

22 the Secretary of Commerce to ensure compliance 

23 with paragraph (1).’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

2 FORCED ORGAN HARVESTING OR TRAF3 FICKING IN PERSONS FOR PURPOSES OF THE 

4 REMOVAL OF ORGANS FACILITATED BY TIER 

5 3 COUNTRIES. 

6 (a) LIST REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days after 

7 the date on which each annual report required by sections 

8 116 and 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

9 U.S.C. 2151n, 2304), as amended by section 5(a), is sub10 mitted, the President shall submit to Congress a list of 

11 each person that the President determines— 

12 (1) funds, supports, sponsors, or otherwise fa13 cilitates forced organ harvesting or trafficking in 

14 persons for purposes of the removal of organs; and 

15 (2) is— 

16 (A) an individual who is a citizen or na17 tional of a country designated as a tier 3 coun18 try in the most recent additional report re19 quired by section 5(b); or 

20 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

21 such a country or otherwise subject to the juris22 diction of the government of such a country. 

23 (b) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—The President shall 

24 impose the following sanctions with respect to a person 

25 on the list required by subsection (a): 


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1 (1) PROPERTY BLOCKING.—The President shall 

2 exercise all of the powers granted by the Inter3 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

4 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (except that the requirements 

5 of section 202 of such Act (50 U.S.C. 1701) shall 

6 not apply) to the extent necessary to block and pro7 hibit all transactions in all property and interests in 

8 property of the person if such property and interests 

9 in property are in the United States, come within 

10 the United States, or are or come within the posses11 sion or control of a United States person. 

12 (2) ALIENS INADMISSIBLE FOR VISAS, ADMIS13 SION, OR PAROLE.— 

14 (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—In 

15 the case of an individual, that individual is— 

16 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 

17 (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 

18 documentation to enter the United States; 

19 and 

20 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 

21 or paroled into the United States or to re22 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra23 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

24 seq.). 

25 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—The visa or other 

2 entry documentation of the individual shall 

3 be revoked, regardless of when such visa or 

4 other entry documentation is or was 

5 issued. 

6 (ii) IMMEDIATE EFFECT.—A revoca7 tion under clause (i) shall— 

8 (I) take effect immediately; and 

9 (II) automatically cancel any 

10 other valid visa or entry documenta11 tion that is in the individual’s posses12 sion. 

13 (c) EXCEPTIONS.— 

14 (1) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF

15 GOODS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The authorities and re17 quirements to impose sanctions under sub18 section (b)(1) shall not include the authority or 

19 a requirement to impose sanctions on the im20 portation of goods. 

21 (B) GOOD DEFINED.—In this paragraph, 

22 the term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or 

23 manmade substance, material, supply or manu24 factured product, including inspection and test 

25 equipment, and excluding technical data. 


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1 (2) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTER2 NATIONAL OBLIGATIONS.—Subsection (b)(2) shall 

3 not apply to the admission of an individual if the ad4 mission of the individual is necessary to comply with 

5 United States obligations under the Agreement be6 tween the United Nations and the United States of 

7 America regarding the Headquarters of the United 

8 Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and 

9 entered into force November 21, 1947, under the 

10 Convention on Consular Relations, done at Vienna 

11 April 24, 1963, and entered into force March 19, 

12 1967, or under other international agreements. 

13 (d) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 

14 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex15 ercise all authorities provided under sections 203 

16 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic 

17 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out 

18 this section. 

19 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at20 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

21 violation of this section or any regulation, license, or 

22 order issued to carry out this section shall be subject 

23 to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) 

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1 tent as a person that commits an unlawful act de2 scribed in subsection (a) of that section. 

3 (e) UNITED STATES PERSON DEFINED.—In this sec4 tion, the term ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

5 (1) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully 

6 admitted for permanent residence to the United 

7 States; or 

8 (2) an entity organized under the laws of the 

9 United States or any jurisdiction within the United 

10 States, including a foreign branch of such an entity. 

Æ 


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