IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4270 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 16, 2019 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

AN ACT 

To prohibit commercial exports of certain nonlethal crowd 

control items and defense articles and services to the 

Hong Kong Police, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Placing Restrictions 

3 on Teargas Exports and Crowd Control Technology to 

4 Hong Kong Act’’ or the ‘‘PROTECT Hong Kong Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The United Nations High Commissioner for 

8 Human Rights, along with human rights organiza9 tions, has called for an investigation of the use of 

10 crowd control tactics used in Hong Kong which fall 

11 short of international standards, including the 

12 United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforce13 ment Officials and the Basic Principles on the Use 

14 of Force and Firearms for Law Enforcement Offi15 cials. 

16 (2) United States companies have reportedly 

17 provided the Hong Kong Police Force with muni18 tions and non-lethal crowd control equipment that 

19 were reportedly used by the police. 

20 (3) Hong Kong citizens and the international 

21 community have called for changes to the Hong 

22 Kong Police’s crowd control tactics and these re23 quests have gone unheeded by the Hong Kong Spe24 cial Administrative Region Government. 

25 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

26 It is the policy of the United States— 


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1 (1) to restrict the export of security assistance 

2 and crime control and detection instruments and 

3 equipment to any government that engages in a con4 sistent pattern of gross violations of internationally 

5 recognized human rights, consistent with the re6 quirements of section 502B(a) of the Foreign Assist7 ance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(a)); and 

8 (2) to use export controls on crime control and 

9 detection instruments and equipment to deter the 

10 development of a consistent pattern of human rights 

11 abuses, distance the United States from such 

12 abuses, and avoid contributing to civil disorder in a 

13 country or region, in accordance with section 

14 742.7(b) of part 774 of subtitle B of title 15, Code 

15 of Federal Regulations. 

16 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON COMMERCIAL EXPORT OF COV17 ERED DEFENSE ARTICLES AND SERVICES 

18 AND COVERED MUNITIONS ITEMS TO THE 

19 HONG KONG POLICE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that is 30 

21 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, except 

22 as provided in subsection (b), the President shall prohibit 

23 the issuance of licenses to export covered defense articles 

24 and services and covered munitions items to the Hong 

25 Kong Police. 


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1 (b) WAIVER.—The prohibition under subsection (a) 

2 shall not apply to the issuance of a license with respect 

3 to which the President submits to the appropriate congres4 sional committees, not fewer than 30 days before the date 

5 of such issuance, a written certification that the exports 

6 to be covered by such license are important to the national 

7 interests and foreign policy goals of the United States, in8 cluding a description of the manner in which such exports 

9 will promote such interests and goals. 

10 (c) TERMINATION.—The prohibition under sub11 section (a) shall terminate on the date on which the Presi12 dent certifies to the appropriate congressional committees 

13 that— 

14 (1) the Hong Kong Police have not engaged in 

15 gross violations of human rights during the 1-year 

16 period ending on the date of such certification; and 

17 (2) there has been an independent examination 

18 of human rights concerns related to the crowd con19 trol tactics of the Hong Kong Police and the Gov20 ernment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative 

21 Region has adequately addressed those concerns. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPORT ON COVERED DEFENSE ARTICLES AND 

2 SERVICES AND COVERED MUNITIONS ITEMS 

3 EXPORTED TO THE HONG KONG POLICE. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

6 and the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the 

7 heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, 

8 shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional com9 mittees a report that lists and provides a description of 

10 all covered defense articles and services and covered muni11 tions items exported to the Hong Kong Police during the 

12 5-year period ending on such date of enactment. 

13 (b) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) 

14 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include 

15 a classified annex. 

16 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT19 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com20 mittees’’ means— 

21 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

22 the House of Representatives; 

23 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

24 the Senate; and 

25 (C) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

26 and Urban Affairs of the Senate. 


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1 (2) COVERED DEFENSE ARTICLES AND SERV2 ICES.—The term ‘‘covered defense articles and serv3 ices’’ means defense articles and defense services 

4 designated by the President under section 38(a)(1) 

5 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 

6 2778(a)(1)). 

7 (3) COVERED MUNITIONS ITEMS.—The term 

8 ‘‘covered munitions items’’ means— 

9 (A) items controlled under section 742.7 of 

10 part 742 of subtitle B of title 15, Code of Fed11 eral Regulations (relating to crime control and 

12 detection instruments and equipment and re13 lated technology and software); and 

14 (B) items listed under the ‘‘600 series’’ of 

15 the Commerce Control List contained in Sup16 plement No. 1 to part 774 of subtitle B of title 

17 15, Code of Federal Regulations. 

18 (4) HONG KONG.—The term ‘‘Hong Kong’’ has 

19 the meaning given such term in section 3 of the 

20 United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (22 

21 U.S.C. 5702). 

22 (5) HONG KONG POLICE.—The term ‘‘Hong 

23 Kong Police’’ means— 

24 (A) the Hong Kong Police Force; and 

25 (B) the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force. 


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1 SEC. 7. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

2 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

3 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

4 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

5 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

6 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

7 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro8 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

9 vote on passage. 

Passed the House of Representatives October 15, 

2019. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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