Li Wenliang Global Public Health Accountability Act of 2021
Bill: S.1987 | Sponsor: Sen. Cotton, Tom (R-AR)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Li Wenliang Global Public Health Accountability Act of 2021
This bill authorizes the President to impose property- and visa-blocking sanctions on foreign individuals and entities involved in deliberate acts to conceal or distort information about a public health emergency of international concern, including COVID-19.
Specifically, the President may impose sanctions on (1) a government official (or a senior associate of such an official) who is responsible for or complicit in deliberate acts to conceal or distort information about an international public health emergency, or who financially benefits from such acts; or (2) a foreign person or entity that has materially assisted or supported such acts.

To authorize the imposition of sanctions with respect to the deliberate 
     concealment or distortion of information about public health 
     emergencies of international concern, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Li Wenliang Global Public Health 
Accountability Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.

    (a) In General.--The President may impose the sanctions described 
in subsection (b) with respect to any foreign person the President 
determines, based on credible evidence--
            (1) is a government official, or a senior associate of such 
        an official, that is responsible for, or complicit in, 
        ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, or financially 
        benefits from, acts intended to deliberately conceal or distort 
        information about a public health emergency of international 
        concern, including coronavirus disease 2019 (commonly known as 
        ``COVID-19''); or
            (2) has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided 
        financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or 
        services in support of, an act described in paragraph (1).
    (b) Sanctions Described.--The sanctions described in this 
subsection are the following:
            (1) Inadmissibility to united states.--In the case of a 
        foreign person who is an individual--
                    (A) ineligibility to receive a visa to enter the 
                United States or to be admitted to the United States; 
                or
                    (B) if the individual has been issued a visa or 
                other documentation, revocation, in accordance with 
                section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
                (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), of the visa or other documentation.
            (2) Blocking of property.--
                    (A) In general.--The blocking, in accordance with 
                the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
                U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), of all transactions in all 
                property and interests in property of a foreign person 
                if such property and interests in property are in the 
                United States, come within the United States, or are or 
                come within the possession or control of a United 
                States person.
                    (B) Exception relating to importation of goods.--
                            (i) In general.--The authority to block and 
                        prohibit all transactions in all property and 
                        interests in property under subparagraph (A) 
                        shall not include the authority to impose 
                        sanctions on the importation of goods.
                            (ii) Good defined.--In this subparagraph, 
                        the term ``good'' means any article, natural or 
                        manmade substance, material, supply, or 
                        manufactured product, including inspection and 
                        test equipment, and excluding technical data.
    (c) Consideration of Certain Information in Imposing Sanctions.--In 
determining whether to impose sanctions under subsection (a), the 
President shall consider--
            (1) information provided jointly by the chairperson and 
        ranking member of each of the appropriate congressional 
        committees; and
            (2) credible information obtained by other countries and 
        nongovernmental organizations that monitor violations of human 
        rights and global health issues, including issues related to 
        infectious disease.
    (d) Requests by Appropriate Congressional Committees.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after receiving a 
        request that meets the requirements of paragraph (2) with 
        respect to whether a foreign person is described in subsection 
        (a), the President shall--
                    (A) determine if that person is so described; and
                    (B) submit a classified or unclassified report to 
                the chairperson and ranking member of the committee or 
                committees that submitted the request with respect to 
                that determination that includes--
                            (i) a statement of whether or not the 
                        President imposed or intends to impose 
                        sanctions with respect to the person; and
                            (ii) if the President imposed or intends to 
                        impose sanctions, a description of those 
                        sanctions.
            (2) Requirements.--A request under paragraph (1) with 
        respect to whether a foreign person is described in subsection 
        (a) shall be submitted to the President in writing jointly by 
        the chairperson and ranking member of one of the appropriate 
        congressional committees.
    (e) Exception To Comply With United Nations Headquarters Agreement 
and Law Enforcement Objectives.--Sanctions under subsection (b)(1) 
shall not apply to an individual if admitting the individual into the 
United States--
            (1) would further important law enforcement objectives; or
            (2) is necessary to permit the United States to comply with 
        the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, 
        signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 
        November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United 
        States, or other applicable international obligations of the 
        United States.
    (f) Enforcement of Blocking of Property.--A person that violates, 
attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of 
subsection (b)(2) or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry 
out that subsection shall be subject to the penalties set forth in 
subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person 
that commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that 
section.
    (g) Reports Required.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the President shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that 
includes--
            (1) a list of each foreign person with respect to which the 
        President imposed sanctions under subsection (b) during the 
        year preceding the submission of the report;
            (2) a description of the type of sanctions imposed with 
        respect to each such person;
            (3) the number of foreign persons with respect to which the 
        President--
                    (A) imposed sanctions under subsection (b) during 
                that year; or
                    (B) terminated sanctions under subsection (h) 
                during that year;
            (4) the dates on which such sanctions were imposed or 
        terminated, as the case may be;
            (5) the reasons for imposing or terminating such sanctions; 
        and
            (6) a description of the efforts of the President to 
        encourage the governments of other countries to impose 
        sanctions that are similar to the sanctions authorized by this 
        section.
    (h) Termination of Sanctions.--The President may terminate the 
application of sanctions under this section with respect to a person if 
the President determines and reports to the appropriate congressional 
committees not later than 15 days before the termination of the 
sanctions that--
            (1) credible information exists that the person did not 
        engage in the activity for which sanctions were imposed;
            (2) the person has been prosecuted appropriately for the 
        activity for which sanctions were imposed; or
            (3) the termination of the sanctions is in the national 
        security interests of the United States.
    (i) Regulatory Authority.--The President shall issue such 
regulations, licenses, and orders as are necessary to carry out this 
section.
    (j) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
                Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Financial Services and the 
                Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a 
        person that is not a United States person.
            (3) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or 
        entity.
            (4) Public health emergency of international concern.--The 
        term ``public health emergency of international concern'' means 
        a public health emergency determined to be a public health 
        emergency of international concern by the World Health 
        Organization.
            (5) United states person.--The term ``United States 
        person'' means--
                    (A) an individual who is a United States citizen or 
                an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to 
                the United States;
                    (B) an entity organized under the laws of the 
                United States or any jurisdiction within the United 
                States, including a foreign branch of such an entity; 
                or
                    (C) any person in the United States.
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