House Overwhelmingly Passes First Ever US Bill to Punish CCP’s Forced Organ Harvesting

The House on March 27 overwhelmingly passed a bill to punish communist China for its forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience. The move marked the first non-symbolic legislative measure in the United States to counter the atrocity. H.R. 1154, dubbed the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2023, passed by a vote of 413 to 2. It aims to sanction anyone involved in the grisly act and require annual government reporting on such activities taking place in each foreign country. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) were among more than a dozen lawmakers leading the measure’s companion version in the Senate. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), the principal sponsor of the bill, called attention to the penalties in the bill for those found to be involved in forced organ harvesting: a civil penalty of up to $250,000, and a criminal penalty of up to $1 million and 20 years in prison. “It’s got real teeth. We’re not kidding,” Smith told The Epoch Times ahead of the floor vote. “This is an atrocity, this is a crime against humanity, and it’s a war crime, because this is a war on innocent people in China, and [Chinese leader] Xi Jinping is directly responsible, but those who willingly engage in this will be held responsible.