Sens. Cruz, Merkley Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Hold China Accountable for Organ Harvesting and Human Rights Violations

Washington, D.C. -U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introducedtheFalun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act.The bill imposes sanctions on those responsible for organ harvesting in China and directs the Secretary of State to report to Congress on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s organ harvesting policies and transplant system.
Sen. Cruz said,“The Chinese Communist Party operates a brutal, state-sponsored organ harvesting industry that targets people for their faith. The CCP has in particular targeted Falun Gong practitioners, committing assaults on religious liberty and fundamental human rights. The United States should hold accountable those who have committed these atrocities, I’m grateful to Senator Merkley for joining me in introducing this critical bipartisan legislation and urge our colleagues to expeditiously advance it.”
Sen. Merkley said,“China’s campaign of repression and human rights abuses continue to have horrific consequences, including reports of forced organ harvesting from vulnerable groups across the PRC. We must stand up for the victims of these crimes, and our bipartisan effort holds the Chinese government accountable for its abuses.”
Click hereto read the full bill text.
BACKGROUND:
Falun Gong is a movement founded in the early 1990s by Li Hongzhi in China, which grew rapidly throughout the 1990s.
The CCP outlawed the movement in 1999 and sought to eliminate Falun Gong activity. The CCP has conducted mass arrests and torture of Falun Gong practitioners and detained thousands of practitioners in labor camps, subjecting some to forced organ harvesting. Those harvested organs are used in transplants within China and are trafficked overseas.
Sen. Cruz previously introduced theFalun Gong Protection Actin March 2025.