Sens. Cruz, Merkley Lead Senate Passage of 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, issued statements following Senate passage of their bipartisan Falun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act. This legislation imposes sanctions on officials responsible for forced 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 continues to target Falun Gong practitioners through its brutal, state-sponsored organ harvesting industry. These atrocities are an assault on religious liberty and fundamental human rights. I am proud to have worked with Senator Merkley to get this bipartisan bill through the Senate, and I urge my colleagues in the House to pass it and send it to the President’s desk.” Sen. Merkley said, “China’s campaign of repression and human rights abuses continues 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.” U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), and James Lankford (R-Okla.) are cosponsors of this legislation. Click here to read more about the bill. 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. Sens. Cruz and Merkley introduced the bipartisan Falun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act in March 2026, and Sen. Cruz previously introduced the Falun Gong Protection Act in March 2025.