Newly agreed-upon legislation intended to hold China accountable for human rights abuses in Xinjiang is expected to soon land on President Joe Biden’s desk. But the White House has remained coy over its role in shaping the compromise text.
“Our effort is to often provide technical assistance to ensure that bills are implementable,” press secretary Jen Psaki said when asked about the White House’s input on the compromise text for the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. The White House has repeatedly declined to comment on whether Biden supports legislation to hold China accountable for Uyghur human rights abuses, leaving advocates wondering about delays moving the bill forward.
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Psaki demurred when asked about White House concerns with the original legislation and the compromises that helped secure the final text.
“I don’t think I’m going to get into the details of the legislative behind-the-scenes discussions,” she added.
Top Biden administration officials have pushed congressional leaders to slow action on earlier iterations of the bill, according to reports.
The compromise language was brokered Tuesday by Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern and Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio. McGovern’s final language in the House assumes all items made in part or whole in Xinjiang are produced with coerced labor. Businesses are eligible for exemptions from the import ban provided they can ensure “clear and convincing evidence” their supply chains are free of forced labor.
In a statement, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would pass the latest version later that day.
“Happy to report that Senator Rubio & I just reached an agreement on final text of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. We will be moving our bill through both chambers & to President Biden’s desk as quickly as possible,” tweeted McGovern.
Psaki did not say when Biden intends to sign the bill.
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“But if the president will sign the bill, we have been clear that we share Congress’s view that action must be taken to hold the PRC accountable for human rights abuses and to address forced labor in Xinjiang,” she said.
“The president will sign the bill,” a White House spokesperson later clarified to the Washington Examiner. “She was referring to the fact that Congress will go through its process to pass the bill first.”
