Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2017
Latest action · Feb 16, 2017 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 16, 2017
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2017
This bill amends the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 to direct the Department of State to report to Congress (within 90 days and annually thereafter through 2023) on conditions in Hong Kong that are of U.S. interest.
Such report shall include matters in which Hong Kong is given separate treatment under U.S. laws from that accorded to China.
The State Department shall certify to Congress annually whether Hong Kong is sufficiently autonomous to justify separate treatment different from that accorded to China in any new laws, agreements, treaties, or arrangements entered into between the United States and Hong Kong.
The President shall identify persons responsible for: (1) the surveillance, abduction, detention, or forced confessions of certain booksellers and journalists in Hong Kong; and (2) other actions suppressing basic freedoms.
The bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to deny U.S. entry to identified individuals and revoke visas or other entry documentation.
Entry, work, or study visa applicants who resided in Hong Kong in 2014 shall not be denied visas on the basis of the applicant's arrest or detention or other adverse government action taken as a result of participation in the nonviolent protest activities related to Hong Kong's electoral process.
The President shall freeze the U.S.-based assets of identified individuals.
Cosponsors 2
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Feb 16, 2017.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Original | Feb 16, 2017 |
| R-AR | Tom Cotton | Original | Feb 16, 2017 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 16, 2017Introduced in Senate
- Feb 16, 2017Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 3856 | Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2017 | Identical bill | Nov 29, 2017 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: International Affairs.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Art, artists, authorship
- Asia
- Books and print media
- China
- Congressional oversight
- Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
- Department of the Treasury
- Detention of persons
- Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
- Europe
- Foreign labor
- Foreign property
- Higher education
- Hong Kong
- Human rights
- International Affairs
- International exchange and broadcasting
- International law and treaties
- International organizations and cooperation
- News media and reporting
- Political movements and philosophies
- Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
- Protest and dissent
- Religion
- Sanctions
- Sovereignty, recognition, national governance and status
- United Kingdom
- Visas and passports
- War and emergency powers
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 16, 2017Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.
