Hong Kong Autonomy Act
Latest action · Jun 29, 2020 Held at the desk.
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.
- IntroducedMay 21, 2020
- Passed SenateJun 25, 2020
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Hong Kong Autonomy Act
This bill imposes sanctions on foreign individuals and entities that materially contribute to China's failure to preserve Hong Kong's autonomy.
Hong Kong is part of China but has a largely separate legal and economic system with protections for civil rights such as freedom of speech. This arrangement is enshrined in (1) the Joint Declaration, a 1984 treaty pertaining to the United Kingdom's transfer of Hong Kong's sovereignty to China; and (2) the Basic Law, Hong Kong's constitutional document.
The Department of State shall report annually to Congress information about (1) foreign individuals and entities that materially contributed to China's failure to comply with the Joint Declaration or the Basic Law; and (2) foreign financial institutions that knowingly conducted a significant transaction with such identified individuals and entities. An individual, entity, or financial institution may be excluded from this report for various reasons, such as to protect an intelligence source.
The President shall impose property-blocking sanctions on an individual or entity named in a report, and visa-blocking sanctions on a named individual. The President shall impose various sanctions on a financial institution named in a report, such as prohibiting the institution from receiving loans from a U.S. financial institution.
The President may waive or terminate the imposition of sanctions under this bill. Congress may override such a waiver or termination by passing a joint resolution of disapproval.
Cosponsors 11
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 21, 2020 to Jun 25, 2020; 3 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Original | May 21, 2020 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | May 21, 2020 |
| R-NC | Thom Tillis | Original | May 21, 2020 |
| D-AL | Doug Jones | Jun 2, 2020 | |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Jun 2, 2020 | |
| R-ND | Kevin Cramer | Jun 2, 2020 | |
| R-SC | Lindsey Graham | Jun 2, 2020 | |
| R-NE | Ben Sasse | Jun 25, 2020 | |
| R-AZ | Martha McSally | Jun 25, 2020 | |
| R-TX | Ted Cruz | Jun 25, 2020 | |
| R-AR | Tom Cotton | Jun 25, 2020 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee | Referred May 21, 2020Hearings Jun 4, 2020Discharged Jun 25, 2020 |
Actions 9
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 29, 2020Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Jun 29, 2020Received in the House.
- Jun 29, 2020Held at the desk.
- Jun 25, 2020Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.
- Jun 25, 2020Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S3285-3289)
- Jun 25, 2020Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote. (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR S3285-3289)
- Jun 4, 2020Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 116-320.
- May 21, 2020Introduced in Senate
- May 21, 2020Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
In the Congressional Record 3
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S4179, S4180 | Chris Van Hollen D-MD, Patrick J. Toomey R-PA | Jul 2, 2020 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S3284–S3290Text printed S3285–S3289Amendments S3285, S3356 | Chris Van Hollen D-MD (amendment), Josh Hawley R-MO, Patrick J. Toomey R-PA (amendment) | Jun 25, 2020 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S3048, S3049 | Chris Van Hollen D-MD, Josh Hawley R-MO, Kevin Cramer R-ND | Jun 17, 2020 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 116-320 | CRISIS IN HONG KONG: A REVIEW OF U.S. POLICY TOOLS99 pages | Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee | Jun 4, 2020 |
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| IF11562 | China Moves to Impose National Security Law on Hong Kong Archived | Resource | Jun 4, 2020 |
Amendments 1
Amendments offered to this bill.
| Amendment | Description | Offered by | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SA 1821 | In the nature of a substitute. | Patrick J. Toomey R-PA | Amendment SA 1821 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent. |
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 4049 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 | Related bill | Aug 7, 2020 |
| HR 7083 | Hong Kong Autonomy Act | Related bill | Jun 1, 2020 |
| HR 7440 | Hong Kong Autonomy Act | Related bill | Jul 14, 2020 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons involved in the erosion of certain obligations of China with respect to Hong Kong, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Hong Kong Autonomy Act
- Short Title(s) as Passed Senate
- Hong Kong Autonomy Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: International Affairs.
- Asia
- Banking and financial institutions regulation
- China
- Congressional oversight
- Corporate finance and management
- Foreign and international banking
- Foreign loans and debt
- Foreign property
- Hong Kong
- Human rights
- Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
- International Affairs
- International monetary system and foreign exchange
- Legislative rules and procedure
- News media and reporting
- Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents
- Protest and dissent
- Rule of law and government transparency
- Sanctions
- Sovereignty, recognition, national governance and status
- Trade restrictions
- U.S. and foreign investments
- Visas and passports
- War and emergency powers
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jun 25, 2020Engrossed in Senate
- May 21, 2020Introduced 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; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
