U.S. House Passes Falun Gong Protection Act Unanimously to Counter CCP Atrocities

WASHINGTON DC — In a significant bipartisan move, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Falun Gong Protection Act (H.R. 1540) on May 5, 2025, with a unanimous voice vote. This legislation aims to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for its brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, including the state-sanctioned practice of forced organ harvesting.

“For decades, the CCP has waged a brutal and illegal campaign to crush Falun Gong, including systematic torture and killing for organs,” said Levi Browde, executive director at the Falun Dafa Information Center. “By passing this bill, the House of Representatives has made it clear that the United States will not remain silent—and that these crimes will have consequences.”

Introduced by Representative Scott Perry (R-PA) and co-sponsored by members from both parties, the bill marks the first binding legislative effort by Congress to address the CCP’s decades-long persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.  

“H.R. 1540 is a historic step forward—the first binding commitment by Congress to take decisive legal action against the persecution and forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners,” said Rep. Perry on the House floor shortly before the vote. “Let us stand together, not just for Falun Gong practitioners, but for the millions suffering under the CCP’s oppression, the tyranny. Let us affirm that the United States will always champion truth, compassion, and tolerance.”

Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), who co-sponsored the bill, previously stressed the need for accountability, saying, “We must do everything in our power to hold the CCP malign actors and organ traffickers accountable for their unspeakable crimes.”

Policy breakdown

For nearly 26 years, the CCP has persecuted tens of millions of Falun Gong practitioners. This includes arbitrary detention, forced labor, systematic torture, forced organ harvesting, and documented cases of thousands of deaths in custody. Although Congress has adopted multiple resolutions condemning these abuses, this bill would mark the first binding U.S. legislation to hold perpetrators accountable.

Key provisions of the Falun Gong Protection Act include:

• Sanctions: Imposing visa bans and asset freezes on individuals complicit in forced organ harvesting.
• Atrocity assessment: Mandating a formal assessment by the U.S. government to determine whether the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong constitutes an “atrocity” under the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018.
• Accountability: Requiring the President to submit and annually update a list of sanctioned individuals.
• Transparency: Mandating a comprehensive report on China’s organ transplant practices and any U.S. collaborations in this field.

After the House’s approval, the bill now awaits consideration in the Senate. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced a companion bill (S.817) in the Senate on March 3, 2025. The Senate’s action will be crucial in advancing this legislation toward becoming law.

Support from both parties

Bipartisan support was on full display during the House floor debate. Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), managing the bill on the floor, condemned the CCP’s system as one that turns detainees into “a human inventory for a state-run organ harvesting system,” calling it “barbaric” and urging support for the legislation as a long-overdue action to confront this horror.

Democratic support was also evident. Rep. John Olszewski (D-MD) emphasized that forced organ harvesting is “a grave violation of human rights and bodily autonomy” and stated that “we must stand with the victims, show them they are not forgotten, and ensure that perpetrators face justice.” He noted that the bill’s reporting requirements would help the U.S. “better understand the scope of these terrible abuses and allow us to address them more effectively.”

Other Democratic lawmakers have also voiced their support for the bill. Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ) previously highlighted the human toll of the persecution, stating, “Imagine the terror and despair of those imprisoned for their beliefs, only to have their organs forcibly taken from them. This is not just a statistic or a distant issue. These are real people who endure unbelievable pain and fear.”

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