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S. 2972: UIGHUR Protection Act of 2019

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S. 2972: UIGHUR Protection Act of 2019

116th Congress · introduced 2019-12-04 · International Affairs · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2019-12-04 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

UIGHUR Protection Act of 2019

Plain summary

Uighur Intervention and Global Humanitarian Unified Response and Protection Act of 2019 or the UIGHUR Protection Act of 2019 This bill directs the President to impose sanctions and export restrictions related to China's treatment of the Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim Turkic ethnic group. The President shall identify items that provide China with a critical capability to suppress basic human rights, including items that provide capability to (1) conduct surveillance, (2) monitor and restrict an individual's movement, (3) monitor and restrict access to the internet, and (4) identify individuals through facial or voice recognition. The President shall (1) place such items on the Commerce Control List (a list of items subject to export controls); and (2) require authorization for the export, reexport, or transfer of such items to or within China. The bill terminates certain prohibitions, such as a prohibition against obligating funds for U.S. Trade and Development Agency activities in China, upon a report by the President to Congress that China has taken specified actions, including ending the mass internment of Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

UIGHUR Protection Act of 2019

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Mark R. Warner (D-VA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] reported raising $8.6 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong116-s2972 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116