Hong Kong Policy Reevaluation Act of 2019
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Hong Kong Policy Reevaluation Act of 2019
This bill directs the Department of State to report to Congress on China's activities in relation to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is a part of China but has a mostly separate legal system, which includes protection for civil liberties such as free speech and freedom from arbitrary imprisonment. The United States and Hong Kong have a bilateral relationship separate from the U.S.-China relationship, based in part on the existence of Hong Kong's separate legal and economic system.
The report shall assess how the Chinese government extradites or coercively moves foreign nationals, including U.S. citizens, from Hong Kong to mainland China. It shall also describe how China uses Hong Kong to avoid U.S. export controls, duties on imported goods, and sanctions.
The State Department shall report on China's use of Hong Kong security agencies to (1) conduct espionage against foreign nationals, (2) conduct influence operations, and (3) violate civil liberties protected under Hong Kong law.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on September 27, 2019. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 27, 2019: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Harley Rouda (D-CA) introduced it on September 27, 2019, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 27, 2019, 2540 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2540 days ago, on September 27, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers