H.R. 4785 · 117th Congress

To support the human rights of Uyghurs and members of other minority groups residing primarily in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and safeguard their distinct identity, and for other purposes.

Introduced on Jul 29, 2021 by Young Kim (R-CA-39). 79 cosponsors, 39 of them from another party. Latest action (Dec 5, 2022): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Jul 29, 2021
Cosponsors
79
39 from the other party
Policy area
International Affairs
Open in the Congress explorerCongress.govAlert me

Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To support the human rights of Uyghurs and members of other minority groups residing in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and safeguard their distinct identity, and for other purposes.

Subjects

  • Albania
  • Asia
  • Canada
  • China
  • Congressional oversight
  • Congressional tributes
  • Department of State
  • Detention of persons
  • Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
  • Europe
  • Executive agency funding and structure
  • Foreign aid and international relief
  • Foreign language and bilingual programs
  • Germany
  • Government information and archives
  • Human rights
  • International exchange and broadcasting
  • International organizations and cooperation
  • Protest and dissent
  • Racial and ethnic relations
  • Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
  • Religion
  • Turkey
  • United Nations

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Passed House, Dec 1, 2022). Public domain.

Uyghur Policy Act of 2021

This bill addresses human rights issues concerning the Uyghurs and other minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.

The bill authorizes the establishment of a Special Coordinator for Uyghur Issues position within the Department of State.

The State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs may, subject to appropriations, make certain funds available to human rights advocates working on behalf of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups persecuted in China. The funds, if made available, shall be used to facilitate the presence of such human rights advocates at public diplomacy forums to speak on issues related to the human rights and religious freedoms of minority groups persecuted in China.

The State Department must ensure that Uyghur language training is available to Foreign Service officers. It must also ensure that a Uyghur-speaking member of the Foreign Service is assigned to U.S. diplomatic and consular missions in China.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Young KimR-CA-39Sponsor

Democrats · 39

Republicans · 40

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended
    Dec 1, 2022· House· Passage· Passed 407–17

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Jul 29, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Jul 29, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Jul 29, 2021 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
  4. Aug 4, 2021 · HouseReferred to the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation.
  5. Sep 30, 2021 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
  6. Sep 30, 2021 · HouseOrdered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Voice Vote.
  7. Nov 29, 2022 · HouseMs. Jacobs (CA) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
  8. Nov 29, 2022 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H8633-8637)
  9. Nov 29, 2022 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 4785.
  10. Nov 29, 2022 · HouseAt the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
  11. Dec 1, 2022 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H8695-8696)
  12. Dec 1, 2022Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 407 - 17 (Roll no. 494).House · Roll call 494
  13. Dec 1, 2022 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 407 - 17 (Roll no. 494). (text: 11/29/2022 CR H8633-8634)House · Roll call 494
  14. Dec 1, 2022 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  15. Dec 1, 2022 · HouseThe title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
  16. Dec 5, 2022 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.