H.Res. 1259 · 119th Congress

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should prioritize securing the release of Pastor Jin Mingri, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, and Jimmy Lai detained by the People’s Republic of China during future engagements with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Introduced on May 7, 2026 by Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ-4). 3 cosponsors, 1 of them from another party. Latest action (May 13, 2026): Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
May 7, 2026
Cosponsors
3
1 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

Official title

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should prioritize securing the release of Pastor Jin Mingri, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, and Jimmy Lai detained by the People's Republic of China during future engagements with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Subjects

  • Asia
  • China
  • Detention of persons
  • Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
  • Human rights
  • Religion

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Introduced in House, May 7, 2026). Public domain.

This resolution calls upon the President to prioritize the humanitarian release of five specified individuals (Pastor Jin Mingri, Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife Pang Yu, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, and Jimmy Lai) and others unjustly detained by China during future engagements with China's President Xi Jinping.

The resolution also (1) urges the President to seek verifiable proof of life, access to independent legal counsel, family communication, and medical care for these detainees; and (2) reaffirms the U.S. commitment to defending political and religious freedom and advocating for the release of those unjustly detained for exercising such fundamental freedoms.

Sponsor and cosponsors

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

Christopher H. SmithR-NJ-4Sponsor

Democrats · 1

Republicans · 2

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 Agree
    May 13, 2026· House· Passage· Passed 414–0

History

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

  1. May 7, 2026Submitted in House
  2. May 7, 2026 · HouseSubmitted in House
  3. May 7, 2026Submitted in House
  4. May 7, 2026 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
  5. May 12, 2026 · HouseMr. Smith (NJ) moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution.
  6. May 12, 2026 · HouseConsidered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3372-3375; text: CR H3372)
  7. May 12, 2026 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H. Res. 1259.
  8. May 12, 2026 · 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.
  9. May 13, 2026 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H3437-3438)
  10. May 13, 2026Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 414 - 0 (Roll no. 167).House · Roll call 167
  11. May 13, 2026 · HouseOn motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 414 - 0 (Roll no. 167).House · Roll call 167
  12. May 13, 2026 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

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.