Representative McGovern Appointed Chair, Senator Rubio Appointed Cochair

April 17, 2019

(Washington, DC)–U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) as Chair of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) for the 116th Congress. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appointed Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) as Cochair.

“I am honored to serve as the Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China for the 116th Congress. Strong support for human rights ought to be at the heart of America’s foreign policy. We must send the message that we stand with those around the world whose rights and freedoms have been trampled, whether it is the right to culture and religious freedom, or the right to food and medicine, or the right to speak out and organize,” said McGovern. “It is important that we not turn a blind eye to the Chinese Government’s deteriorating human rights record, especially as it seeks to export its authoritarian model abroad. From people of faith in Tibet to labor activists and political prisoners, our goal first and foremost must be to speak out and hold the Chinese Government accountable for its actions. I look forward to partnering with Senator Rubio as we work together to face this great challenge.”

“I’m honored to return to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and serve as its Cochair,” Rubio said. “I look forward to working with Chairman Jim McGovern on the Commission’s continuing efforts to stand with the Chinese people and shine a light on the Communist Chinese Government’s systemic and egregious abuses of human rights and the rule of law, including China’s internment of over a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, its denial of fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, and its brutal repression of human rights lawyers, journalists, Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, and others.”

Congress created the Commission in 2000 to monitor China’s compliance with international human rights standards, to encourage the development of the rule of law in the PRC, and to establish and maintain a list of victims of human rights abuses in China. The Commission submits an annual report to the President and Congress every October on these subjects. The Commission’s 2018 Annual Report is available here.  A Chinese translation of the Annual Report’s Executive Summary is also available.  The Commission’s Political Prisoner Database, with information on over 1,400 currently detained prisoners of conscience in China, can be searched and accessed here.

The Commission is comprised of nine Senators, nine Members of the House of Representatives, and five senior Administration officials. The Speaker of the House, in consultation with the House Minority Leader, chooses the House Members of the Commission. The Senate Majority Leader, in consultation with the Senate Minority Leader, names the Senate’s commissioners. The President appoints the five Executive Branch commissioners. An updated list of appointments from the House, Senate and the Administration for the 116th Congress can be found on the CECC’s website. There are currently no Executive Branch appointments.

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