Blackburn, McSally set to introduce Stop COVID Act to hold China accountable

U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Martha McSally (R-AZ) on Monday said they plan soon to unveil the Stop China-Originated Viral Infectious Diseases (COVID) Act of 2020, which would hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable in U.S. federal court for its role in spreading the coronavirus.

“Business owners and families who have lost loved ones deserve justice,” Sen. Blackburn said on April 20. “Under this legislation, Americans will have the opportunity to take China to court in the U.S. and demand accountability for their lies and deceit.”

If enacted, the Stop COVID Act would amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to establish an exception to jurisdictional immunity for a foreign state that discharges a biological weapon, according to the text of the bill.

“The Chinese government must be held accountable for the pain it’s inflicted across the United States,” Sen. McSally said. “Our legislation to allow Americans to file lawsuits against the Chinese Communist Party for its role in perpetuating the global spread of the coronavirus will give the U.S. a piece of justice.”

U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) on April 3 introduced the same-named H.R. 6444 in his chamber. The bill stipulates that “a foreign state shall not be immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States in any case where such foreign state is alleged, whether intentionally or unintentionally, to have discharged a biological agent… and such discharge results in the bodily injury, death or damage to property of a national of the United States.”

“Right now, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act is a shield for the Chinese Communist Party to hide behind. We need to change that,” said Rep. Gooden. “The leadership of Senators Blackburn and McSally will be invaluable in our effort to do just that.”

Sen. Blackburn and Rep. Gooden also wrote an opinion piece published in the April 22 Washington Examiner noting that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has repeatedly lied about the pandemic.

“We cannot rely on the Chinese government to be honest, which means we cannot afford to accept the narrative the CCP wants us to believe,” they wrote. “By unleashing the investigatory power of our legal system, we can discover the truth, prepare for the future, and ensure the American people get the answers they deserve.”

Sen. Blackburn also called America’s costs associated with the pandemic “devastating,” pointing out that it has cost the U.S. “trillions of dollars in economic damage, more than 22 million American jobs lost, and over 150,000 deaths worldwide and counting.”