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Washington, DC – Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX) will introduce the American Values and Security in International Athletics Act. This bipartisan bill aims to inform U.S. Olympic athletes about human rights concerns and personal privacy and security risks posed by certain host countries. It was introduced last Congress and passed the House by voice vote.

“The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics were a propaganda triumph for the Chinese Communist Party – and a significant blow for human rights. Now, twelve years later, CCP human rights abuses have escalated dramatically,” stated House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead Republican Michael McCaul. “By failing to impose human rights conditions for the CCP’s hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the International Olympic Committee is once again showing their lack of concern for human rights and allowing their own brand to be associated with the CCP’s genocide against Uyghurs and other minorities, the violent crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong, and the persecution of  Tibetan monks and Christians. The IOC is violating its own standards by negligently allowing American athletes to be exposed to human rights abuses and intrusive surveillance in authoritarian states, and Congress should step up to ensure our competitors are informed. This bipartisan bill will ensure that United States Olympians, many of whom are icons and adored by our children as role models, are educated about where they are competing when they go abroad.”  

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