Already sanctioned by China, Rep. Dan Crenshaw tries again to let Americans sue for COVID-19 damages - The Dallas Morning News

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Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, is reviving his 2020 bill that would let Americans sue China for coronavirus-related medical and economic damages.

Crenshaw first introduced the measure with Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a few months into the pandemic. It died after failing to get a committee hearing.

Under U.S. law, individuals are barred from suing a foreign government without special permission from Congress. Crenshaw’s revived bill filed last week would carve an exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to allow lawsuits against China for damages related to the pandemic that has so far claimed more than 600,000 American lives.

“We need to hold the Chinese government accountable for their malicious lies and coverup that allowed the coronavirus to spread across the world,” Crenshaw said. “Their actions cost American lives and livelihoods, which is why I’m reintroducing this bill to ensure China’s actions are not without consequences.”

This comes as the “lab leak” theory, a belief that COVID-19 somehow emanated from a lab in Wuhan, China, continues to dominate public discourse and scientific debate. Republicans continue to push the theory — last month, Crenshaw joined Fox News to criticize its quick dismissal.

“(China’s) been lying about this for a long time, I think the most plausible scenario for the origins of the virus was always a lab leak,” Crenshaw said.

When Crenshaw and Cotton initially introduced the legislation, titled the Holding the Chinese Communist Party Accountable for Infecting Americans Act of 2020, in April of last year, China threatened to sanction the lawmakers.

“China is extremely dissatisfied with the abuse of litigation by the US against China over the COVID-19 epidemic, and is considering punitive countermeasures against US individuals, entities and state officials,” a May 2020 article in China’s Global Times reports.

Crenshaw, among others, then called on the Trump administration to sanction Chinese officials over their response to the pandemic.

Now Crenshaw is seeking support again for the bill.

“We hope that Democrats share our commitment to holding the communist regime accountable and sign on to our legislation to do that, and urge Speaker Pelosi to bring the bill to the House floor for a vote,” said spokesman Justin Discigil.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., urged his caucus on Monday to support the bill as one way to hold China accountable for its purported “coverup” of the novel virus.

“The families of those who have died from Covid-19 should be given the option to file suit against the Chinese government for damages incurred as a result of the reckless conduct of the [Chinese Communist Party],” McCarthy wrote. “Several Republican members, including Dan Crenshaw, Ann Wagner, and Brian Fitzpatrick, have introduced legislation allowing such lawsuits to go forward.”

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Already sanctioned by China, Rep. Dan Crenshaw tries again to let Americans sue for COVID-19 damages - The Dallas Morning News
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