The Justice for Victims of COVID Act would establish a compensation program for survivors of Americans who died from COVID-19, funded through a 10 percent tariff on all Chinese imports. Eligible survivors, including spouses, children, or parents of deceased U.S. citizens, could submit petitions to receive payments covering out-of-pocket medical costs and up to $50,000 in lost wages from the death. The legislation also removes legal protections that normally shield foreign governments from lawsuits, allowing Americans to sue China directly in federal court for COVID-related injuries or deaths, with a presumption that any misrepresentations by China about the virus were a contributing cause of harm. If funding becomes insufficient to pay all claims, the Health and Human Services Secretary would prioritize payments in the order applications are approved. The bill reflects Congressional findings that China concealed vital information about the virus, suppressed data to health organizations, silenced whistleblowers, and continued international air traffic from Wuhan despite a domestic lockdown.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.