No Funds For Forced Labor Act (S.1685)

(Pending in the Senate)

The bipartisan No Funds for Forced Labor Act (S.1685) was introduced on May 8, 2025 by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), for himself and cosponsor Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR). 

A previous version of the bill was introduced in 2024 by Sen. Rubio and Sen. Merkley. 

The full title is: “To require the Secretary of Treasury to instruct the United States Executive Directors at the international financial institutions to advocate for opposition to projects that make use of forced labor.”

Background:

Senator Scott explained the importance of the bill in a May 8, 2025 press release, saying: “I was proud to lead an effort with Secretary of State Marco Rubio during his time in the Senate to ensure that goods made with Uyghur forced labor do not enter the United States supply chain. Our bill, the No Funds for Forced Labor Act, will take another step in ensuring American tax dollars are not spent to support these gross abuses by Communist China.”

Senator Merkley shared additional context for the bill in the same press release, saying: “This bipartisan bill builds off my Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and ensures the United States is not complicit in horrific human rights abuses. We need to send a strong message against slave labor wherever this evil appears.”

This bill:

  • Recognizes the use of forced labor in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region [East Turkistan], citing the 2022 Atlantic Council report, Financing & genocide: Development finance and the crisis in the Uyghur Region, by Laura T. Murphy, Kendyl Salcito, and Nyrola Elimä, 2021 comments adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) 2022 Annual Report.
  • Directs U.S. representatives to international financial institutions to vote against funding projects with a risk of forced labor, especially projects involving state-owned entities in the XUAR. The institutions include the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
  • Directs the Treasury Department to report annually on implementation.

Visit the UHRP U.S. Legislation Tracker for other bills endorsed by the Uyghur Human Rights Project.