SRES 463
· 119th Congress
· International Affairs
A resolution expressing condemnation of the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of religious minority groups, including Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists and the detention of Pastor "Ezra" Jin Mingri and leaders of the Zion Church, and reaffirming the United States' global commitment to promote religious freedom and tolerance.
Sponsor
Latest action
Resolution agreed to in Senate with an amendment and an amended preamble by Voice Vote. (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR S7976)
Action timeline
Every recorded action on this bill, newest first. Stage badges color-code the legislative path.
Nov 07, 2025
committee
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations discharged by Unanimous Consent.
Foreign Relations Committee
Nov 07, 2025
floor
Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S7974-7976)
Nov 07, 2025
passed
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Resolution agreed to in Senate with an amendment and an amended preamble by Voice Vote.
Nov 07, 2025
passed
Resolution agreed to in Senate with an amendment and an amended preamble by Voice Vote. (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR S7976)
Oct 23, 2025
introduced
Introduced in Senate
Oct 23, 2025
introduced
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text: CR S7732)
Foreign Relations Committee
Text versions
Each stage of the bill — official text published by GPO. Click any format to read on congress.gov / govinfo.
Changelog
ⓘ
How a bill moves through Congress. Each stage produces a new official text. The diff between them shows what changed at that step.
ih / is — Introduced in House / Senate. First filed version.rfh / rfs — Referred to a committee for review.rh / rs — Reported back by the committee to the floor (often with amendments — this is where most language changes happen).pcs / pch — Placed on Calendar for floor consideration.eh / es — Engrossed. Passed by the originating chamber. Text is now what was actually voted on.rdh / rds — Received by the other chamber.eah / eas — Engrossed Amendment. The other chamber passed an amended version.ath / ats — Agreed to. Both chambers settled on the same text.enr — Enrolled. Final reconciled text, sent to the President.pl — Public Law. Signed by the President. It's now law.pp — Public Print. Official printing post-enactment.
Most bills die before eh/es. Going from pcs → enr is the full path through both chambers.
ⓘ
How a bill moves through Congress. Each stage produces a new official text. The diff between them shows what changed at that step.
ih/is— Introduced in House / Senate. First filed version.rfh/rfs— Referred to a committee for review.rh/rs— Reported back by the committee to the floor (often with amendments — this is where most language changes happen).pcs/pch— Placed on Calendar for floor consideration.eh/es— Engrossed. Passed by the originating chamber. Text is now what was actually voted on.rdh/rds— Received by the other chamber.eah/eas— Engrossed Amendment. The other chamber passed an amended version.ath/ats— Agreed to. Both chambers settled on the same text.enr— Enrolled. Final reconciled text, sent to the President.pl— Public Law. Signed by the President. It's now law.pp— Public Print. Official printing post-enactment.
Most bills die before eh/es. Going from pcs → enr is the full path through both chambers.
Line-level diff between text versions of this bill — what actually changed at each legislative stage.
+83
−31
43 unchanged
--- Introduced (Senate)
+++ Agreed to (Senate)
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
-[S. Res. 463 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
+[S. Res. 463 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]
<DOC>
@@ -20,8 +20,15 @@
October 23, 2025
Mr. Cruz (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Cassidy, Mr. Graham,
-and Mr. Grassley) submitted the following resolution; which was
-referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
+Mr. Grassley, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mr. Justice, Mr. Scott of
+Florida, Ms. Alsobrooks, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Wicker, and Mrs.
+Shaheen) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
+Committee on Foreign Relations
+
+November 7, 2025
+
+Committee discharged; considered, amended, and agreed to with an
+amended preamble
_______________________________________________________________________
@@ -35,12 +42,16 @@
Whereas, on October 10, 2025, international news outlets reported that the
Chinese Communist Party (referred to in this preamble as the ``CCP'')
-abducted Pastor ``Ezra'' Jin Mingri, who is the founder of Beijing Zion
-Church, from his home in Guangxi Province, China;
-Whereas CCP authorities also abducted more than 20 other pastors and church
-members from Zion Church;
+detained Pastor ``Ezra'' Jin Mingri, who is the founder of Zion Church,
+from his home in Guangxi Province, China;
+Whereas CCP authorities also arrested nearly 30 other pastors and church members
+from Zion Church;
+Whereas 23 members of Zion Church remain in detention centers, while other
+members have been released on bail, and still others are being harassed
+and intimidated by Chinese authorities;
Whereas the CCP's actions mark the largest coordinated, nationwide crackdown
-against a Christian urban house church in more than 40 years;
+against an unregistered Christian house church network in more than 40
+years;
Whereas thousands of Zion Church members and millions of Christians and other
religious adherents who reside in the People's Republic of China seek to
peacefully worship God and care for their neighbors without the threat
@@ -48,19 +59,52 @@
Whereas the imprisonment of Pastor Jin is the latest instance of CCP persecution
of a large number of religious minorities, including Christians, Muslim
Uyghurs, Hui Muslims, and Tibetan Buddhists;
-Whereas, in 2016, President Xi Jinping promised to ``Sinicize'' religion in
-China by allowing authorities to burn Bibles, imprison believers, and
-tear down Christian crosses, and by forcing religious organizations and
-adherents to conform to the ideology of the CCP;
-Whereas, in 2021, the Trump Administration determined the CCP had committed
-crimes against humanity and genocide against predominately Muslim
-Uyghurs and other members of ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang
-and that the CCP has continued to subject religious minorities to
+Whereas, since coming to power in 2012, CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping has
+escalated a campaign to ``sinicize'' religion in China by--
+
+(1) allowing authorities to burn bibles, imprison believers, and tear
+down Christian crosses; and
+
+(2) forcing religious organizations and adherents to conform to the
+ideology of the CCP;
+
+Whereas, under the policy of sinicizing religion, the Government of China has--
+
+(1) ordered the removal of crosses from Catholic and Protestant
+churches;
+
+(2) censored religious texts;
+
+(3) imposed CCP-approved religious materials;
+
+(4) replaced images of Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary with pictures of
+Xi Jinping; and
+
+(5) instructed clergy to preach CCP ideology;
+
+Whereas, in 2021, the Trump administration determined the CCP--
+
+(1) had committed crimes against humanity and genocide against
+predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious
+minority groups, including ethnic Kazakhs and ethnic Kyrgyz; and
+
+(2) has continued to subject religious minority groups in China to
restrictions on religious practices and freedom of expression, arbitrary
imprisonment, forced sterilization torture, and forced labor;
+
Whereas the CCP has made consistent efforts to erode the religious, linguistic,
-and cultural identity of Tibetans, including by closing Buddhist
-monasteries and limiting entry or practitioners;
+and cultural identity of Tibetans, including by--
+
+(1) closing Buddhist monasteries and limiting entry or practitioners;
+
+(2) forcibly disappearing and arbitrarily detaining Tibetans for
+practicing their religious beliefs;
+
+(3) censoring religious content online; and
+
+(4) expanding the use of boarding schools to indoctrinate children in
+CCP-approved curricula and Mandarin Chinese;
+
Whereas Congress unanimously passed the International Religious Freedom Act of
1998 (Public Law 105-292), which established, as the official policy of
the United States--
@@ -92,10 +136,10 @@
President the authority to impose targeted sanctions on individuals
responsible for committing human rights violations;
Whereas the People's Republic of China is a signatory to the Universal
-Declaration of Human Rights, done at Paris December 10, 1948, and the
-International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, done at New York
-December 19, 1966, which recognize freedom of religion as a fundamental
-human right;
+Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in Paris on December 10, 1948, and
+the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted in New
+York on December 19, 1966, which recognize freedom of religion as an
+internationally-recognized human right;
Whereas Article 36 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China
explicitly states that citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy
freedom of religious belief; and
@@ -104,20 +148,28 @@
protections: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) strongly condemns the Chinese Communist Party's
-persecution of religious minorities, including Pastor ``Ezra''
-Jin Mingri and other leaders and members of Zion Church and
-other faith communities;
+persecution of religious minority groups, including Pastor
+``Ezra'' Jin Mingri and other leaders and members of Zion
+Church and other faith communities;
(2) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to
promote religious freedom and tolerance around the world and to
help provide protection and relief to religious minorities
facing persecution and violence;
-(3) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of
-China to release the members of Zion Church, including Pastor
-Jin, and all other wrongfully detained religious leaders; and
-(4) demands that the Government of the People's Republic of
+(3) calls for the immediate and unconditional release of
+all detained members of Zion Church, including Pastor Jin, and
+all other wrongfully detained religious practioners in China;
+(4) calls for the Government of the People's Republic of
+China to cease its harassment and intimidation of the relatives
+of Zion Church members and their relatives, including tactics
+of transnational repression overseas;
+(5) calls on the Government of the People's Republic of
+China to release all other arbitrarily detained religious
+believers, including Uyghur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, and
+other Christians; and
+(6) demands that the Government of the People's Republic of
China--
(A) respect the internationally recognized human
-right to freedom from religious persecution; and
+right to freedom of religion or belief; and
(B) end all forms of violence and discrimination
-against religious minorities and entities.
+against religious minority groups and entities.
<all>
Cosponsors (14)
Members who signed on to support this bill.