GOP lawmakers allege Pelosi is blocking Uyghur anti-slavery bill from moving to Senate

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has blocked a Uyghur anti-slavery bill that passed in the House on Wednesday from being sent to the Senate for final passage, Republican lawmakers have alleged.

Pelosi finally brought the bill up for a vote in the House on Wednesday after Sen. Marco Rubio, the legislation’s sponsor in the Senate, threatened to hold up the Defense Authorization Act if the bill wasn’t included as an amendment, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

"Yesterday the House passed their version of my bill to take on Uyghur slave labor in China 425 to 1," Rubio tweeted. "But now Pelosi is blocking it from being sent to the Senate." 

But the Biden administration’s concern that an import ban on products connected to forced labor in China could undermine climate negotiations with the Communist superpower has apparently caused Democratic leadership to stall the Uyghur Anti-Forced Labor Act.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy took to Twitter to accuse Pelosi of "dragging her feet," noting that the House "passed 30+ bills yesterday. All but ONE were sent to the Senate for a vote. It's the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act — which cracks down on goods made with Chinese slave labor." 

Rep. Jim McGovern, the Democratic sponsor of the bill in the House, explained that they delay was due to the procedural process of reconciling the House and Senate versions.

"We're already working w/Rubio's office to reconcile bills," he said on Twitter. "House bill has some stronger parts. We will get it to Biden's desk." 

Republicans have been accusing Democrats of obstructing the bill – which passed in the Senate unanimously over the summer – for months now. But the House's version is different than the Senate's and the two must be reconciled before a final vote and then be sent to the President's desk to be signed into law. The Senate could also pass the House's version of the bill, and not require reconciliation. 

Congressional sources have also alleged that John Kerry, Biden’s climate envoy, and other State Department officials have been lobbying members against the bill due to the impact it could have on the ongoing climate negotiations with China, noting that the bill would effectively ban imports from Xinjiang, the largest global producer of solar panel materials, where the forced labor operations are based. 

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman allegedly reached out to the Senate bill's Democratic cosponsor, Jeff Merkley, to ask him to water down the legislation. 

The Washington Post’s Josh Rogin further noted on Thursday that the White House has already told Democrats not to send the bill to the President's desk. 

"There is no plan to reconcile it with the senate bill by Rubio and Merkley," Rogin tweeted. "It's just an alibi, unfortunately. Biden admin told dems not to send it to his desk. Sad."