Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act of 2025

House Bill

H.R. 4443

119th Congress

Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act of 2025

In Committee

Introduced:Sep 18, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Christopher H. Smith

Representative

Republican

NJ-4

Cosponsors

18

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Foreign Trade and International Finance

Summary

This bill aims to address the use of child labor and forced labor in the mining of certain strategic metals and minerals, particularly cobalt and lithium, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It would prohibit the importation of goods containing these materials if they were produced using such labor practices, and require the government to take actions to enforce this and address the issue more broadly.

Latest Action

Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.

SponsorChristopher H. Smith (R-NJ)

Introduced9/18/2025

StatusReferred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

ChamberHouse

Data from Congress.gov

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Vote Prediction

Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act of 2025

This bill aims to address the use of child labor and forced labor in the mining of certain strategic metals and minerals, particularly cobalt and lithium, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It would prohibit the importation of goods containing thes

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

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This bill aims to address the use of child labor and forced labor in the mining of certain strategic metals and minerals, particularly cobalt and lithium, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It would prohibit the importation of goods containing these materials if they were produced using such labor practices, and require the government to take actions to enforce this and address the issue more broadly.

Bill Number: 4443
Sponsor: Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ)
Introduced: 9/18/2025
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Policy Area: Foreign Trade and International Finance

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act of 2025
Bill Number: 4443
Sponsor: Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ)
Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced: 9/18/2025
Summary: This bill aims to address the use of child labor and forced labor in the mining of certain strategic metals and minerals, particularly cobalt and lithium, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It would prohibit the importation of goods containing these materials if they were produced using

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill aims to address the use of child labor and forced labor in the mining of certain strategic metals and minerals, particularly cobalt and lithium, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It would prohibit the importation of goods containing these materials if they were produced using such labor practices, and require the government to take actions to enforce this and address the issue more broadly.

Last updated: 12/29/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Countering China’s Exploitation of Strategic Metals and Minerals and Child and Forced Labor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ActThis bill prohibits the importation of goods containing metals or minerals (particularly cobalt, lithium, and their derivatives) that are mined, produced, smelted, or processed by child labor or forced labor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It also requires certain federal actions to address this issue.The prohibition does not apply if U.S. Customs and Border Protection (1) determines, based on clear and convincing evidence, that the goods were not made with child labor or forced labor; and (2) submits to Congress a report containing such a determination (and makes this report publicly available).The bill requires the President to annually report to Congress on each foreign person determined to have (1) knowingly engaged in child labor or forced labor in DRC's mining industry, and (2) knowingly engaged in efforts to contravene U.S. law regarding the importation of covered DRC goods. The President must impose property- and visa-blocking sanctions against each identified foreign person.The bill requires <ul><li>the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force to submit to Congress a report containing an enforcement strategy for effectively addressing child labor and forced labor in DRC's mining industry,</li><li>the Department of State to submit to Congress a strategy for addressing child labor and forced labor in DRC's mining industry, and</li><li>the U.S. Agency for International Development to increase efforts to prevent child labor and forced labor in DRC's mining industry.  </li></ul>

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Prohibits the importation of goods containing certain metals and minerals (like cobalt and lithium) that were mined, produced, smelted, or processed using child labor or forced labor in the DRC
Requires the President to identify and impose sanctions on foreign persons engaged in these labor practices in the DRC mining industry
Directs the government to develop enforcement strategies and increase efforts to prevent child and forced labor in the DRC mining sector

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

This bill would primarily impact companies that import goods containing minerals from the DRC, as well as the miners and communities in the DRC involved in the production of these materials. It aims to reduce human rights abuses and exploitation in the DRC's mining industry, which could have downstream impacts on the global supply of certain strategic minerals.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Foreign Trade and International Finance

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

4443, 119th Congress (2025). "Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act of 2025". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-hr-4443