HRES 90 United States House · 118th Congress

Demanding that the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party immediately release Mark Swidan.

HRES 90 is a resolution demanding the Chinese government immediately release Mark Swidan, a U.S. citizen from Texas who has been detained since 2012 on drug trafficking charges. The resolution cites the UN Human Rights Council Working Group finding his detention arbitrary, with no evidence of drug offenses, passport records showing he wasn’t in China during the alleged crimes, and China denying his family contact and medical care. It specifically condemns China for blocking U.S. diplomatic access and calls on the U.S. government to prioritize Swidan’s release through diplomatic channels. The resolution focuses on the case’s documented legal and humanitarian issues, not broader policy implications.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2023

Committee Review

Feb 2023

House Passage

Apr 2023

Senate Passage

President

Introduced Feb 1, 2023 Last action Apr 25, 2023

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced in House → Engrossed in House · 5 edits · Apr 25, 2023

MODERATE

This is a transition from the introduced version to the engrossed version of HRES 90, a resolution demanding China's release of U.S. citizen Mark Swidan. The changes are primarily technical and stylistic: standardizing terminology (using 'PRC' instead of 'People's Republic of China' in several places, changing 'Communist Party of China' to 'Chinese Communist Party'), removing the sponsor list and committee referral language that is no longer needed once engrossed, and reformatting for the official engrossed text. No substantive policy changes were made.

TECHNICAL

The name 'Communist Party of China' was changed to 'Chinese Communist Party' throughout the resolution.

References to 'People's Republic of China' were shortened to 'PRC' in multiple clauses for brevity.

The list of co-sponsors and the committee referral line ('referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs') were removed, which is standard when a resolution moves from introduction to engrossment.

The date was updated from February 1, 2023 to April 25, 2023, reflecting when the engrossed version was produced.

SCOPE

In the first Whereas clause, 'and the Communist Party of China (CPC)' was removed from the statement about who is detaining Swidan, leaving only 'the Government of the People's Republic of China.' The CPC is still named in other clauses, so overall attribution is largely unchanged.

Floor votes · House Apr 25, 2023

How they voted

418–0

Passed · 16 other

Total votes 434

Apr 25, 2023

D Democratic213

204 Yea 9

95% Yea

I Independent1

0% Nay

R Republican220

214 Yea 6

97% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 25, 2023

Introduced

The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.

lower

Apr 25, 2023

Introduced

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 418 - 0 (Roll no. 193). (text: CR H1927)

lower

Apr 25, 2023

Lower · Passed

Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 418 - 0 (Roll no. 193). (text: CR H1927)

lower

Apr 25, 2023

Introduced

Mr. McCaul moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended.

lower

Feb 28, 2023

Lower · Passed

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

lower

Feb 1, 2023

Committee

Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

lower

Feb 1, 2023

Introduced

Introduced in House

lower

1 primary · 39 co-sponsors