Nelson Wells Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt Unjustly Detained in Communist China Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 5491 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5491 To encourage diplomatic advocacy efforts on behalf of Americans unjustly detained in the People's Republic of China. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 18, 2025 Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, and Mr. Hill of Arkansas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To encourage diplomatic advocacy efforts on behalf of Americans unjustly detained in the People's Republic of China. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Nelson Wells Jr. and Dawn Michelle Hunt Unjustly Detained in Communist China Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) Nelson A. Wells, Jr., a New Orleans native, was arrested in China on drug smuggling charges in 2014. He was initially sentenced to life imprisonment but had his sentence reduced to 22 years in 2019, leaving him incarcerated until 2041. In 2024 testimony before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Wells' father recounted that his son had traveled to China for a necessary medical procedure. While recovering, Nelson met an acquaintance who asked him to carry bags of gifts to Japan. He insists he had no idea that those bags contained hidden drugs. (2) Mr. Wells has reportedly endured physical attacks in prison and suffers from debilitating chronic pain and acute medical conditions, including