The Leader’s Floor Lookout: Week of September 9, 2024
For years, the Chinese Communist Party has launched a sweeping and staggering campaign to steal U.S. intellectual property through economic espionage and extensive cyber-intrusions, costing American taxpayers up to $500 billion annually.
Around 80 percent of cases of economic espionage prosecuted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) have involved the Chinese government and its agents stealing trade secrets, and 60 percent of U.S. trade secret misappropriation cases are linked to the Chinese government.
To combat the Chinese government’s theft of U.S. trade secrets and intellectual property, the Trump Administration’s DOJ created the China Initiative in 2018, prosecuting dozens of cases and indicting around 160 individuals and entities.
But in 2022, the Biden Harris Administration caved to pressure from woke leftist activists and decided to terminate the China Initiative, resulting in a major decline in new economic espionage cases and putting America’s security at risk.
We cannot ignore the threat China’s economic espionage and efforts to steal trade secrets pose to American innovation, infrastructure, and intellectual property. House Republicans are bringing forward legislation to ensure American intellectual property and academic institutions are protected from the Chinese Communist Party’s espionage attempts.
H.R. 1398, the Protect America’s Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act of 2024, introduced by Rep. Lance Gooden, reinstates and renames the China Initiative as the CCP Initiative to counter the CCP and Chinese government’s espionage efforts on U.S. intellectual property and academic institutions, prosecute those who engage in the theft of trade secrets and espionage, and defend U.S. critical infrastructure from threats from our adversaries.
We will not sit back and allow the Chinese government to continue stealing U.S. intellectual property and threatening the security of the American people.
Maintaining Sovereignty from the WHO in Pandemic Policy Making
Throughout the devastating COVID-19 crisis, the World Health Organization (WHO) praised China’s ‘transparency’ and handling of the global pandemic while the Chinese Communist Party worked to actively conceal vital health information and data, mislead the world about the seriousness of the pandemic and its origins, and suppress whistleblower journalists and doctors that attempted to warn the world of the outbreak.
As WHO Director-General Tedros touted China’s COVID-19 response and fed the world CCP talking points, internal documents exposed the WHO’s frustration with the Chinese government for refusing to share critical data.
In response to the WHO’s deadly dishonesty and failures in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the WHO; however, the Biden Harris Administration rejoined upon assuming office.
Now, the World Health Assembly (WHA), which is made up by the Member States of the WHO, is negotiating a broad convention to define Member States’ responsibilities, preparedness, and response in the event of a future pandemic. This essentially would give the WHO power to dictate future U.S. pandemic policies and response.
As the WHO continues to move forward in global negotiations surrounding their convention, it is vital the United States maintains its sovereignty, especially when it comes to the health and wellbeing of American citizens.
Rep. Tom Tiffany’s legislation, H.R. 1425, the No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act, requires that any agreement reached by the WHA be treated as a treaty, and therefore be ratified by a supermajority of the Senate as outlined in the Constitution.
House Republicans won’t allow an international bureaucracy that touted China’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic to have control over U.S. pandemic policy, and will continue to ensure congressional oversight and transparency in policy making regarding America’s health.
Keeping the CCP Out of U.S. Institutions of Higher Education
For years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has worked to spread propaganda and conduct sophisticated espionage around the world, particularly targeting the United States and seeking to infiltrate and exploit America’s classrooms and institutions of higher learning.
One way the Chinese government attempted to do this was to establish Confucius Institutes (CIs) in the U.S. under the guise of promoting Chinese language and culture and advancing cultural exchanges. In reality, these CIs were extensions of the CCP’s influence network meant to conduct espionage in the U.S., impact academic institutions’ decisions, push propaganda, and steal intellectual property and trade secrets.
Today, there are less than five active Confucius Institutes left in the United States; however, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that 43 out of 74 schools surveyed maintain a relationship with an entity that previously supported their CI program.
Additionally, many institutions of higher learning are far from transparent in disclosing the assistance they receive from China or other foreign engagement, posing a significant risk to our national security and allowing our adversaries to influence the classrooms that shape the minds of America’s brightest.
Between June 22, 2020, to April 6, 2023, the Department of Education accumulated data revealing that U.S. universities collected over $3 billion from CCP and PRC linked entities. And because of China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, any individual, organization, institution, or entity based in China is obligated to assist and comply with PRC intelligence work.
H.R. 1516, the DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act, introduced by Rep. August Pfluger, restricts funding to American institutions of higher education (IHE) that maintain a relationship with a Chinese entity of concern or Confucius Institute, making them ineligible to receive any funds from the Department of Homeland Security.
We cannot allow foreign adversaries to influence U.S. education and participate in shaping the minds of America's future leaders, nor can we allow them access to steal intellectual property.
Ending Chinese EV Dominance and Preventing FEOCs from Receiving Tax Subsidies
In 2022, the Biden Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) created extreme tax subsidies for electric vehicles (EVs), at the expense of American taxpayers.
In the bill, there was an effort to ensure those subsidies did not go to foreign entities of concern (FEOC), such as entities with ties to China: EVs that contain battery components or critical minerals sourced from an FEOC are not eligible for a tax subsidy. However, instead of supporting American manufacturing and innovation, the Biden Harris Administration caved to radical leftist activists and some EV producers, imposing lenient FEOC rules that benefit China.
In 2023, the Commerce Department issued rules that defined an FEOC as an entity with 25 percent or more of the its voting interest, board seats, or equity interest held directly or indirectly by the government of a country of concern, its officials, or any person that is a citizen, national, or resident of such country. Later that year, the Treasury Department defined an FEOC in a similar manner, but with massive loopholes that benefit China.
Treasury created the ‘Billionaire loophole’ by excluding from their FEOC definition “any person that is a citizen, national, or resident,” allowing entities owned by wealthy foreign nationals to benefit from the EV tax credits if their ties to the Chinese Communist Party or other hostile government were unofficial. Additionally, it created the ‘Chinese Manufacturing Loophole’ by defining the battery component in a beneficial manner to China and allowing them to leverage its battery supply chain dominance for credit
We cannot allow foreign nations and entities of concern to receive American tax subsidies at the expense of our taxpayers while threatening American advanced manufacturing.
Rep. Carol Miller’s legislation, H.R. 7980, the End Chinese Dominance of Electric Vehicles in America Act of 2024, amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude vehicles with batteries that contain materials sourced from foreign entities of concern from the clean vehicle credit, requires the Treasury Department to follow the same definition of FEOC as the Commerce Department, closes the ‘Chinese Billionaire Loophole’ and the ‘Chinese Manufacturing Loophole,’ and expands FEOC limitations.
House Republicans will keep fighting to protect American advanced manufacturing and innovation, and ensure that foreign adversaries like China do not receive American tax credits.
Ensuring America’s National and Food Security From Foreign Land Grabs
Protecting our nation’s food and drug supply and defending America’s food security is a critical aspect of safeguarding Americans’ health and wellbeing.
But in the past several years, America’s food security has come under threat from adversaries abroad. Foreign adversaries like China have increased their purchasing of American farmland, endangering our food and national security.
Over the past decade, Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland has quintupled, increasing from 69,000 acres in 2011 to around 384,000 acres in 2021. Not only does this pose a growing risk to our food security, but Chinese corporations have also purchased or attempted to purchase land close to air force and military bases, threatening our national security.
We cannot allow foreign adversaries to gain control over America’s farmland and food supply, or grab land near U.S. military installations.
House Republicans are bringing forward legislation that supports the country’s food security and national security, combating foreign adversaries’ attempts to buy up America’s farmland by improving the tracking of foreign owned land and requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to be included in the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review agricultural transactions and purchases made by these adversaries.
H.R. 9456, the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024, introduced by Rep. Dan Newhouse, amends the Defense Production Act of 1950 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to be included on CFIUS for agriculture-related issues, and requires CFIUS to review and potentially block purchases of farmland by foreign adversaries that pose a national security risk.
American families and workers depend on reliable access to agricultural products to stay healthy and fed. House Republicans will always support American agriculture, food security, and our national security against threats abroad.
Keeping the Government Open and Defending American Election Integrity
Since assuming the majority, House Republicans have been fighting to rein in out-of-control Washington spending and responsibly fund the federal government. House Republicans passed funding bill after funding bill to address our energy crisis, strengthen our national security, protect Americans’ rights, and more, while cutting unnecessary radical leftist agenda items from the paycheck.
Meanwhile, the Democrat-led Senate continues to refuse to take any action to ensure the government remains open and working for the people, having yet to pass even a single FY25 appropriations bill.
In order to ensure the government stays open and accessible to Americans while we fight to save our economy from more reckless spending, House Republicans are bringing forward a resolution to extend government funding at the FY24 level.
At the same time, our plan would defend American election integrity by including the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The SAVE Act requires proof of citizenship when registering to vote and allows states to remove noncitizens from voter rolls, keeping foreign interference out of our elections, maintaining election integrity, and increasing American citizens’ trust in our federal elections.
With the over 8.2 million illegal immigrants that have come across our southern border thanks to President Biden and Vice President Harris’ open border policies, including more than 378 people on the terrorist watchlist, it is vital we shore up our election security and ensure that only American citizens are voting in American elections, while we also avert a government shutdown.
H.R. ____, the Continuing Appropriations and Other Matters Act, 2025, introduced by Rep. Clay Higgins, provides for continuing appropriations through March of 2025 while also ensuring American election integrity by amending the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require individuals to provide proof of United States citizenship in order to register to vote in federal elections.
House Republicans will never stop working to ensure that our government stays open and serving the American people, hard-earned taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly on issues affecting Americans’ daily lives, and the integrity of one of American citizens’ most fundamental rights, the right to vote, is upheld.
Distribution channels: U.S. Politics
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