[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4797 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4797

To place restrictions on the issuance of nonimmigrant visas to Chinese 
   journalists employed by a Chinese state-run media organization or 
 effectively controlled by the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China or the Chinese Communist Party, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 5, 2020

 Mr. Scott of Florida (for himself and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To place restrictions on the issuance of nonimmigrant visas to Chinese 
   journalists employed by a Chinese state-run media organization or 
 effectively controlled by the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China or the Chinese Communist Party, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Chinese-Backed Media Accountability 
Act''.

SEC. 2. RESTRICTIONS ON NONIMMIGRANT VISAS FOR CHINESE JOURNALISTS.

    (a) Defined Term.--
            (1) In general.--In this section, the term ``Chinese state-
        run media organization'' includes--
                    (A) China Central Television;
                    (B) China News Service;
                    (C) the People's Daily;
                    (D) the Global Times;
                    (E) Xinhua News Agency;
                    (F) China Global Television Network;
                    (G) China Radio International;
                    (H) China Daily Distribution Corporation; and
                    (I) Hai Tian Development USA.
            (2) Identification of additional chinese state-run media 
        organizations.--The Secretary of State shall determine whether 
        any media organization not listed under paragraph (1)--
                    (A) is a Chinese state-run media organization; and
                    (B) is subject to the visa restrictions set forth 
                in this section.
    (b) Report on Chinese Journalists in the United States.--Not later 
than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of State shall submit a report to Congress that identifies the number 
of nationals of the People's Republic of China--
            (1) who are engaged in the journalism profession;
            (2)(A) who are employed by a Chinese state-run media 
        organization; or
            (B) whose work product, in the opinion of the Secretary of 
        State, is effectively controlled by the Government of the 
        People's Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party;
            (3) who, during the most recent 1-year period--
                    (A) were issued a nonimmigrant visa under section 
                101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 
                Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b)) (commonly known as 
                an ``H-1B visa'') or were granted an extension for such 
                visa;
                    (B) were issued a nonimmigrant visa under section 
                101(a)(15)(I) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(I)) 
                (commonly known as an ``I-1 visa'') or were granted an 
                extension for such visa; or
                    (C) were issued a nonimmigrant visa under section 
                101(a)(15)(L) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(L)) 
                (commonly known as an ``L-1 visa'') or were granted an 
                extension for such visa; and
            (4) who were physically present in the United States on the 
        date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Review of Certain Nonimmigrant Visa Holders.--U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration Services may not approve a petition for a nonimmigrant 
visa referred to in subsection (b)(3) to any journalist from the 
People's Republic of China described in subsection (b)(2), and the 
Bureau of Consular Affairs may not issue such a visa to any such 
journalist, until after the Secretary of State submits the report 
required under subsection (b).
    (d) Additional Requirements for Certain Nonimmigrant Visas.--Before 
issuing a nonimmigrant visa referred to in subsection (b)(3) to a 
journalist from the People's Republic of China described in subsection 
(b)(2), the Bureau of Consular Affairs shall ensure that--
            (1) the number of nonimmigrant visas issued to journalists 
        from the People's Republic of China described in subsection 
        (b)(2) does not exceed the number of United States journalists 
        in the People's Republic of China; and
            (2) such visa is valid for a period not to exceed 90 days.
    (e) Renewals.--A nonimmigrant visa issued to a journalist from the 
People's Republic of China described in subsection (b)(2) may be 
renewed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for an additional 
90-day period if the number of valid nonimmigrant visas issued to 
Chinese journalists described in subsection (b)(2) is fewer than the 
number of United States journalists in the People's Republic of China.

SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 45 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall submit a report to Congress regarding the ongoing 
monitoring of the number of Chinese journalists described in section 
2(b).
    (b) Biennial Congressional Briefings.--The Secretary of State and 
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure that appropriate staff 
are available to provide a biennial briefings to the appropriate 
congressional committees regarding--
            (1) the number of Chinese journalists described in section 
        2(b);
            (2) the number of United States journalists in the People's 
        Republic of China;
            (3) the names of entities that are labeled, or considered 
        to be labeled, as foreign missions of the People's Republic of 
        China.
            (4) the extent to which the Department of State and the 
        Department of Homeland Security are complying with the visa 
        restrictions under this Act; and
            (5) recommendations for improving the accuracy of reporting 
        from the People's Republic of China--
                    (A) to prevent future pandemics originating from 
                the People's Republic of China; and
                    (B) to provide accurate information to the public 
                regarding--
                            (i) the mistreatment by the Government of 
                        the People's Republic of China of natives of 
                        the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and 
                        followers of the Falun Gong religious movement; 
                        and
                            (ii) conditions affecting the political and 
                        civil rights of the people in Hong Kong.
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