118 HR 5404 IH: Countering Chinese Espionage Reporting Act
U.S. House of Representatives
2023-09-12
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I
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5404
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 12, 2023
Mr. Fitzgerald (for himself, Mr. Buck, Ms. Stefanik, Mr. Waltz, and Mr. Lamborn) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To direct the Attorney General to prepare a report on the Department of Justice activities related to countering Chinese national security threats, and for other purposes.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Countering Chinese Espionage Reporting Act”.
2.

Findings
Congress makes the following findings:
(1)
The Chinese Communist Party poses pervasive and growing threats to United States domestic national security.
(2)
On November 1, 2018, the Department of Justice launched a new initiative, referred to as the “China Initiative”, to address some of the most critical threats to United States domestic national security posed by the Chinese regime.
(3)
The China Initiative has sought to identify and prosecute Chinese trade-secret theft and economic espionage and to protect American critical infrastructure and supply chains from covert influence.
(4)
The Chinese Communist Party’s aggression is a pervasive and growing problem, as approximately 80 percent of all Federal economic espionage prosecutions involve alleged conduct that would benefit the Chinese Communist Party, and about 60 percent of all United States trade-secret theft cases have a nexus to the Chinese Communist Party.
(5)
According to the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property, the Chinese Communist Party’s theft of United States intellectual property is estimated to cost the United States economy between $225,000,000,000 to $600,000,000,000 annually.
(6)
The Department of Justice has identified academia as one of the sectors of the United States economy that are most vulnerable to trade-secret theft and economic espionage by the Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese Communist Party exploits the American tradition of openness and the free flow of ideas for its own benefit.
(7)
The widespread and dangerous threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party has been underscored by the most senior-level United States Government officials.
(8)
On November 1, 2018, the former Assistant Attorney for the Department of Justice’s National Security Division stated, “China wants the fruits of America’s brainpower to harvest the seeds of its planned economic dominance. Preventing this from happening will take all of us, here at the Justice Department, across the U.S. Government, and within the private sector”.
(9)
On June 24, 2020, the former National Security Advisor of the White House stated that the Chinese Communist Party “is seeking leverage over individual Americans” and “collecting your most intimate data—your words, your actions, your purchases, your whereabouts, your health records, your social media posts, your texts, and mapping your network of friends, family, and acquaintances”.
(10)
On July 7, 2020, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned that “[t]he greatest long-term threat to our nation’s information and intellectual property, and to our economic vitality, is the counterintelligence and economic espionage threat from China”.
(11)
The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation added that “[w]e’ve now reached the point where the FBI is opening a new China-related counterintelligence case about every 10 hours. Of the nearly 5,000 active FBI counterintelligence cases currently underway across the country, almost half are related to China”.
(12)
On July 16, 2020, the former Attorney General of the Department of Justice stated that “[t]he ultimate ambition of China’s rulers isn’t to trade with the United States. It is to raid the United States”.
(13)
On July 23, 2020, the former Secretary of the Department of State stated that “[w]e [the United States] must admit a hard truth that should guide us in the years and decades to come, that if we want a free 21st century, and not the Chinese century of which Xi Jingping dreams, the old paradigm of blind engagement with China simply won’t get it done. We must not continue it and we must not return it”.
(14)
Actions by the Biden administration have raised serious concerns about its commitment to confront the national security threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party.
(15)
In July 2021, the Biden administration’s Department of Justice moved to dismiss charges against several suspected Chinese researchers accused of concealing ties to the Chinese military.
(16)
On February 23, 2022, the Biden administration’s Department of Justice announced the end of its national security program aimed at prioritizing and countering legitimate threats of economic espionage, theft of American intellectual property and research, and other threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party to the United States.
(17)
This action comes at a time when President Biden’s leadership in only a short period has resulted in many foreign policy missteps, notably in Afghanistan, Russia, and Iran.
(18)
The United States efforts to combat the Chinese Communist Party’s malign activities should actively protect United States domestic national security, and address the strategic failures described in this section.
3.

Report on Department of Justice activities related to countering Chinese national security threats
(a)

Requirement
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter for 7 years, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of the Senate a report that includes each of the following:
(1)
A description of the activities and operations of the Department of Justice related to countering Chinese national security threats and espionage in the United States, including trade-secret theft, theft of United States intellectual property and research, and threats from non-traditional collectors, such as researchers in laboratories, at universities, and at defense industrial base facilities (as that term is defined in section 2208(u)(3) of title 10, United States Code).
(2)
An accounting of the resources of the Department of Justice that are dedicated to programs aimed at combating national security threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party, and any supporting information as to the efficacy of each such program.
(b)

Form
The report under subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. On the date on which the Attorney General submits each report under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall make such report publicly available on the website of the Department of Justice.
(c)

Consultation
In preparing the report under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall consult with other appropriate officials.