[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 66 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 66

Condemning the use by the People's Republic of China of a high-altitude 
   surveillance balloon over the territory of the United States as a 
             brazen violation of United States sovereignty.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 15, 2023

  Mr. Tester (for himself, Ms. Collins, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Peters, Mr. 
Manchin, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Kelly, 
 Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Coons, Mrs. Capito, Ms. Murkowski, Ms. Lummis, 
  Mr. Grassley, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Cramer, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. 
Hagerty, Mrs. Britt, and Mr. Braun) submitted the following resolution; 
                   which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Condemning the use by the People's Republic of China of a high-altitude 
   surveillance balloon over the territory of the United States as a 
             brazen violation of United States sovereignty.

Whereas, on February 2, 2023, the Department of Defense publicly announced it 
        was tracking over United States territory a high-altitude surveillance 
        balloon belonging to the People's Republic of China (PRC);
Whereas the Department of Defense acknowledged that North American Aerospace 
        Defense Command (NORAD) first began tracking the surveillance balloon on 
        January 28, 2023, prior to the entry of the balloon into United States 
        airspace;
Whereas the Secretary of Defense has stated that the balloon ``was being used by 
        the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental 
        United States'';
Whereas the surveillance balloon traveled near sensitive national security 
        facilities of the United States, including Malmstrom Air Force Base in 
        Montana;
Whereas, on February 4, 2023, a United States Air Force aircraft, at the 
        direction of the President acting consistent with military advice, shot 
        down the surveillance balloon in the territorial airspace of the United 
        States off the coast of South Carolina;
Whereas, on February 4, 2023, the Department of Defense submitted a request for 
        a call between the Secretary of Defense and the Minister of National 
        Defense of the PRC, Wei Fenghe, a request that the PRC subsequently 
        declined;
Whereas open lines of communication between the United States and the civilian 
        and military officials of the PRC remain critical to avoid 
        miscommunication or escalation to conflict;
Whereas the United States intelligence community has linked the surveillance 
        balloon of the PRC to a broader surveillance program run by the People's 
        Liberation Army, and United States officials have briefed officials from 
        other countries that may have also been targeted;
Whereas intelligence collection by the PRC directed against the United States 
        poses a threat to the interests and security of the United States and 
        extends beyond the capabilities demonstrated by the February 2023 
        incident and related incidents;
Whereas, while the PRC has a long history of intelligence collection operations 
        against national security entities of the United States, reports of its 
        espionage have risen significantly in the past decade;
Whereas the Chinese Communist Party spread false claims about the nature and 
        purpose of the surveillance balloon, falsely claiming it to be a weather 
        balloon that veered off course due to ``force majeure'';
Whereas, on February 3, 2023, the Secretary of State postponed his trip to the 
        PRC and referred to the balloon incident as an ``irresponsible act and a 
        clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law that 
        undermined the purpose of the trip'';
Whereas Article I of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known 
        as the Chicago Convention, states that ``every State has complete and 
        exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory'';
Whereas the substantial increase in the detection of unidentified aerial 
        phenomena since February 4, 2023 warrants further investigation and 
        attention to domain awareness gaps identified by United States Northern 
        Command; and
Whereas it is in the national security interest of the United States to deter 
        foreign adversaries from engaging in intelligence collection and other 
        malign activities within United States territory and airspace: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns the brazen violation of United States 
        sovereignty by the People's Republic of China (PRC);
            (2) denounces the efforts of the Chinese Communist Party 
        (CCP) to deceive the international community through false 
        claims about its intelligence collection campaigns in violation 
        of United States sovereignty, and those regarding other nations 
        where similar incidents have occurred;
            (3) determines that it should be the policy of the United 
        States to act promptly, responsibly, and decisively to deter 
        and stop foreign aerial surveillance platforms violating United 
        States sovereignty, including those directed by or connected to 
        the CCP; and
            (4) calls on the President to keep Congress fully informed 
        by continuing to provide comprehensive briefings on the 
        February 2023 incident, previous incidents, and the broader 
        efforts of the PRC in this area that include--
                    (A) a complete account of all known violations of 
                United States national airspace by the PRC in recent 
                years, regardless of platform;
                    (B) a complete account of similar past incidents of 
                the PRC's use of surveillance balloons around the 
                world;
                    (C) a timeline of events for the February 2023 
                incident, from first detection to the eventual 
                shootdown of the balloon;
                    (D) an assessment of what surveillance data the PRC 
                was potentially able to collect or transmit via the 
                balloon while it was over United States territory;
                    (E) an assessment of the value of the intelligence 
                that the United States obtained while the balloon 
                transited the United States and from the recovery and 
                analysis of physical debris;
                    (F) a detailed account of what measures were taken 
                to mitigate the intelligence collection threat posed by 
                the balloon, the costs of those measures, and the 
                impact on the regular operations of the affected 
                installations, platforms, and personnel;
                    (G) a description of what options were identified 
                to mitigate the threat, and a description and timing of 
                the recommendations the United States military made 
                regarding those options;
                    (H) an account of diplomatic communications, past 
                and ongoing, between the United States and the PRC 
                regarding the February 2023 incident, including any 
                demarches by Department of State personnel and 
                subsequent responses by the PRC;
                    (I) a detailed description of plans, capabilities, 
                and methods to deter and defeat intelligence collection 
                activities conducted by the PRC or other foreign 
                adversaries in United States national airspace and any 
                additional authorities or resources needed from 
                Congress to ensure detection and defeat of these 
                activities in the future;
                    (J) a detailed description of efforts of the United 
                States to enhance cooperation with partners, allies, 
                and countries affected by the global surveillance 
                balloon program of the PRC to push back on the PRC's 
                practices in this area; and
                    (K) a description of efforts to hold the Government 
                of the PRC, and entities associated with the design, 
                development, management, and deployment of the PRC 
                surveillance balloon program, accountable for the 
                violation of United States sovereignty and the 
                sovereignty of other countries.
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