[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 102 (Monday, June 12, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2041-S2042]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   National Defense Authorization Act

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, last month, the majority leader 
announced an effort to compile what he called China bill 2.0, alluding 
to the CHIPS and Science Act that we passed last year dealing with the 
vulnerability of our supply chains and access to advanced 
semiconductors, which were overwhelmingly manufactured in Asia--60 
percent in Taiwan alone.
  To pursue this China bill 2.0, Senator Schumer directed committee 
chairmen to work on legislation that takes aim at everything from U.S. 
investment in China to security threats against Taiwan. As each of us 
knows, these are some of the most urgent threats facing the United 
States and our allies to date.
  The Chinese Communist Party has become increasingly aggressive in 
recent years. It is rapidly growing and modernizing its military. It is 
cozying up to Russia. It is bullying and harassing its neighbors in the 
Indo-Pacific.
  Yes, there is a clear and urgent need to counter threats from China, 
but there is a better way than China 2.0.
  As we have seen in the past, our Democratic colleagues can't resist 
the urge to mix partisan politics along with urgent national security 
legislation. So every one of these bills tends to become a vehicle for 
unrelated items. We saw this during consideration of the U.S. 
Innovation and Competition Act 2 years ago, when our colleagues 
attached prevailing wage legislation to the CHIPS provisions. They 
injected partisan labor policy into private construction projects that 
would benefit from national security concerns.
  But we won't outcompete China by pursuing a liberal domestic 
socialist policy. Our Democratic colleagues have shown themselves 
unwilling to separate themselves from the left's wish list from our 
most urgent national security priorities.
  If the true goal is to counter threats from China, the majority 
leader doesn't need a new working group to draft a bill from scratch 
because there is already a strong bipartisan effort underway. Our 
colleagues on the Armed Services Committee are working around-the-clock 
to prepare this year's Defense authorization bill. This has literally 
been something that Congress has done for the last 61 years without 
interruption.
  This legislation is not negotiated in a backroom by a hand-picked 
group of Members. It isn't thrown together in a matter of days and then 
pushed to the floor for a vote without the opportunity to offer 
amendments. It is slowly and thoughtfully drafted over a period of 
months, including multiple hearings, votes, and hundreds of amendments.
  Year after year, all 100 Members of the U.S. Senate are given an 
opportunity to shape the national defense authorization bill in some 
way. As a result, the Defense authorization bill has maintained strong 
bipartisan support for more than six decades.
  The Armed Services Committee is set to consider the 2024 National 
Defense Authorization Act just next week. As it stands right now, the 
committee should be able to complete its work by the end of the month 
and put the Senate in a great position to pass a strong and ontime 
defense bill.
  This legislation is all about supporting our servicemembers, 
modernizing our military, and addressing the biggest security threats, 
including those posed by the Chinese Communist Party.
  The bipartisan national defense authorization bill should be the 
centerpiece of our efforts to counter threats from Russia, not a bill 
put together behind closed doors with Members having only the chance to 
vote yes or no in final passage. Senators on both sides will have an 
opportunity, in contrast, under the NDAA, to offer amendments and to be 
able to shape that bill, so it will truly represent a 
bipartisan consensus of all 100 Members of the U.S. Senate.

  I plan to offer several amendments that will strengthen our ability 
to counter threats from China. One of those bills that I intend to 
offer takes aim at China and other adversaries that are trying to take 
advantage of loopholes to influence U.S. policy.
  What I am talking about is the Foreign Agent Registration Act. That 
law requires individuals engaged in lobbying activities on behalf of 
foreign governments to disclose that information publicly. But there 
are two major loopholes that are being abused by our adversaries. As a 
result, foreign agents are able to influence U.S. policy unbeknownst to 
Members of Congress because they don't have to disclose who is actually 
paying them. So rather than being engaged in the people's business--the 
people of the United States--we could find ourselves being lobbied by 
somebody who is representing a foreign government with interests that 
are completely different from those of the United States.
  Lobbyists for American entities are required to adhere to strict 
disclosure requirements. We want to know whom they are working for. 
There is no reason our adversaries should be subject to a more lenient 
standard, which they are now. In other words, it is easy to hide the 
ball--come in and lobby on behalf of a foreign government and not let 
Members of Congress or the American people know whom they are lobbying 
on behalf of.
  Senator Whitehouse and I have introduced a bill we call the PAID OFF 
Act to help close those loopholes in our lobbying system that are being 
abused by some of our adversaries that would require foreign agents 
lobbying on behalf of China, Russia, Cuba, or other countries of 
concern to register and disclose their political activities to the 
Department of Justice, just as the law originally intended before these 
loopholes were identified and exploited.
  As our colleagues know, there has never been a more important time to 
protect our country from the secret and malign influence of some 
foreign governments. This is a goal Democrats and Republicans should 
share alike, and I hope this legislation will be adopted as an 
amendment to this year's National Defense Authorization Act.
  Another amendment I plan to offer is the National Critical 
Capabilities Defense Act, which has been a joint effort with Senator 
Casey, the Senator from Pennsylvania. We first introduced this 
legislation last year to help understand our greatest national security 
risks.
  We know that American companies have been investing in China for many 
years, including some defense and technology capabilities, now at an 
alarming scale. At the end of 2020, U.S. investments in Chinese 
companies totaled $2.3 trillion in market value; that is, U.S. 
companies investing in China have basically built the Chinese economy 
which now puts them as a peer adversary both in terms of our economies 
and in terms of our military capabilities. So that $2.3 trillion in 
market value by American companies that invest in China includes $21 
billion in semiconductors, $54 billion for Chinese military companies, 
and a whopping $221 billion in artificial intelligence.
  American companies are bankrolling the capabilities and assets that 
the Chinese Communist Party could soon use against the United States 
and our allies.
  Right now, the United States is flying blind. We don't have a full 
understanding of the vulnerabilities this creates, and this legislation 
is exactly what we hope will begin to change that situation and provide 
more transparency and, thus, ability for U.S. Members of Congress and 
others leaders to evaluate whether and how some of these investments 
made by U.S. companies in China are affecting our national security.
  The National Critical Capabilities Defense Act would ensure that we 
have better awareness of the biggest national security risks so we can 
plan and prepare accordingly.
  Just as it is critical for the United States to have visibility of 
potential risks, it is also important for the average American to 
understand how Chinese aggression could impact their own finances and 
our economy.
  President Xi Jinping has made no secret of his desire to invade 
Taiwan, and he has even said he wants to be ready to go by the year 
2027--just 4 years from now. If or when that happens, the global 
response will be swift and severe. It will affect businesses' cashflow, 
manufacturing operations, employees, assets, business relationships, 
and so much more.
  So stockholders, to whom the companies owe a fiduciary duty--
investors need to know, whether it is a teachers'

[[Page S2042]]

retirement fund or a union pension retirement fund, how much risk these 
investments in Chinese companies carry.
  I think of this like the warning on a box of cigarettes that says: 
Smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and may 
complicate pregnancy. Now, consenting adults have the freedom to read 
this warning and ignore it, but they are at least presented with clear 
information about the risks associated with their decision. American 
shareholders and investors--teachers' and firefighters' pension funds, 
union pension funds--deserve the same transparency when it comes to the 
dangers of military conflict in the Indo-Pacific.
  I am finalizing legislation that will require public companies, 
investment companies, investment advisers, and tax-exempt organizations 
to disclose the risk posed by a potential military conflict in the 
Indo-Pacific. A Chinese invasion of Taiwan poses a material risk to 
many Americans' livelihoods and retirements and investments, and that 
information should be disclosed and transparent.
  So these are just a few of the bipartisan bills that are aimed at 
countering China that I hope will be included in the National Defense 
Authorization bill.
  Once again, I appreciate Senator Wicker and Senator Reed for their 
work to make the national defense reauthorization a thoughtful, fair, 
and open process.
  This is what we call regular order around here as contrasted with the 
backroom negotiations which only a handful of people get to participate 
in and basically where rank-and-file Members are excluded.
  This also would reaffirm that the National Defense Authorization Act 
should be the pillar of our efforts to counter China. I fear that a 
China 2.0 bill will turn into just another vehicle for partisan 
freight. It will lead good, bipartisan bills to be held hostage by 
unrelated partisan demands. We cannot allow competition with China to 
become so politicized. The answer, of course, is the National Defense 
Authorization Act, which has a long and proud history of 
bipartisanship, and I hope we can continue to build on that success 
this year.
  Once the Armed Services Committee completes its work, I hope the 
majority leader will prioritize the consideration of that bill on the 
Senate floor. We can't afford to repeat last year's drama, when Senator 
Schumer allowed the NDAA to languish on the Senate's calendar for more 
than 5 months without any action. If the majority leader truly cares 
about countering threats from China, he will abandon his partisan China 
2.0 bill and allow the Senate to pass a strong and on-time National 
Defense Authorization Act.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Iowa.