[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 139 (Monday, September 9, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5066-H5068]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   COUNTERING THE PRC MALIGN INFLUENCE FUND AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2023

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1157) to provide for the authorization of appropriations for the 
Countering the People's Republic of China Malign Influence Fund, and 
for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1157

       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 ``Countering the PRC Malign 
     Influence Fund Authorization Act of 2023''.

     SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR COUNTERING THE 
                   PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA MALIGN INFLUENCE 
                   FUND.

       (a) Countering the People's Republic of China Malign 
     Influence Fund.--
       (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
     $325,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 for 
     the Countering the People's Republic of China Malign 
     Influence Fund to counter the malign influence of the Chinese 
     Communist Party and the Government of the People's Republic 
     of China and entities acting on their behalf globally.
       (2) Availability; amounts in addition to other amounts.--
     Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 
     appropriations under paragraph (1)--
       (A) are authorized to remain available until expended; and
       (B) shall be in addition to amounts otherwise authorized to 
     be appropriated for the purposes described in paragraph (1).
       (b) Consultation Required.--The obligation of funds 
     appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations 
     under subsection (a) or otherwise made available for the 
     purposes described in subsection (a)(1) shall be subject to 
     prior consultation with, and consistent with section 634A of 
     the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394-1), the 
     regular notification procedures of--
       (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the Senate; and
       (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
       (c) Policy Guidance, Coordination, and Approval.--
       (1) Coordinator.--The Secretary of State shall designate an 
     existing senior official of the Department of State to 
     provide policy guidance, coordination, and approval for the 
     obligation of funds appropriated pursuant to the 
     authorization of appropriations under subsection (a).
       (2) Assistant coordinator.--The Administrator of the United 
     States Agency for International Development shall designate 
     an existing senior official of the United States Agency for 
     International Development to assist and consult with the 
     senior official of the Department of State designated 
     pursuant to paragraph (1).
       (3) Duties.--The senior official of the Department of State 
     designated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be responsible 
     for--
       (A) on an annual basis, the identification of specific 
     strategic priorities for using funds appropriated pursuant to 
     the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a), 
     such as geographic areas of focus or functional categories of 
     programming that funds are to be concentrated within, 
     consistent with the national interests of the United States 
     and the purposes of this section;
       (B) the coordination and approval of all programming 
     conducted using such funds, based on an assessment that such 
     programming directly counters the malign influence of the 
     Chinese Communist Party or the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China, including specific activities or policies 
     advanced by the Chinese Communist Party or the Government of 
     the People's Republic of China and entities acting on their 
     behalf globally, pursuant to the strategic objectives of the 
     United States, as established in the 2017 National Security 
     Strategy, the 2018 National Defense Strategy, and other 
     relevant national and regional strategies as appropriate;
       (C) ensuring that all programming approved bears a 
     sufficiently direct nexus to such activities of the Chinese 
     Communist Party or the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China described in subsection (d) and adheres to the 
     requirements outlined in subsection (e); and
       (D) conducting oversight, monitoring, and evaluation of the 
     effectiveness of all programming conducted using such funds 
     to ensure that it advances United States interests and 
     degrades the ability of the Chinese Communist Party or the 
     Government of the People's Republic of China, to advance 
     activities that align with subsection (d) of this section.
       (4) Interagency coordination.--The senior official of the 
     Department of State designated pursuant to paragraph (1) 
     shall, in coordinating and approving programming pursuant to 
     paragraph (2), seek--
       (A) to conduct appropriate interagency consultation; and
       (B) to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that all 
     approved programming functions in concert with other Federal 
     activities to counter the malign influence of the Chinese 
     Communist Party or the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China.
       (d) Malign Influence.--In this section, the term ``malign 
     influence'', with respect to the Chinese Communist Party or 
     the Government of the People's Republic of China, shall be 
     construed to include acts conducted by the Chinese Communist 
     Party or the Government of the People's Republic of China, or 
     entities acting on their behalf that--
       (1) undermine a free and open international order;
       (2) advance an alternative, repressive international order 
     that bolsters the Chinese Communist Party's or the Government 
     of the People's Republic of China's hegemonic ambitions and 
     is characterized by coercion and dependency;
       (3) undermine the national security or sovereignty of the 
     United States or other countries; or
       (4) undermine the economic security of the United States or 
     other countries, including by promoting corruption and 
     advancing coercive economic practices.
       (e) Countering Malign Influence.--In this section, 
     countering malign influence through the use of funds 
     appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations 
     under subsection (a) shall include efforts--
       (1) to promote transparency and accountability, and reduce 
     corruption, including in governance structures targeted by 
     the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party or the 
     Government of the People's Republic of China;

[[Page H5067]]

       (2) to support civil society and independent media to raise 
     awareness of and increase transparency regarding the negative 
     impact of activities related to the Belt and Road Initiative, 
     associated initiatives, other economic initiatives with 
     strategic or political purposes, and coercive economic 
     practices;
       (3) to counter transnational criminal networks that 
     benefit, or benefit from, the malign influence of the Chinese 
     Communist Party or the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China;
       (4) to encourage economic development structures that help 
     protect against predatory lending schemes, including support 
     for market-based alternatives in key economic sectors, such 
     as digital economy, energy, and infrastructure;
       (5) to counter activities that provide undue influence to 
     the security forces of the People's Republic of China;
       (6) to expose misinformation and disinformation of the 
     Chinese Communist Party's or the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China's propaganda, including through programs 
     carried out by the Global Engagement Center; and
       (7) to counter efforts by the Chinese Communist Party or 
     the Government of the People's Republic of China to 
     legitimize or promote authoritarian ideology and governance 
     models.
       (f) Annual Summary.--Not later than September 30, 2023, and 
     annually thereafter for 5 years, the senior official of the 
     Department of State designated pursuant to subsection (c)(1) 
     shall submit to the congressional committees specified in 
     paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b), a summary 
     identifying each activity or program approved pursuant to 
     subsection (c), and shall include--
       (1) for each program or activity, an identification of the 
     country or regional location of the program or activity;
       (2) for each program or activity, whether the program or 
     activity was ongoing prior to receiving support from funds 
     from the Countering People's Republic of China Malign 
     Influence Fund, or any predecessor resource intended for the 
     same or substantially similar purpose;
       (3) for each program or activity, an identification of the 
     acts described in subsection (d) that such program or 
     activity is intended to counter; and
       (4) a table identifying the respective allocation of all 
     programs or activities approved during that fiscal year 
     across accounts and regional or functional bureaus.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Barr) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kentucky?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my legislation, H.R. 1157, 
Countering the PRC Malign Influence Fund Authorization Act.
  The Chinese Communist Party is the most dangerous threat America has 
faced in decades, and Beijing has been spreading its malign influence 
across the world.
  China knows that one of the United States' greatest assets is our 
credibility and effectiveness in supporting our allies and partners.
  Thus, the CCP is actively working to undermine U.S. legitimacy across 
the world by undercutting and distorting markets in areas such as 
critical infrastructure.
  Among other things, their disruptive tools include predatory lending, 
coercive economic practices, misinformation, taking advantage of 
foreign corruption, and legitimizing authoritarianism.
  The Countering the PRC Malign Influence Fund was originally created 
by an appropriation intended to address China's pernicious and growing 
influence, but for too long it has been used as a slush fund for the 
State Department's vanity projects, for example: $6 million for 
expanding Pacific Island weather and ocean data collection, $5 million 
for English language training in Angola, $2.5 million for scooter 
charging stations in Vietnam.
  While some may argue that funding for these types of activities can 
counter the PRC by meeting the wish lists of our partners experiencing 
PRC pressure, there are other organizations like the Development 
Finance Corporation and USAID that are already able to meet these types 
of needs with their own appropriated and authorized funding.
  The bill before us today will create specific statutory guardrails so 
that our taxpayer dollars are used strategically and effectively to 
counter the CCP's malign influence.
  It specifies the aims and duties of the fund, requires consultation 
with Congress before funds are obligated, and mandates an annual report 
on the fund's activities. This is basic congressional stewardship of 
taxpayer dollars.
  The bill received bipartisan support when it was marked up by the 
Foreign Affairs Committee last year.
  While we will never be able to nor want to outspend the PRC dollar 
for dollar, we must ensure that every ounce of funding is going the 
farthest to counter this generational threat.
  I urge my colleagues to support my bill, the Countering the PRC 
Malign Influence Fund Authorization Act, and I reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1157, and I yield 
myself such time as I may consume.
  There is strong bipartisan support in Congress for the Countering the 
People's Republic of China's Malign Influence Fund because it is the 
primary pool of funding for USAID and State Department projects to 
compete with China on the global stage.
  Given this bipartisan consensus on the importance of the fund, I had 
hoped we could engage in a bipartisan process for this bill. Instead, 
most of our recommended changes to the bill were not accepted when this 
bill was rushed to a markup at the very start of this Congress. When 
offered an amendment to increase the fund's authorization from $325 
million to $400 million per year--the same amount requested by the 
Biden-Harris administration--every Republican on our committee, 
unfortunately, voted against it.
  Is that being tough on China? I don't think so.
  In briefing after briefing, our committee has learned that the 
administration is laser-focused on addressing the China challenge and 
is utilizing the funds effectively to counter PRC disinformation, build 
resilience against the PRC's malign influence, and provide nations 
around the world with alternatives to China's extractive development 
framework. The administration is doing this work, and they are doing it 
very well.

                              {time}  1730

  As drafted, I believe H.R. 1157 could constrain the State Department 
and USAID in competing effectively. To compete with China, the fund and 
our institutions need to be nimble so they can adapt to Beijing's 
constantly evolving tactics and policies. While I support this bill, as 
it moves forward, there needs to be a real bipartisan consultation with 
the administration on how best to achieve our objectives and ensure the 
fund is effective for the long term.
  If we are serious about the threat that China poses and if we are 
truly committed to winning this competition, then we need to put our 
money where our mouth is. We can hold all the China weeks we want, but 
if House Republicans keep cutting funding for the State Department and 
USAID, then we are not going to win the competition with China.
  Mr. Speaker, we are in a global competition for influence with China, 
and if you want to win it, then you cannot do it on a middle power 
budget. China is putting its money up. We want to compete; we don't 
want to just talk about it. We need to put ours up so that we cannot 
just compete; we can win.
  The stakes in our strategic competition with China are high. To come 
out ahead, we cannot spend our time playing whack-a-mole, reacting to 
every move China makes around the world. We have to proactively 
compete. That means sticking to our values because they are better than 
the values of the Chinese Communist Party. It means listening to our 
partners, our friends, our allies, and their needs, not forcing them to 
choose.
  It means building resilience to China's malign influence by 
strengthening governance and the rule of law; and crucially, it means 
providing real, sustainable alternatives to China's financing and 
China's infrastructure and development assistance.
  To achieve these goals and to do it effectively, we need more than 
just

[[Page H5068]]

rhetoric. We need creative thinking, a willingness to experiment, and a 
commitment to sustain American engagement and diplomacy. All that 
requires a clear strategy, a nimble State Department, and a USAID 
apparatus, and, again, dare I say it, money, not just for this fund but 
for our broader foreign operations and assistance also.
  As we move forward with authorizing the Countering the PRC Malign 
Influence Fund Authorization Act, we need to remember that this is a 
long game. This is a long game. The game is not in the fourth quarter. 
If America wants to win it, then we must sufficiently invest. We must 
invest in our strengths as well as our tools of competition.
  We are the greatest nation in the world with the greatest resources 
in the world. Let's do something so that we can continue being the 
leaders of the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I thank Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member 
Meeks for working with me to move this important legislation to the 
floor.
  I share many of the comments that my friend, the ranking member from 
New York, just stated. We do need to invest. We need to invest in the 
tools of diplomacy that we have to counter PRC malign influence in the 
world. We need to support the China transformational exports program 
with the Export-Import Bank. We need to support the Development Finance 
Corporation. We need to support USAID where it can help and the Peace 
Corps where it can help with soft power. We need diplomacy. We need 
foreign deployed foreign service personnel. However, we have to 
remember that we cannot counter and we should not attempt to counter 
Communist China by becoming more like China.
  We have a $35 trillion national debt, Mr. Speaker. Spending money 
like drunken sailors without any accountability and without any 
effective strategy is not effective diplomacy in countering the malign 
influence from China.
  While I certainly do support the PRC malign influence fund, for 
goodness' sake, we are the Congress. We control the purse strings. 
Let's do our job. Let's create an authorization, put some guardrails 
around it and not allow the administration to spend this country into 
bankruptcy. That is the fastest way to lose the competition to China.
  Let's put some parameters around this PRC malign influence fund and 
direct those scarce taxpayer resources effectively so that they 
actually do the job that the taxpayers deserve and we actually win this 
fight.
  Spending our country into oblivion is what Communists do. We don't do 
that. Our ace in the hole is that we are capitalists. We do not 
misallocate resources. That is why we need this bill.
  All of us agree that American taxpayer dollars should be used more 
effectively to counter China's disruptive, predatory influence around 
the world, but let's do it smart, Mr. Speaker. Let's do it the smart 
way.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote in favor of H.R. 1157, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ezell). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1157.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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