Congressional Record, Volume 170 Issue 140 (Tuesday, September 10, 2024)

[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 140 (Tuesday, September 10, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5130-H5139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

PROTECT AMERICA'S INNOVATION AND ECONOMIC SECURITY FROM CCP ACT OF 2024

General Leave

Mr. GOODEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 1398.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1430 and rule
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House
on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 1398.
The Chair appoints the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lopez) to preside
over the Committee of the Whole.

{time} 1650

In the Committee of the Whole

Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill
(H.R. 1398) to establish the CCP Initiative program, and for other
purposes, with Mr. Lopez in the chair.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The CHAIR. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the
first time.
General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed 1
hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees.
The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gooden) and the gentleman from New York
(Mr. Nadler) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. GOODEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Chair, H.R. 1398, the Protect America's Innovation and Economic
Security from CCP Act focuses our attention on the single greatest
threat to the American people: the Chinese Communist Party.
Our intelligence community has been raising these concerns for years,
labeling China the defining threat of our generation. These concerns
were also echoed in FBI Director Wray's testimony before our House
Judiciary Committee back in July.
China's multipronged war against our people, economy, and
infrastructure has caused the CCP to infiltrate our communities, sow
disharmony, and steal our hard-earned successes. The CCP achieves this
by aggressively targeting and recruiting civilians to spy on other
Chinese nationals and to steal critical data from their employers.

[[Page H5131]]

Trade theft alone costs our economy over half a trillion dollars
annually, with China behind most of it. This bill addresses this
problem by creating a dedicated program under the DOJ called the CCP
Initiative, prioritizing the focus on countering economic espionage.
The initiative establishes an enforcement strategy to protect
critical sectors most vulnerable to the CCP's thievery: academic
institutions, R&D labs, and the defense industrial base.
The rollback of the China Initiative left us lacking a dedicated
approach and no oversight on issues of critical national interest. This
bill fixes the administration's mistakes by adopting a clear,
multifaceted approach. It builds a framework of multiagency cooperation
and mutual consultation, ensuring that effective measures against our
Nation's greatest threat are never compromised by an incompetent
executive wing.
To ensure DOJ's cooperation and dedication of at least some resources
in this area, an annual reporting requirement has been included that
secures congressional oversight and involvement. The bill also requires
no additional funding from Congress and has a negligible impact on the
DOJ's current budget under the program.
I would like to underline that the worst affected by this rollback
are people of Asian descent. People of Chinese origin in the United
States, especially Chinese-American citizens, are identified and
disproportionately targeted by the CCP for their schemes. The CCP
ruthlessly targets and harasses people, especially those who refuse to
bow down and are considered dissidents.
Letting this continue without a strong counter leaves our people
extremely vulnerable to the CCP's cruelty, which emboldens China.
Passing this bill will not only counter existing cases and deter new
attempts to infiltrate our country but also signals that the CCP's days
of targeting our communities are over.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of safeguarding our
economy, our people, and our future against the greatest threat of our
lifetimes. Join me in supporting H.R. 1398. I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 1398. This
legislation, which would establish a so-called CCP Initiative within
the national security division of the DOJ, is simply a rehash of the
Trump administration's failed China Initiative by another name.
Resurrecting this misguided program, as this bill would do, represents
a clear step backwards.
When the Trump Justice Department launched what it called the China
Initiative in 2018, it claimed its purpose was to counter efforts by
the Chinese Government to steal American intellectual property. This
might have been a laudable goal, but what actually resulted was little
more than a series of unsupportable cases against Chinese academics at
the height of their careers that left their reputations in tatters.
The government was forced to drop many of these prosecutions. Others
failed in court. Even more were overturned on appeal. No matter how you
look at the data, a postmortem analysis shows that the China Initiative
was an undisputed failure. From the flimsy cases brought under this
program to the so-called brain drain of scientists of Chinese descent
who left American research labs, the China Initiative hurt our
interests here at home.
The Trump DOJ devoted significant resources to targeting professors
of Chinese descent working in the United States, diverting crucial
funding and personnel that could have been used to combat actual
economic espionage and trade secret theft.

However, the China Initiative did not just waste valuable resources.
If you were a person of Chinese descent working in American higher
education, you were a suspect. Rather than keeping America safe, the
China Initiative divided workplaces, ruined careers, and contributed to
anti-Asian hate at the height of the pandemic.
The resulting chilling effect hampered American innovation by
discouraging foreign talent from moving to American companies and
disincentivizing Chinese researchers from accepting positions at our
institutions of higher learning.
It is foolhardy to punish China by harming American innovation, but
by discouraging researchers from working here, that is exactly what the
Trump administration did with the China Initiative. Countries around
the world send their best and brightest to the United States for
education and to perform valuable research in our academic
institutions.
Instead of welcoming their contributions to our economy and to our
society, programs like the China Initiative encouraged them to take
their training and their talents elsewhere.
We cannot quantify those missed opportunities. There is no way to
know what inventions never came to be, but we can realize when we made
a mistake and move on. This bill would prevent us from doing so.
Despite its well documented failures, reviving the China Initiative
is a key plank of the ultraconservative Project 2025 agenda, the
blueprint for a potential new Trump administration. Republicans cannot
credibly argue that resurrecting this program is about keeping
Americans and our business secrets safe because we know that racially
profiling professors of Chinese descent was unsuccessful. It did,
however, contribute to an us versus them mentality that divided
Americans and heightened tensions across the country.
It is particularly disappointing that we are engaging in this
partisan exercise because the fact is that Democrats and Republicans
largely agree that China poses a threat to the United States. There are
bipartisan bills ready for markup, ones that could pass on suspension
today, but instead the majority has chosen to take up bills that divide
us.
Since the end of the China Initiative, the DOJ has embraced a broader
strategy to counter threats from hostile nations, not just China, but
Iran, North Korea, and Russia. For example, the Disruptive Technology
Strike Force has been lauded by both sides of the aisle for doing what
the China Initiative failed to do. It collaborates across agencies to
prevent nation-state actors from illicitly acquiring our most sensitive
technology by successfully investigating and prosecuting illegal
procurement networks.
We are on the right path to protecting our Nation's secrets and
keeping Americans safe. This legislation would take us in the opposite
direction.
I oppose this legislation. I encourage my colleagues to do the same,
and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, I have heard a lot about the ruined
lives of intellectuals and academics. I have also heard about the
conviction rate. It is true there were only eight convictions, but one
of the comments made was we should focus resources on actual problems.
What happened when we did that, when we took away this China
Initiative and replaced it with nothing? In the last 2 years we have
only had two convictions. Our Department of Justice has really failed
to protect our domestic industry. It has really failed to protect those
who have been preyed on by China, and the CCP Initiative serves to
correct that.
Mr. Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Cline).

{time} 1700

Mr. CLINE. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman from Texas for offering
the bill, and I rise in support of it.
The ranking member of the committee indicated that we are moving in
the right direction, but in looking at the numbers coming out of this
Justice Department, this Biden-Harris Justice Department, it is clear
that we are not moving in the right direction. It is clear that we are
not moving at all. We are standing still.
According to the Department of Justice, approximately 80 percent of
all economic espionage cases prosecuted by DOJ involved theft of trade
secrets by the Chinese Government or its instrumentalities or agents.
Approximately 60 percent of all trade secret misappropriation cases
brought in the United States have a nexus to the People's Republic of
China under the CCP.
This is a strategic and intentional campaign by the CCP of
intellectual property theft against the United States that has an
annual cost estimated at approximately $500 billion.

[[Page H5132]]

During the Trump administration, the DOJ established the China
Initiative within the Department to address the risks posed by the CCP
and to prioritize prosecution of IP theft cases.
Despite the success of the China Initiative, the Biden administration
bowed to pressure from radical leftists and canceled the program, and
although they continue to claim that they have stood up a new program,
it has not reached the successes of the China Initiative. In fact, the
DOJ opened zero new economic espionage cases in 2022.
I am concerned by this administration's approach to IP theft and
economic espionage by the CCP. In fact, under current law, spies
operating on behalf of the CCP who have been expelled from the U.S. can
immediately reapply for visas. The CCP exploits this loophole as part
of their whole-of-nation approach to steal sensitive information from
American companies and universities. I have a bill to close this
loophole, and I thank my colleague, Mr. Gooden, for cosponsoring it.
As the cosponsor of the bill before us today, I believe it is
important that we statutorily require that the DOJ resumes its
important work that was being conducted by the DOJ's China Initiative
during the Trump administration. I support this legislation.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Johnson), a member of the committee.
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Chair, we have seen this movie before,
and it did not end well.
On the Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Subcommittee
where I am ranking member, we have discussed with real concern economic
espionage and theft of trade secrets by the Government of China. While
we have legitimate concerns, this bill is a foolish attempt and a
damaging way to address those concerns.
The Department of Justice already had a China Initiative from 2018 to
2022. It failed to achieve any convictions related to economic
espionage or trade secrets, yet it did cause significant real-world
harm.
Many academics faced long-term personal and professional damage, and
there was a chilling effect on researchers of Chinese descent. Chinese-
American scientists, American citizens, mind you, reported that fear of
discrimination kept them from pursuing cutting-edge research and made
them avoid Federal grant applications. That chilling effect spread
beyond Chinese and Chinese-American professionals.
A 2021 survey of thousands of physicists found that 43 percent of
early career researchers believed that the U.S. was unwelcoming for
international students and scholars.
America has thrived because it has been a land of innovation, and the
China Initiative stifled that innovation.
Wisely, DOJ canceled that program in 2022. It was a failure then and
it would be a failure now. Let's leave it in the past where it belongs.
Mr. GOODEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I want to say first, the current DOJ, the Biden DOJ, performed their
own review, and they found not a single case was handled or considered
with bias or prejudice. They concluded that all decisions were borne
out of genuine national security concerns. That is in response to this
claim that lives have been ruined and that these were racist pursuits.
The other thing I want to say is this bill is race, gender, and
nationality neutral. Investigations are conducted based on the factual
reality of the situation.
Foreign nationals tend to favor recruiting people of their own
origin, and that is especially so with the CCP. A full review by the
current DOJ--again, this is the Biden DOJ--found not one case of bias
or prejudice.
Everything we have heard today about all these racist pursuits were
based in bad intentions, which was actually unfounded and proven
incorrect by the current Biden DOJ. They said that there was not one
single case of bias or prejudice.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu).
Ms. CHU. As chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus,
I rise in strong opposition to the deceptively named Protect America's
Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act. It brings back the
shameful China Initiative, which is the new McCarthyism.
Rather than protecting America's innovation, this bill would hurt it
with a Trump-era China Initiative, a program that assumed that
researchers and scholars in America should be investigated if they had
a nexus with China, such as being born there or having relatives from
there. They targeted them and arrested them, but here is what you need
to know: Most of the cases overwhelmingly failed to prosecute actual
cases of economic espionage or trade secret theft. Nearly all cases had
no connection to national security or espionage but rather paperwork
mistakes. Many cases were dropped or withdrawn without explanation.
For so many researchers and professors, the damage was already done.
By racially profiling innocent Asian-American scientists because of
their ethnicity, the China Initiative ruined their reputations,
finances, and lives. They were traumatized, arrested in front of their
families, fired, and went into deep debt.
McCarthyism had deadly effects in the 1950s, and so does the China
Initiative, harming our country's competitive edge by casting a
chilling effect on our academic community. Let me be clear. While we
all want to stop American secrets from being stolen, investigations
should be based on evidence of criminal activity, not race and
ethnicity.
This bill brings back the shameful mistakes of the China Initiative.
It would stoke anti-Asian xenophobia, and it would hurt American
innovation by contributing to the reverse brain drain of talent from
the U.S. to the PRC from which only the CCP itself stands to benefit.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
Mr. GOODEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I would think the Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American
Caucus would want to stand against China with me, but I will do it
alone on behalf of those who are willing to stand up against the
Chinese Communist Party.
I denounce everything that has been said about this bill being
racist. I absolutely denounce the false claims of racism. They are
baseless.
I actually join with the Biden DOJ in saying that with the Trump
prosecutions there was no bias, there was no racism. I actually would
like to stand up for Chinese-American citizens that are being
prosecuted, persecuted, searched after, and in some cases destroyed
while some of our friends across the aisle do nothing. They get on the
mike and say you guys are racist for pushing this legislation, and I
think folks are tired of it. I really do.
I am really tired of seeing Chinese police stations in cities across
our Nation. I am really tired of turning on the news and seeing that a
spy in the New York Governor's office has been signing orders and doing
all kinds of stuff in the name of the Chinese Communist Party. I am
really tired of hearing stories about American citizens, Chinese-
American citizens, living here--these are our people, these are our
people--being persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party. That is what
this bill seeks to do.
You can get up here and say this is racist and the last
administration wasn't successful, but the facts are Republicans want to
do something. We want to stand up to China, and we want to stand up for
the Chinese-American citizens who in many cases are seeing their
Representatives get on the microphone and say, you know what, we are
not going to do anything. We are going to say that China is a threat,
but we are not going to support any legislation that would do something
about it.
I am really excited about this bill. I am even more excited about the
Trump administration that is coming up because we are going to really
go after China. Chinese Americans across the United States should
really, really be excited about Donald Trump taking over as President
because they will finally have an advocate in the White House after 4
years of being disregarded.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

[[Page H5133]]

Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I have two comments before I call on the next
speaker. Number one, I wouldn't count on the next Trump
administration--maybe, but I wouldn't count on it.
Number two, during the Trump administration, anti-Asian crimes
spiked, and as I recall, we passed an anti-Asian crimes bill, which was
signed into law by President Biden.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Veasey).
Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Chair, I rise today to oppose the consideration of
H.R. 1398, the Protect America's Innovation and Economic Security from
the CCP Act.
This bill aims to combat Chinese espionage, protect intellectual
property and trade secrets, and monitor threats to U.S. infrastructure
posed by China.
While these are very important goals--I don't want anyone to be
mistaken--the program this bill lays out closely mirrors a Trump
administration program called the China Initiative, which targeted
academics at American institutions for crimes allegedly related to
economic espionage.
Despite the initiative's goal of combating that espionage, no one was
convicted or even charged with spying in any China Initiative case.
However, what the program did do was stoke a lot of fear in the
Asian-American communities and contributed to a rise in anti-Asian
hate, something that I think that all of us, regardless of party,
should be against.
For this reason, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to
recommit this bill back to committee. If the House rules permitted, I
would have offered the motion with an important amendment to this bill.
My amendment would be composed of H.R. 3130, the Protecting Election
Administration from Interference Act which I co-led with my good friend
Colin Allred, also from north Texas.
What this bill would do is strengthen our democracy by establishing
greater safeguards against potential election subversion efforts,
something that unfortunately became very real, as most of us recall, in
January 2021.
It would ensure that elections and vote counting are performed
fairly, transparently, and without partisan influence.
The bill expands crucial protections for election administrators
engaged in vote counting, canvassing, and election certification. It
also allows a framework for punishment for people who seek to
intimidate, threaten, or coerce election workers.
The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.
Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Chair, the bill also expands protections for election
administrators, again, that are engaged in vote counting, canvassing,
and election certification. It allows for a framework of punishment for
people that seek to intimidate these workers.
The bill also recognizes missing pieces from existing law in terms of
protections for digital election records. In an increasingly
technological world that we all live in, we must keep our laws up to
date with the times.
Mr. Chair, I hope my colleagues will join me in voting for the motion
to recommit, and I include in the Record the text of the amendment.

Mr. Veasey moves to recommit the bill H.R. 1398 to the
Committee on the Judiciary with instructions to report the
same back to the House forthwith, with the following
amendment:
Strike the text and insert the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Election
Administration from Interference Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. ENHANCEMENT OF PROTECTIONS FOR ELECTION RECORDS,
PAPERS, AND EQUIPMENT.

(a) Preservation of Records, Paper, and Equipment.--Section
301 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20701) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``Every officer'' and inserting the
following:
``(a) In General.--Every officer'';
(2) by striking ``records and papers'' and inserting
``records (including electronic records), papers, and
election equipment'' each place the term appears;
(3) by striking ``record or paper'' and inserting ``record
(including electronic record), paper, or election
equipment'';
(4) by inserting ``(but only under the direct
administrative supervision of an election officer).
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
paper record of a voter's cast ballot shall remain the
official record of the cast ballot for purposes of this
title'' after ``upon such custodian'';
(5) by inserting ``, or acts in reckless disregard of,''
after ``fails to comply with''; and
(6) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
``(b) Election Equipment.--The requirement in subsection
(a) to preserve election equipment shall not be construed to
prevent the reuse of such equipment in any election that
takes place within twenty-two months of a Federal election
described in subsection (a), provided that all electronic
records, files, and data from such equipment related to such
Federal election are retained and preserved.
``(c) Guidance.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this subsection, the Director of the
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the
Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the
Election Assistance Commission and the Attorney General,
shall issue guidance regarding compliance with subsections
(a) and (b), including minimum standards and best practices
for retaining and preserving records (including electronic
records), papers, and election equipment in compliance with
subsections (a) and (b). Such guidance shall also include
protocols for enabling the observation of the preservation,
security, and transfer of records (including electronic
records), papers, and election equipment described in
subsection (a) by the Attorney General and by a
representative of each party, as defined by the Attorney
General.''.
(b) Penalty.--Section 302 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960
(52 U.S.C. 20702) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``, or whose reckless disregard of section
301 results in the theft, destruction, concealment,
mutilation, or alteration of,'' after ``or alters''; and
(2) by striking ``record or paper'' and inserting ``record
(including electronic record), paper, or election
equipment''.
(c) Inspection, Reproduction, and Copying.--Section 303 of
the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20703) is amended by
striking ``record or paper'' and inserting ``record
(including electronic record), paper, or election equipment''
each place the term appears.
(d) Nondisclosure.--Section 304 of the Civil Rights Act of
1960 (52 U.S.C. 20704) is amended by striking ``record or
paper'' and inserting ``record (including electronic record),
paper, or election equipment''.
(e) Jurisdiction to Compel Production.--Section 305 of the
Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20705) is amended by
striking ``record or paper'' and inserting ``record
(including electronic record), paper, or election equipment''
each place the term appears.

SEC. 3. JUDICIAL REVIEW FOR ELECTION RECORDS.

Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20701
et seq.), is amended--
(1) by redesignating section 306 as section 307; and
(2) by inserting after section 305 the following:

``SEC. 306. JUDICIAL REVIEW TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE.

``(a) Right of Action.--The Attorney General, a
representative of the Attorney General, or a candidate in a
Federal election described in section 301 may bring an action
in the district court of the United States for the judicial
district in which a record (including electronic record),
paper, or election equipment is located, or in the United
States District Court for the District of Columbia, to compel
compliance with the requirements of section 301.
``(b) Duty to Expedite.--It shall be the duty of the court
to advance on the docket, and to expedite to the greatest
possible extent the disposition of, the action and appeal
under this section.''.

SEC. 4. CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR INTIMIDATION OF TABULATION,
CANVASS, OR CERTIFICATION EFFORTS.

Section 12(1) of the National Voter Registration Act of
1993 (52 U.S.C. 20511(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``or'' at the end; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) processing or scanning ballots, or tabulating,
canvassing, or certifying voting results; or''.

Mr. GOODEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Krishnamoorthi).

{time} 1715

Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Mr. Chair, today I rise in opposition to the
partisan H.R. 1398. Unfortunately, this new ``CCP initiative'' that
this bill creates is simply a knockoff version of the China Initiative
created by Donald Trump which was notorious for racially profiling
researchers of Asian descent.
Of the individuals charged under that initiative, the vast majority
of cases did not result in a finding of guilt. The lives of far too
many of those charged but not convicted of a crime were ruined simply
because they were ``researching while Chinese.''
The China Initiative was not only weak, it was pernicious and wrong.
The current administration shut down the China Initiative and in its
place stood up a new task force which has effectively cracked down,
among

[[Page H5134]]

other things, crimes involving CCP's theft of U.S. AI and missile
detection technology.
Another way we can protect our security is to pass the bipartisan,
bicameral international trade crimes bill that I introduced alongside
my colleagues on the Select Committee on the CCP. This bill creates a
new unit at Department of Justice to criminally prosecute trade crimes
committed by the CCP and others which seriously harm our innovators,
companies, and workers.
It is essential that we confront the CCP's economic threat. There is
a legitimate competition that we must win against the CCP, but H.R.
1398 does not take the initiative in doing so.
Mr. Chair, I strongly urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on 1398.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Tokuda).
Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Chair, there is no denial that the CCP has worked for
decades to steal our intellectual property and research in critical
technologies. We should be here today finding real solutions, not
putting up false choices to combat those efforts and defend our
national security.
Instead, Republicans are obsessed with starting a racially charged
witch hunt against Asian Americans across the country. They want to
revive the Trump administration's failed China Initiative, which
overwhelmingly targeted people of Chinese descent, destroying careers
and spreading fear.
Despite years of damage, with Asian Americans across the country have
been telling us that the China Initiative was racially profiling them
and infringing on their civil rights, yet House Republicans' proposal
for a restarted CCP initiative includes no language that would address
those concerns. I filed an amendment to try and address this issue, but
House Republicans refused to allow my amendment to be considered.
In their single-minded focus on the CCP, they have forgotten the
lessons of our country's history in targeting Asian Americans and the
lives that have been destroyed as a result of it.
According to a recent national academic survey, 86 percent have said
that it is harder to recruit international students than just 5 years
ago, 72 percent do not feel safe as an academic researcher, and 61
percent have thought of leaving the U.S. altogether.
We already know the harmful, chilling impacts of the China Initiative
on our scientific enterprise and ultimately our national security. For
years, the CCP has been focused on recruiting scientific talent. Thanks
to the CCP initiative's reverse brain drain, we are now driving our
best scientists straight into the arms of the CCP.
The bottom line is that this bill is not just unnecessary, it
undermines and destroys our research competitiveness and our national
security. It is harmful to the civil rights that generations of Asian
Americans have fought so hard to defend. I find it amusing that my
colleague on the other side of the aisle feels that Republicans and
Trump did so much for our Chinese Americans. From what I saw and what I
felt as an Asian-American woman all we got from Trump was xenophobia,
anti-Asian hate and racism. We are not going to go back. We will not be
revictimized again, and it is downright un-American.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to stand for Asian Americans across
the country and vote against this egregious bill.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
The CHAIR. Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in
personalities toward nominees for the Office of President.
Mr. GOODEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Chair, I am sorry that my colleagues are amused because
Republicans are horrified. We are sickened by what China is doing to
Chinese Americans. If the Asian Pacific American Caucus would love to
put their sign up there while they denounce this fantastic bill, if
they would like a member of their caucus who will fight for and on
behalf of Chinese-American citizens, then I would be happy to join. Get
me an application. However, until that happens, until all Members of
this Chamber wake up and realize that China is the real threat here and
realize that the main talking point, what they do as they come, and any
time someone stands up against China, they start playing the race card
because they know if they play the race card, they will get folks to
shut up.
China just loves it. I am sure they are watching this debate in
Beijing and laughing every time someone gets up and calls this policy
racist. I am sure they are just loving it to see folks get up and talk
about the China Initiative that the Biden DOJ so fantastically got rid
of and what a success it was for China.
The Biden DOJ has even said since then that there was no bias and
there was no racism.
So everything we are hearing today is just false. I am not going to
call someone a liar, but I am going to tell you that what we are
hearing today, Mr. Chair, is false. I heard from Mr. Nadler before he
reserved a while ago. He said crimes against Asian Americans were up in
the Trump era.

What person with a brain in America thinks that Donald Trump is the
reason crime is up anywhere?
Joe Biden is the reason, and Kamala Harris is the reason that crime
is through the roof in this Nation. Americans are unsafe.
Mr. Nadler said: I wouldn't count on a Trump victory.
Frankly, I am not going to count on anything in the days we live in,
but I can count on the American people to not hold Donald Trump
responsible for the crime epidemic that we are experiencing in this
Nation.
I am baffled by the opposition to this bill and the silliness on the
other side that insinuates Donald Trump as somehow behind some kind of
crime spike. Give me a break. The American people know who is behind
this crime, and they are going to watch her talk about it tonight. If
she won't talk about it, then I hope Mr. President, Donald Trump, will,
as I know all Americans believe he is the one to stand against this
spike in crime that I am so happy Democrats acknowledge exist.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chair, it has been said that figures don't lie but liars figure.
The figures are very clear. Crime has gone down under the Biden
administration. I don't care what anybody in this Chamber says. Those
are the statistics. Consult the FBI and crime statistics. Crime has
gone down every single year since the Biden administration took office.
No one can debate that, at least no one can debate that if you believe
the FBI statistics or any other statistics, unless you are getting your
information from the Trump campaign or from Project 2025 or other less
than honest sources.
Having said that, I urge the defeat of this bill, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. GOODEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, I will just say this: If you believe
that crime is down under Joe Biden, then you probably believe the
border is secure.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time to
close.
Mr. Chairman, using fear and division for political benefit while
pushing policies that hurt American innovation and American ideals is
irresponsible and dangerous. However, that is exactly what we are doing
here today.
The China Initiative was a divisive program that made Americans
afraid of one another and produced zero benefits. Donald Trump and the
MAGA movement had 4 years to come up with new policy solutions, but
they decided to play politics instead.
Just last week, we learned that the Russian Government was paying
conservative influencers in an attempt to manipulate our elections. We
also know that they are not the only hostile foreign nation trying to
do so.
We should be working to address that threat. We should be working to
protect our elections. Instead, we are taking part in a partisan
exercise that does nothing except take our eye off the ball to the real
dangers to our people, our government, and our businesses.

[[Page H5135]]

There is so much we could do together. Under the Biden-Harris
administration we enacted the bipartisan Chips and Science Act which
has sparked tremendous investment in domestic manufacturing of computer
chips crucial to national security. That is what actual leadership and
that is what actual policy solutions look like. Unfortunately,
Republicans have chosen the politics of division.
Instead of looking forward and developing new strategies for taking
on the threats that face this Nation, the Republican majority wants to
take us back to the failed policies of the past. The Chinese Government
poses real threats, but this bill would do nothing to address them
while setting back our efforts to take meaningful action.
The China Initiative failed to address any of the actual threats
posed by the Chinese Government and only succeeded in ruining the
careers of academics and scientists of Chinese descent while stifling
American innovation.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this legislation, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
Mr. Chair, fear and division is what the Chinese Communist Party
hopes that we will become all about.
This bill seeks to stop China and the Chinese Communist Party's
efforts to destroy this Nation. That is their ultimate goal. Every time
a Member of Congress gets up and says that any effort to defeat China
is a racist effort is really unfortunate.
However, I do believe that common sense will prevail. I do believe we
will pass this tomorrow, and I want to thank everyone for their
support.
This bill is an important tool. It is one of many tools we are
passing this week.
We are spreading the word and sharing with the American people that
Republicans are serious about standing up to China, that Donald Trump
is serious about standing up to China. Despite the fact that we have
taken the last 4 years off and let China climb ahead, and we have
opened our borders and said send as many millions of folks that you
want, I do believe the American people deserve better, and I think they
will vote for better. We have let the crime rate spike, we have just
let it happen, and it is a real shame.
Mr. Chair, I appreciate my colleagues' consideration, I urge a
``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIR. All time for general debate has expired.
Pursuant to the rule, the bill shall be considered for amendment
under the 5-minute rule.
In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by
the Committee on the Judiciary, printed in the bill, an amendment in
the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee
Print 118-45, shall be considered as adopted.
The bill, as amended, shall be considered as the original bill for
the purpose of further amendment under the 5-minute rule and shall be
considered as read.
The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:

H.R. 1398

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 ``Protect America's Innovation
and Economic Security from CCP Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. CCP INITIATIVE.

(a) Establishment.--There is established in the National
Security Division of the Department of Justice the CCP
Initiative to--
(1) counter nation-state threats to the United States;
(2) curb spying by the Chinese Communist Party on United
States intellectual property and academic institutions in the
United States;
(3) develop an enforcement strategy concerning
nontraditional collectors, including researchers in labs,
universities, and the defense industrial base, that are being
used to transfer technology contrary to United States
interests;
(4) implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review
Modernization Act of 2018 (title XVII of division A of the
John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232; 132 Stat. 2173)) for the
Department of Justice, including by working with the
Department of the Treasury to develop regulations under that
Act;
(5) identify cases under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
of 1977 (Public Law 95-213; 91 Stat. 1494) involving Chinese
companies that compete with United States businesses; and
(6) prioritize--
(A) identifying and prosecuting those engaged in trade
secret theft, hacking, and economic espionage; and
(B) protecting the critical infrastructure in the United
States against external threats through foreign direct
investment and supply chain compromises.
(b) Consultation.--In executing the CCP Initiative's
objectives as set forth in subsection (a), the Attorney
General, acting through the Assistant Attorney General for
National Security, shall consult with relevant components of
the Department of Justice as necessary, and coordinate
activities with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and any
other Federal agency as necessary.
(c) Requirement.--Under the CCP Initiative--
(1) the Initiative shall be separate from and not under the
authority or discretion of any other Department of Justice
initiative dedicated to countering nation-state threats; and
(2) all resources used for the CCP Initiative shall solely
be set aside for the CCP Initiative and shall not be combined
to support any other Department of Justice program, including
other programs and initiatives dedicated to countering
nation-state threats.
(d) Annual Report.--The Attorney General shall submit
annually a written report to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on the
Judiciary of the Senate, and the Committee on Homeland
Security and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives, on the progress and challenges of the CCP
Initiative over the preceding year, including--
(1) its progress in accomplishing the objectives set forth
in subsection (a);
(2) the amount and sufficiency of resources provided to,
and expended by, the CCP Initiative;
(3) the level and effectiveness of coordination with the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and other Federal agencies;
(4) the status of efforts by the Chinese Communist Party to
engage in trade secret theft, hacking, and economic
espionage; and
(5) the impact of the CCP Initiative on those efforts of
the Chinese Communist Party.
(e) Sunset.--This Act shall take effect on the date of
enactment of this Act and cease to be in effect on the date
that is 6 years after that date.
(f) Severability.--If any provision of this Act, or the
application of such provision to any person or circumstance,
is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act,
and the application of the provisions of such to any person
or circumstance, shall not be affected thereby.
The CHAIR. No further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in
order except those printed in part A of House Report 118-656. Each such
further amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the
report, by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered read,
shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided
and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject
to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the
question.

Amendment No. 1 Offered by Mr. Gottheimer

The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 1 printed in
part A of House Report 118-656.
Mr. GOTTHEIMER. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 4, line 6, strike ``and'' at the end.
Page 4, line 8, strike the period at the end and insert ``;
and''.
Page 4, insert after line 8 the following:
(6) the level and effectiveness of coordination and
information sharing between Government agencies and private
companies about economic espionage threats.

[[Page H5136]]

From energy to consumer electronics to advanced technologies, CCP-
backed individuals aim to steal secrets that give Chinese industry a
leg up over American industry and undermine our country and economy.
This espionage is as much a national security threat as it is an
economic issue. As a member of both the Intelligence and Financial
Services Committees, I believe it is critical that the public and
private sectors work together to detect, coordinate, and develop
responses to espionage.
Private-sector companies are the hardest hit by this espionage, and
they have been on the front lines of responding to breaches and
hackers. We in the Federal Government have much to gain by coordinating
with the private sector.
With this amendment, we are making it clear that protecting American
innovation is a team effort. We need everyone, business leaders, the
intelligence community, lawmakers, and researchers, working together to
stop economic espionage, maintain America's economic leadership, and
guarantee our national security.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this
commonsense amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

{time} 1730

Mr. GOODEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition, even
though I am not opposed to the amendment.
The CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. GOODEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, the amendment would require the
annual report to Congress in this bill to include a description of the
level and effectiveness of coordination and information sharing between
government entities and private companies about economic espionage
threats.
American companies and innovation have led the way for over a
century, and the first line of defense to preventing economic espionage
and intellectual property theft is the vigilance of the owners of this
property. Including this information in the report will ensure that
Congress can adequately oversee the CCP Initiative and ensure that it
is meeting its objectives.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GOTTHEIMER. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman
from New Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Gottheimer

The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 2 printed in
part A of House Report 118-656.
Mr. GOTTHEIMER. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 4, line 4, insert ``and the financial intelligence
capabilities of'' after ``the status of efforts by''.

The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 1430, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
Mr. GOTTHEIMER. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my amendment, which
would require the Department of Justice report, as mandated under this
bill, to examine the Chinese Communist Party's financial intelligence
capabilities and, more broadly, the role of China's intelligence
agencies and economic espionage.
Let me start by outlining the scope of the problem. China is the main
source of economic espionage against the United States. About 80
percent of the economic espionage cases that the Department of Justice
prosecutes involve China and its affiliates. Anything that we can do to
monitor the Chinese intelligence ecosystem will help in our fight to
stop economic espionage here at home.
As a member of the House Committee on Financial Services and the
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I am keenly aware of the
public-private sector fusion in China. Because of its 2017 intelligence
law, the CCP and Chinese intelligence agencies have disproportionate
power over the country's industry. As we have seen with TikTok,
industry and government are working in concert, at the direction and
funding of the CCP, to undermine our country.
Chinese intelligence agencies are the linchpin to understand the
coordinated campaign to steal and profit from American trade secrets.
That is precisely why I have offered my amendment. We need the United
States Federal Government to monitor these agencies' role in economic
espionage.
Maintaining America's economic competitiveness is something that we
can all agree on. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to
support this amendment so that we can get a fuller picture of Chinese
intelligence agencies' role in economic espionage and actually stop
them in the process.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition, even
though I am not opposed to the amendment.
The CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for 5
minutes.
There was no objection.
Mr. GOODEN of Texas. Mr. Chair, this amendment would require the
annual report to Congress in this bill to include a description of the
CCP's financial intelligence capabilities.
The CCP has decided that the fastest way to catch up to the
technological leadership of the United States is to steal U.S.
intellectual property. This theft is not only an economic issue but
also a national security issue.
Technological success often leads to financial success. By engaging
in financial intelligence activities, the CCP can ascertain which
companies and entities have the most valuable intellectual property.
To appropriately counter the economic and national security threats
posed by the CCP, we need to understand their ability to conduct
financial intelligence activities.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GOTTHEIMER. Mr. Chair, I thank Mr. Gooden for the support of
these two amendments, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman
from New Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 3 Offered by Mr. Molinaro

The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 3 printed in
part A of House Report 118-656.
Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 4, line 6, strike ``and'' at the end.
Page 4, line 8, strike the period at the end and insert ``;
and''.
Page 4, insert after line 8 the following:
(6) an assessment of the economic loss to the United States
as a result of hacking and trade secret theft by the Chinese
Communist Party.

The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 1430, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Molinaro) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Chair, you pronounced my name better than my own
grandmother.
Mr. Chair, the underlying bill, the Protect America's Innovation and
Economic Security from CCP Act of 2024, importantly counters the
Chinese Communist Party's illegal and grossly unethical practice of
stealing trade secrets, economic espionage, and hacking against
American companies.
The bill does this, as we note, by establishing a special office at
the Department of Justice whose sole purpose is to identify and
prosecute those who engage in this illegal behavior. The office will
also work to protect critical infrastructure in the United States
against external threats from China.
The bill also requires a report from the Attorney General to
Congress. My amendment includes in this report an assessment of the
economic loss to the United States as a result of hacking and trade
secret theft by China.
We currently don't have an accurate number as to how much economic
damage the Chinese Communist Party has caused the United States through
economic espionage, hacking, and intellectual property theft. My
amendment will allow us to quantify the true monetary toll China is
causing to our economy and our businesses and allow us to

[[Page H5137]]

see how impactful this underlying legislation really is.
The United States is the biggest economy in the world because we
encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. China doesn't and instead
relies on stealing our innovations, our ideas, for their benefit. This
amendment will highlight just how damaging China is to our economy.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to adopt this amendment, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition, even though I
am not opposed to the amendment.
The CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from New York is
recognized for 5 minutes.
There was no objection.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, this amendment would add to the annual report
a study on the impact of hacking and trade secret theft by the PRC on
the United States economy.
If anything, this amendment highlights the magnitude of agreement
between Republicans and Democrats on the danger from the Government of
China to our economy and our security. I have no problem with the
Department of Justice increasing its reporting to us. I, too, would
like to know how hacking by PRC-affiliated groups impacts the United
States economy.
For that matter, I would like to know how it impacts our elections
and our national security, too. If this bill only consisted of its
annual report section, we could all agree and move on. Agreement,
however, is not a possibility under this partisan exercise.
The China Initiative is part of the Trump Project 2025 agenda not
because of its potential for good bipartisan work, but, rather, when
the China Initiative was an active program, it divided Americans and
encouraged foreign scientists to leave our research labs.
This bill would do the same, and improving the reporting section
unfortunately will not change that.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Chair, I appreciate my colleague's support of my
amendment. I look forward to bipartisan support of the bill in chief,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman
from New York (Mr. Molinaro).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 4 Offered by Mr. Molinaro

The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 4 printed in
part A of House Report 118-656.
Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 2, line 16, strike ``and'' at the end.
Page 2, line 20, strike the period at the end and insert
``; and''.
Page 2, insert after line 20, the following:
(C) identifying Chinese Communist Party theft of
intellectual property from small businesses.

The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 1430, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Molinaro) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Chair, my amendment at the desk adds a requirement
to the bill in chief that the Department of Justice identifies all
cases of intellectual property theft of American small businesses by
the Chinese Communist Party. Even in upstate New York, we have
businesses that have reported firsthand how their innovations have been
completely stolen by the Chinese Communist Party.
Now, just because China doesn't believe in capitalism doesn't mean
they can steal our Nation's best and brightest ideas and the hard work
of good Americans, all of this created through the opportunities of
capitalism and what capitalism provides.
This amendment will help us better understand the true scope to which
China is harming our small businesses and our economy and will provide
us with information needed to best target the criminal actors behind
these cowardly crimes.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to adopt the amendment, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition, even though I
am not opposed to the amendment.
The CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from New York is
recognized for 5 minutes.
There was no objection.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, this amendment would require agencies to
identify intellectual property theft of small businesses by the CCP. I
have no concerns with adding this to the legislation, and I agree that
it is important that we root out instances of intellectual property
theft of small businesses.
Unfortunately, adding this provision to H.R. 1398 does not make small
businesses any safer from IP theft by the Government of China. In fact,
it puts them in even more danger.
Since the end of the China Initiative, the Department of Justice has
implemented the Strategy for Countering Nation-State Threats and the
Disruptive Technology Strike Force, which have been effective at
rooting out economic espionage and trade theft by nation-states,
including China.
The China Initiative was a total failure. Adding this well-
intentioned amendment to Frankenstein's monster is not going to make
this program less of a failure when we resurrect it.
Moreover, by requiring the DOJ to create a duplicate program and then
attempting to impose limitations on the use of resources, this bill
dilutes and ultimately reduces the ability of prosecutors and
investigators to respond to the range of foreign threats faced by the
United States.
Again, I support this amendment and the spirit with which it is
offered, even though it would not improve the underlying bill.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Chair, I appreciate my colleague's full-throated
endorsement of my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman
from New York (Mr. Molinaro).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 5 Offered by Mr. Mills

The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 5 printed in
part A of House Report 118-656.
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Chair, I rise as the designee for the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Donalds), and I have an amendment at the desk.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 4, line 6, strike ``; and'' and insert a semicolon.
Page 4, after line 6, insert the following (and redesignate
accordingly):
(_) an analysis of the use of unmanned aircraft and
associated elements (including communication links and the
components that control the unmanned aircraft required for
the operator to operate safely and efficiently in the
national airspace system) by the CCP; and

The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 1430, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Mills) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gooden)
for crafting this legislation that protects America's innovation and
economic security from CCP activity.
I rise today in support of this bill, as well as to offer an
amendment on behalf of Congressman Byron Donalds, my fellow Florida
man.
This amendment would modify the underlying bill to include an
analysis of the national security risks of the CCP's unmanned aircraft
and associated elements in the national airspace system.
Chinese drones are accounting for about 70 percent of the global
drone market and 90 percent of the U.S. drone market. Additionally,
Chinese drones have actively been undercutting U.S. Government
contracts and U.S. companies by at least 50 percent.
Federal, State, and local governments use these Chinese drones for
activities that include highly sensitive information for evaluating
critical infrastructure and military operations.
Data stored from Chinese drones are subject to Chinese cybersecurity
law, which requires New York operators to store select data within
China and allows Chinese authorities to receive critical data
notification.

[[Page H5138]]

China also dominates in critical manufacturing parts, including the
semiconductors and communications equipment that are found in almost
every drone today.
China has been known to have the capabilities to track and affect
flights of the CCP drones, which could become problematic even to
American aircraft.
If you haven't picked it up yet, the Chinese drones are a major
national and economic security risk to the United States. This
amendment will provide a crucial analysis of CCP unmanned aircraft and
associated elements in the national airspace system, which will enable
the United States to craft solutions to defend ourselves from these
national and economic risks.

{time} 1745

Congressman Donalds is right to be concerned with the proliferation
of Chinese drone technology and the security threats which they pose. I
am proud to offer this amendment on behalf of the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Donalds), and I urge all Members who want to protect
America's innovation and economic security to join me in supporting it
and the underlying legislation.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition to the
amendment, even though I am not opposed to it.
The CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from New York is
recognized for 5 minutes.
There was no objection.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, this amendment would require an analysis of
the use of unmanned aircraft by the PRC, as well as related elements,
such as communication links and components required to operate safely
and efficiently in national airspace.
I appreciate that the gentleman from Florida is curious about spying
by the PRC in the United States. I think we all are. As with all of
these other amendments, even if, by themselves, they were a good or
even just neutral idea, they cannot make the China Initiative redux any
better. I have said this repeatedly throughout this process. We agree
on the threat from the government of China, so what is the purpose of
bringing up a bill that divides us?
I would also note that the investigation into the PRC's use of CUAS
to spy on the United States is being conducted by multiple agencies,
including the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, and the
FBI.
Some Republicans in Congress have fought to defund the FBI and CISA
over the past 2 years. Agencies that are working to counter nation-
state threats are the very same ones that some of my colleagues across
the aisle want to destroy.
If we want to keep America safe and our economy strong, the best
action we can take is to fund the government entirely and in a
bipartisan fashion, but, instead, we are here in this Chamber playing
politics instead.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Nadler) for his support, endorsement, and also understanding that I
hear what the gentleman is saying, but I say one thing: We must be
reminded of the China Initiative established in 2018, which was
eliminated by the Biden-Harris administration in February of 2022,
where over $500 billion prior to that had been stolen by the Chinese
CCP and the PRC.
I want to caution the fact that support for H.R. 1398 does, in fact,
help us and is not considered to be an anti-Asian bill, as Members on
the other side of the aisle tried to establish.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman
from Florida (Mr. Mills).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 6 Offered by Mr. Mills

The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 6 printed in
part A of House Report 118-656.
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
Page 2, line 12, strike ``and'' at the end.
Page 2, line 20, strike the period at the end and insert
``; and''.
Page 2, insert after line 20 the following:
(7) investigate investments made by Chinese companies
included on the Entity List maintained by the Bureau of
Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce or the
People's Republic of China Military Companies list maintained
by the Department of Defense, and report to the Secretary of
Commerce and the Secretary of Defense on any findings of such
investigations, including findings related to subsidiaries or
other entities controlled by such companies, whether or not
such subsidiaries or other entities are registered in or
operate in the People's Republic of China.

The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 1430, the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Mills) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Chairman, I thank, once again, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Gooden), for yielding me the time and putting together this
important bill, the Protect America's Innovation and Economic Security
from CCP Act.
Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of this legislation as well as to
offer an amendment to it.
As has been noted, the annual cost of intellectual property theft is
estimated to be around $500 billion annually. What are we doing about
it?
The Trump administration created a program to counteract this
espionage and prosecute individuals that were taking advantage of
American ingenuity and innovation. However, the Biden-Harris
administration canceled yet another program that was working.
It is ironic how this has happened so many times, Mr. Chairman. Trump
policies at the border are keeping Americans safe; we better cancel
them.
Trump policies are working to grow the economy and people's
paychecks; we better cancel them.
Trump policies are promoting peace around the world. We can't have
that.
Following the Biden-Harris shutdown of the Chinese Initiative, there
were zero, I repeat, zero, new economic espionage cases that were
opened in 2022. It reminds me of the progressive DAs in Democrat-run
cities that have stopped prosecuting crimes and that are saying: Look,
crime is down. You are safe with me now.
Well, we are not safe in this country, Mr. Chairman, nor are we safe
from the threats abroad with the Biden-Harris administration.
My amendment is very straightforward. When the DOJ prosecutes bad
actors linked to the Chinese Communist Party, and they certainly will,
they are directed to share that information with the Department of
Defense and the Department of Commerce so they can update their
blacklist and further protect American companies.
This includes down to the subsidiary level where CCP entities get
caught trying to evade detection through corporate proxies. For
example, we have seen, when the Aviation Industry Corporation of China,
also called AVIC, and the China Airborne Missile Academy was placed on
the DOD's Chinese military companies list. While the DOD and defense
contractors are prohibited from acquiring materials from AVIC,
equipment made by the sanctioned company continues to find its way into
our defense supply chains through a subsidiary company and part of
AVIC.
This abuse is not specific to any one company or any one subsidiary,
but it is a tactic utilized by the CCP to obscure its economic warfare
and to fog financial connections.
We simply can't allow this, Mr. Chairman. I urge adoption of this
amendment and the underlying bill to better protect America, Americans,
and American interests.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition to the
amendment.
The CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from New York is
recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, this amendment would require prosecutors to
investigate investments made by Chinese companies and subsidiaries
listed on the Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List and the
DOD's PRC Military Companies List.
Mr. Chair, I oppose this amendment primarily because the language
here exemplifies the broader problem with

[[Page H5139]]

the entire legislation. By requiring an agency to investigate certain
parties, the China Initiative did not give prosecutors leeway to
prioritize cases or to choose where to expend resources. This all-or-
nothing approach resulted in a culture of fear in research labs across
America with few successful prosecutions to show for it.
This approach is what led to investigations of grant applications for
paperwork errors. Rather than looking for the individuals seeking to
commit trade crimes, the requirement to investigate relegated many DOJ
prosecutors to the role of meter maids handing out parking tickets.
Mr. Chair, I am also opposed to this amendment because we already do
something very similar. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the
United States already looks at all pending Chinese investments into the
United States.
This amendment would duplicate this work, causing a further strain on
the limited resources available at the Department of Justice.
Finally, the language is unclear as to the limit of these
investigations. This broad mandate for investigations into existing
investments without any clear objective, again, could lead to the kind
of overreach the original China Initiative suffered from.
Mr. Chair, I oppose this amendment and encourage my colleagues to do
the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Nadler) sharing his concerns. I argue that whatever the 2018 China
Initiative had actually rendered with regards to the amount of
investigations or findings is still far better than what the Biden-
Harris administration has done, where they have had zero, Mr. Chairman,
since 2022, when they canceled this.
I also remind everyone that this is a simple thing for us. What are
we asking for here? We are asking for the DOJ to do their job, to
prosecute bad actors of the Chinese Communist Party, not something that
seems unreasonable, and to direct the shared information to the
Department of Defense and the Department of Commerce.
Mr. Chair, if CFIUS works so well, then I would have argued that they
would have blocked the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel to allow us
to have an actual advantage and control our resources and economic
capabilities, but they don't.
That is why I offer this amendment in an area to ensure that those
companies that have been blacklisted can no longer circumvent the
system and that the Department of Defense and the Department of
Commerce are aware of the investigations that should be held by the
Department of Justice.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman
from Florida (Mr. Mills).
The amendment was agreed to.
The CHAIR. There being no further amendment, under the rule, the
Committee rises.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Ms.
Maloy) having assumed the chair, Mr. Lopez, Chair of the Committee of
the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported that that
Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1398) to
establish the CCP Initiative program, and for other purposes, and,
pursuant to House Resolution 1430, reports the bill, as amended by that
resolution, back to the House with sundry further amendments adopted in
the Committee of the Whole.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is
ordered.
Is a separate vote demanded on any amendment reported from the
Committee of the Whole?
If not, the Chair will put them en gros.
The amendments were agreed to.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third
reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further
consideration of H.R. 1398 is postponed.

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