[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 124 (Monday, July 21, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4497-S4499]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I know I am not the only one who feels 
like time flies, but it is hard for me to imagine that it has only been 
6 months since President Trump was sworn into office--6 months.
  When you look at what we have been able to accomplish together--the 
Republican majority in the House and the Senate and President Trump--it 
has been nothing short of amazing.
  We passed President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill and avoided a 
multitrillion-dollar tax increase on the American people, we codified 
DOGE cuts through the rescissions package just last week, and we have 
continued to confirm President Trump's qualified nominees to the 
executive branch.
  These confirmation votes, of course, will continue apace, but as we 
are turning to the latter half of this first year in his second term of 
office, it is also time to focus on other work we need to do, like 
paying the bills, which is one of the most fundamental responsibilities 
of the Congress, and authorizing legislation to keep our country 
strong--passing legislation like the National Defense Authorization 
Act.
  I have talked many times about my dad, who was a B-17 pilot in the 
Army Air Corps, World War II. He was a very young man when he flew 26 
bombing missions over Nazi Germany. Unfortunately, he flew one too many 
because he was shot down and captured as a POW on his 26th. He was a 
POW--a prisoner of war--for about the last 4 months of World War II.
  But I know my dad, whom Tom Brokaw called part of the ``greatest 
generation''--the people who fought and won a world war in World War 
II--they believed and they hoped and they prayed that would be one of 
the last real threats of world war ever in our lifetime, but we are now 
living in what I consider to be the most dangerous time since World War 
II.
  In many ways, Vladimir Putin and his Russia have already declared war

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on the West, which is now raging in Ukraine. We know that Iran has been 
moving very deliberately toward a nuclear weapon. Thanks to President 
Trump's decisiveness, that has now been set back for an undetermined 
period of time. North Korea, which is developing ballistic missiles and 
threatening its neighbors in the east, in Asia, is now volunteering 
soldiers to fight with the Russians in Ukraine. And then there is 
China, which is determined to dominate the world stage economically and 
militarily.
  But our Defense authorization bill, I believe, is one of the most 
important things we do here because this is what allows all of the 
other freedoms that we enjoy in this country to flow from--a strong 
America; peace through strength, as Ronald Reagan called it, and 
something that President Trump has embraced as well, peace through 
strength--because we know that weakness is a provocation; it is an 
enticement; it is an invitation to the world's authoritarians, bullies, 
and tyrants, who are more than happy to fill the gap when America is 
not strong. So we need to take this matter very seriously, 
reauthorizing the National Defense Authorization bill--something we 
have done for 63 consecutive years.
  But one of the things that I am going to be focusing on as part of 
this Defense authorization bill is to finally address outbound 
investment in China.
  As we speak, U.S. companies are spending billions of dollars in 
China, investing in Chinese companies, particularly those involved in 
critical technologies like quantum computing and artificial 
intelligence.
  Because of China's military-civil fusion strategy, there is no such 
thing as a private sector and a public sector. Everything in China 
works toward the advancement not only of their economy but of their 
military as well. We know these investments are not simply enriching 
China's economy and fueling advances in consumer technology; they are 
directly bolstering China's military strength.

  I have been raising alarm bells for a number of years now and working 
toward a solution to this critical strategic concern for a long time, 
and I have something to announce to my colleagues here: I am not going 
to give up. We are going to stay after this until we get it done right.
  Two years ago, during the debate on the Defense authorization bill, 
the Senate voted 91 to 6--this is a bipartisan concern, 91 to 6--to 
include my amendment which contained provisions on outbound investment 
transparency. Even in the face of such overwhelming, nearly unanimous 
consensus--again, on a bipartisan basis in the Senate--to address 
outbound investment, this provision was stripped from the final bill, 
presumably at the service of the powerful special interests who want to 
continue to profit while putting our national security interests at 
risk.
  Last year, provisions of outbound investment transparency were 
included in the initial text to the end-of-year funding package. 
Unfortunately, in the midst of negotiations, that provision once again 
ended up stripped from the bill. But, again, I want to make it clear: I 
am not willing to take no for an answer on something that is so 
critical to our national security. I will not quit.
  But the reality is, our time is running out. President Xi, the 
dictator who runs China and the Chinese Communist Party, has instructed 
his army, the People's Liberation Army, to be ready by 2027 to 
``reincorporate'' Taiwan--not 2 years from now.
  There are many voices emphasizing the importance of increasing our 
defense spending, which I certainly agree with, to prepare for a China 
contingency, as it is sometimes called. I don't disagree with those 
sentiments because, again, deterrence is the goal. We don't want to 
fight any wars we don't have to. We want to prevent war by American 
strength. But what good does it do to continue to increase our defense 
spending if American investors are simultaneously making investments in 
China in what amounts to the arsenal of our No. 1 strategic adversary?
  As of 2023, the United States was investing close to $2 billion in 
Chinese critical technology sectors, including semiconductors, quantum 
computing, and artificial intelligence. These are American companies 
investing in China, helping them to advance these critical 
technologies, which we are competing with here in America.
  A report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission 
pointed out that ``the United States is the most important foreign 
source of investment to semiconductors, quantum computing, and 
[artificial intelligence] in China''--the most important.
  There is a lot of talk right now about maintaining our strategic edge 
in the artificial intelligence race, but the first step in any 
competition is to make sure you are not helping your competition, your 
opponent, your adversary. Every dollar--every U.S. dollar--invested in 
China's AI sector is a dollar that is directly undermining the goal of 
U.S. dominance when it comes to this critical technology.
  Once again, we have to keep in mind that in China, there is no neatly 
divided private and government sector division. All of this is in 
service of the Chinese Communist Party and their military. Chinese 
companies are required to work hand in glove with the Chinese Communist 
Party, which means that private sector technology advances and military 
advances are one and the same.
  The time has come to stop dawdling when it comes to the Chinese 
Communist Party. Our national security is far more important than 
American companies chasing riches in the Chinese market.
  I am very grateful to President Trump for focusing our attention more 
acutely on China during his first term and now in his second term, 
especially with regard to both inbound--that is foreign direct 
investment in the United States--as well as outbound investment, which 
I am addressing right now.
  Back in February of this year, the White House announced an America 
first investment policy, which builds on the work that we partnered 
with President Trump on during his first term to modernize the 
Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States--something known 
as CFIUS, by its initials. The purpose was to ensure that we are not 
opening up ourselves and America to risks through inbound foreign 
direct investment. But that inbound foreign direct investment is only 
part of the story. We also have to address the lack of transparency in 
outbound investment by American companies in China that is fueling the 
rise of China's technological advances.
  I am very grateful to Secretary Bessent of the Department of the 
Treasury for his willingness to work with my office and colleagues here 
in the Senate on this topic. Earlier this year, I introduced the 
Foreign Investment Guardrails to Help Thwart China Act, or the FIGHT 
China Act, as it is called. This builds on earlier iterations of my 
legislative efforts to address outbound investment transparency. 
Secretary Bessent and his colleagues at the Treasury Department have 
been great allies and great partners, providing us with technical 
assistance on this legislation.
  But time is a-wasting. Time is of the essence. Now is the time to 
recommitment ourselves to treating this issue with the urgency that it 
deserves. The ugly truth is that without restricting outbound 
investment, we are funding the development of technologies and weapons 
that could one day be used to kill American soldiers.
  Our bill, after all, is mainly about understanding the nature of what 
those investments are. It is mainly about transparency because we are 
flying blind as policymakers, really not knowing exactly how that money 
is being invested and how it is being used within China itself. My 
outbound investment transparency bill would address that so we would be 
able to understand the nature of that threat and take actions that we 
deem appropriate in the national interest.

  So I would urge both our House and Senate colleagues to ensure that 
this year's National Defense Authorization Act addresses this critical 
issue. It is time for Americans to stop investing in China's military.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Husted). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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