Counter CCP
Countering Communist China Act
Before the 117th Congress broke for recess, the Republican Study Committee released the Countering Communist China Act, the most serious and comprehensive effort to combat the China threat introduced this Congress. The bill is nearly 300 pages long and you can read it here.
The RSC introduced the bill as a counterproposal to Sen. Schumer's expensive and ineffectual Endless Frontier Act, which House conservatives have been critical of since its introduction and as it took various forms since.
RSC Chairman Jim Banks said: "Democrats' China spending bills fall short, so that's why House conservatives are introducing our own China bill as a benchmark for how Congress should address the China threat. Their bill places a burden on taxpayers and lets China off easy, but our bill protects taxpayers and holds the Chinese Communist Party accountable."
Chairman of the RSC National Security and Foreign Affairs Task Force Joe Wilson said: "The United States can no longer stand for China's malign influence, human rights abuses, and dishonest behavior. As Chairman of the Republican Study Committee National Security and Foreign Affairs Task Force, I'm grateful to work with RSC Chairman Jim Banks on the toughest China legislation in years. Enough is enough, China must be held responsible for their actions."
Among other things, the RSC's Countering Communist China Act:
- Bans the United Front Work Department—China's political ops arm—from accessing U.S. financial institutions
- Prohibits American companies that get federal subsidies to go and expand their business in China affiliate with businesses with ties to the Chinese military
- Prohibits universities getting grant money from the National Science Foundation to work with entities with ties to the CCP
- Establishes new sanctions on Chinese companies that steal US intellectual property, including prohibiting them from transacting again with a US person
- Requires a determination into whether China's negligence and coverup of the COVID-19 virus would meet the criteria of negligently using a biological weapon
- Creates new Select Committee inside Congress to investigate the COVID-19 coverup
- Spends just $1 billion as compared to the $250 billion Senate bill
RSC Memos-
- The Endless Frontier Act: Big Spending, Little Results
- A Dozen Reforms for Congress to Get Serious on China
- RSC Backgrounder Biden on China—Bad Policies, Bad Personnel
- This RSC Backgrounder explains the actions already taken by the Biden administration pivoting to a weak posture toward China and outlines the concerning aspects of many of his foreign policy picks.
Media Mentions:
National Review: Exclusive: House Republicans Prepare to Fight Dems' ‘Fake China Bill'
- The largest GOP caucus in the House of Representatives urged its members to oppose the multi-billion dollar Bipartisan Innovation Act, unless significant changes are made to the legislation during an upcoming round of bipartisan negotiations.
Daily Caller: EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Introduce Ban On Funding Research In China
- Several members of the Republican Study Committee will introduce a bill on Thursday that would ban the federal government from funding research in China.
Townhall: Rep. Herrell Leads Charge to Break U.S. Free from Chinese Drugmakers
Representative Yvette Herrell (R-NM) is leading the charge to make the United States independent of foreign powers when it comes to critical pharmaceuticals and medical products. With a new bill, one her office calls "a first step to figuring out a roadmap to pharmaceutical independence," will begin the process of reshoring the supply chains Americans rely on in public health emergencies.
- The proposal, from Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), has the backing of Republican Study Committee (RSC) chairman Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) and of House Armed Services Committee ranking member Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL). The measure represents the strongest sanctions effort against the CCP and Xi himself that Congress has yet considered, and is a serious escalation that comes on the heels of the publication of Red-Handed, a book from Breitbart News contributor and Government Accountability Institute (GAI) president Peter Schweizer that exposes senior CCP intelligence ties to and financial deals with family members of Democrat President Joe Biden and other senior congressional leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and more.
Axios: House conservatives draft counterproposal to Schumer's China bill
- The largest bloc of House conservatives has drafted a 300-page counterproposal to the Senate's sprawling bipartisan China bill, planning to circulate it to members Friday, Axios has learned.
National Review: Conservatives Take Aim at Democrats' Anemic China Bills
- The Republican Study Committee (RSC) has proven its salt as a de facto policy shop for conservatives in the House of Representatives, in recent months releasing a spate of China-focused proposals designed to shape Washington's intensifying competition with Beijing.
Fox News: Republicans press education secretary on China's foothold in US universities
- Reps. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., pressed Education Secretary Miguel Cardona for answers about his department's plans to investigate China's financial foothold in the U.S. university system.
The Hill: Nikki Haley warns Republicans on China: 'If they take Taiwan, it's all over'
- In a closed-door meeting with members of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), Haley, who served as former President Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, said that if China takes control of Taiwan, Beijing will be emboldened to seize other territories around the globe.
National Review: Conservatives: Xi ‘Breathing a Sigh of Relief' at China Bill
- Congress is about to vote on a gargantuan bill meant to sharpen Washington's ability to compete with the Chinese Communist Party around the globe, but conservatives are starting to raise public doubts about whether the package is all that it's chalked up to be.
The Hill- House conservatives take aim at Schumer-led bipartisan China bill
- House conservatives are criticizing a bipartisan bill authored by Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), saying it does too little to protect American interests from Chinese threats.
Fox News: Republicans introduce bill to sanction Chinese state-backed 'disinformation network'
- Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on Wednesday introduced new legislation to sanction a Chinese government-backed "disinformation network."
National Review: Exclusive: New GOP Bill Hits Back against Chinese Funding of U.S. Think Tanks
- If their proposal, set to be announced this morning by Representative Lance Gooden and the Republican Study Committee — which initially called for these reforms in June — becomes law, it stands a chance at complicating these foreign-influence operations.
Washington Free Beacon- GOP Leaders Press State Department to Designate China's Treatment of Uighurs as Genocide
- Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee are pressing the State Department to formally designate China's suppression of its Uighur minority population as a genocide, according to a copy of the congressional communication obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
Epoch Times- Rep. Banks Leads Republican Study Committee in Large-Scale Campaign to Counter CCP
- For the first time in its history, the Republican Study Committee (RSC)—the largest conservative caucus on Capitol Hill—will make countering the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) a key part of its agenda under the leadership of its newly elected chairman, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.).
- Top conservative lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives are launching a legislative blitz against Democrat President Joe Biden, exposing his weakness when it comes to the threat of the Chinese Communist Party and Biden's coziness with the Communists in Beijing.
National Review- Chinese Military Companies Are in GOP Crosshairs
- Jackson's bill fits into a broader Republican Study Committee push to hold the new administration to account on China-related issues, Representative Jim Banks (R., Ind.), the RSC's chairman, told NR. "Encouraging China's rise means encouraging America's demise. That's something the Trump administration understood, but the Biden administration doesn't. That's why the RSC will hold the Biden administration's feet to the flames and encourage Congress to pass legislation that would keep sanctions on Chinese military companies," Banks said.
One America News: GOP Group Launches Legislative Blitz On Biden-China Policies
- Conservative lawmakers launched a series of legislative proposals against China to challenge Joe Biden's soft stance on the communist regime. On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) said he led the effort with the Republican Study Committee. He noted "we must continue President Trump's approach to confronting China."
