Risch, Republican Colleagues Introduce Substantive Legislation to Compete with China

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senators Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) today introduced the STRATEGIC Act 2024, legislation to set up the United States and its allies and partners for success in the strategic competition against China.

"Despite the significant threat China poses to the United States, the U.S. Congress has failed to enact legislation in a number of crucial areas that would set up the United States, its allies, and partners for success," said Risch. "This legislation takes strong positions to safeguard U.S. and allied interests and provides actionable provisions that will help us in our strategic competition with China. We cannot wait for more reports and studies - it is time to start implementing policies."

"We need an all-of-government approach to ensure continued American dominance against the People's Republic of China. The STRATEGIC Act is a crucial step to ensuring the federal government has the tools it needs to keep Americans safe and support our allies around the world in the face of Chinese Communist Party aggression," said Ricketts.

"The STRATEGIC Act comes at an important time as the Chinese Communist Party continues its efforts to undermine security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. This legislative package contains several critical initiatives to counter the CCP, strengthen American supply chains, and bolster American support for Taiwan," said Young. "It includes my proposal to provide help to our foreign partners on an expedited basis when they are targeted economically for standing up to authoritarian regimes. By supporting our partners under threat of coercion, we protect America's own national security interests."

"China is our greatest economic competitor and one of the biggest geopolitical threats the United States faces in the 21st century," said Barrasso. "The Biden-Harris administration's record high inflation, anti-American energy agenda, and failed foreign policy has only strengthened the Chinese Communist Party. The United States must take action. Our STRATEGIC Act will bolster America's national security, increase our global competitiveness, and counter China's predatory economic practices."

"The Biden-Harris Administration passively allows China's malign actions to go unchecked, undermining our national security interests and that of our allies. This legislation forces real action to defend American prosperity and security against Chinese coercion," said Crapo.

"The Chinese Communist Party is the greatest geopolitical threat the U.S. faces," said Dr. Cassidy. "We cannot afford to turn a blind eye to their predatory trade practices and militarization. This bill lays out a strategy to protect our national and economic security."

"There is consensus in Congress that the Chinese Communist Party is America's number one strategic threat," said Sullivan. "It is about time we started legislating like it. This bill will work to protect America's interests and the interests of our allies in the region, and also work to counter the global influence of the CCP. As we move forward, I also look forward to working with my colleagues on additional priorities related to the challenges posed by China-specifically on the strategic opportunities presented by our energy resources and further addressing the CCP's escalating threats against Taiwan."

"A world where China is the global economic, geopolitical, and military leader is a world where the United States is less secure and less prosperous," said Romney. "The administration is overdue for the development of a comprehensive strategy to address the increasing China threat. While this legislation does not take the place of that need, it includes strong policies that will help the U.S. counter the CCP's Belt and Road Initiative, root out the CCP's malign influence in our educational institutions, and strengthen our security alliances in the Indo-Pacific."

"From disrupting our critical supply chains and stealing our valuable intellectual property, to illicitly influencing our policymakers and the public and weaponizing international trade and business investments, China continues to pose a rising threat to not only our national security, but also global stability," said Cornyn. "This legislation would help shore up our response to these vulnerabilities, strengthen our alliances, and deter aggression to counter-balance China and further cement our standing as the preeminent leader on the global stage."

"China is leveraging every tool at its disposal in an attempt to leapfrog America as the world's leading superpower. This legislation takes a resolute stance against the Chinese Communist Party's global influence campaign and protects American interests. It also advances a national security goal I've pushed for many years: adding teeth to FARA for the first time in almost 60 years. This will provide DOJ with the tools to more effectively and efficiently enforce the law, limiting the ability of the Chinese Communist Party and other foreign entities to secretly peddle their policy interests through public relations firms and lobbyists," said Grassley.

"We know that China is intent on challenging the U.S. in everything from military strength to economic power, trade relations, and global influence. Competing with the CCP's influence operations and standing up to their coercive tactics should be a priority across the federal government. The STRATEGIC Act charts a course for a comprehensive approach to competition with China and shows that Senate Republicans are ready to confront China's malign actions from a position of strength," said Capito.

The STRATEGIC Act:

• Reforms the Foreign Agents Registration Act by removing commercial and Lobbying and Disclosure Act exemptions for foreign adversaries and giving the Department of Justice authorities to issue civil investigative demands.
• Counters malign Chinese Communist Party influence by enhancing think tank transparency, prohibiting certain gifts and contracts with strings attached to U.S. universities, improving research security, and exposing China's harassment and abuse of U.S. diplomats.
• Authorizes strategic infrastructure initiatives focused on digital, transport, and energy sectors, strengthens supply chain security, and lowers trade barriers in partner countries.
• Addresses predatory Chinese economic practices through anti-trust reform, a new initiative to counter economic coercion, and prohibition of World Bank contracts for Chinese companies. It also expands CFIUS to cover agricultural investments with national security risks.
• Strengthens international security by countering proliferation of Chinese unmanned aerial systems in the Middle East and modifying the Missile Technology Control Regime to increase AUKUS cooperation.
• Strengthens U.S. support for Taiwan and partner countries facing threats from China, and establishes a State/Treasury "Tiger Team" to start identifying targets for sanctions, export controls, other economic measures well before China takes military action.
• Protects U.S. interests in international organizations and support for human rights.
• Increases oversight of U.S. government funding for biological research with China.

A one-pager of the STRATEGIC Act can be found here.

Full text of the STRATEGIC Act can be found here.

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