[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5404 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5404
To direct the Attorney General to prepare a report on the Department of
Justice activities related to countering Chinese national security
threats, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 12, 2023
Mr. Fitzgerald (for himself, Mr. Buck, Ms. Stefanik, Mr. Waltz, and Mr.
Lamborn) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Attorney General to prepare a report on the Department of
Justice activities related to countering Chinese national security
threats, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Countering Chinese Espionage
Reporting Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Chinese Communist Party poses pervasive and growing
threats to United States domestic national security.
(2) On November 1, 2018, the Department of Justice launched
a new initiative, referred to as the ``China Initiative'', to
address some of the most critical threats to United States
domestic national security posed by the Chinese regime.
(3) The China Initiative has sought to identify and
prosecute Chinese trade-secret theft and economic espionage and
to protect American critical infrastructure and supply chains
from covert influence.
(4) The Chinese Communist Party's aggression is a pervasive
and growing problem, as approximately 80 percent of all Federal
economic espionage prosecutions involve alleged conduct that
would benefit the Chinese Communist Party, and about 60 percent
of all United States trade-secret theft cases have a nexus to
the Chinese Communist Party.
(5) According to the Commission on the Theft of American
Intellectual Property, the Chinese Communist Party's theft of
United States intellectual property is estimated to cost the
United States economy between $225,000,000,000 to
$600,000,000,000 annually.
(6) The Department of Justice has identified academia as
one of the sectors of the United States economy that are most
vulnerable to trade-secret theft and economic espionage by the
Chinese Communist Party. The Chinese Communist Party exploits
the American tradition of openness and the free flow of ideas
for its own benefit.
(7) The widespread and dangerous threats posed by the
Chinese Communist Party has been underscored by the most
senior-level United States Government officials.
(8) On November 1, 2018, the former Assistant Attorney for
the Department of Justice's National Security Division stated,
``China wants the fruits of America's brainpower to harvest the
seeds of its planned economic dominance. Preventing this from
happening will take all of us, here at the Justice Department,
across the U.S. Government, and within the private sector''.
(9) On June 24, 2020, the former National Security Advisor
of the White House stated that the Chinese Communist Party ``is
seeking leverage over individual Americans'' and ``collecting
your most intimate data--your words, your actions, your
purchases, your whereabouts, your health records, your social
media posts, your texts, and mapping your network of friends,
family, and acquaintances''.
(10) On July 7, 2020, the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation warned that ``[t]he greatest long-term threat to
our nation's information and intellectual property, and to our
economic vitality, is the counterintelligence and economic
espionage threat from China''.
(11) The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
added that ``[w]e've now reached the point where the FBI is
opening a new China-related counterintelligence case about
every 10 hours. Of the nearly 5,000 active FBI
counterintelligence cases currently underway across the
country, almost half are related to China''.
(12) On July 16, 2020, the former Attorney General of the
Department of Justice stated that ``[t]he ultimate ambition of
China's rulers isn't to trade with the United States. It is to
raid the United States''.
(13) On July 23, 2020, the former Secretary of the
Department of State stated that ``[w]e [the United States] must
admit a hard truth that should guide us in the years and
decades to come, that if we want a free 21st century, and not
the Chinese century of which Xi Jingping dreams, the old
paradigm of blind engagement with China simply won't get it
done. We must not continue it and we must not return it''.
(14) Actions by the Biden administration have raised
serious concerns about its commitment to confront the national
security threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party.
(15) In July 2021, the Biden administration's Department of
Justice moved to dismiss charges against several suspected
Chinese researchers accused of concealing ties to the Chinese
military.
(16) On February 23, 2022, the Biden administration's
Department of Justice announced the end of its national
security program aimed at prioritizing and countering
legitimate threats of economic espionage, theft of American
intellectual property and research, and other threats posed by
the Chinese Communist Party to the United States.
(17) This action comes at a time when President Biden's
leadership in only a short period has resulted in many foreign
policy missteps, notably in Afghanistan, Russia, and Iran.
(18) The United States efforts to combat the Chinese
Communist Party's malign activities should actively protect
United States domestic national security, and address the
strategic failures described in this section.
SEC. 3. REPORT ON DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ACTIVITIES RELATED TO
COUNTERING CHINESE NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS.
(a) Requirement.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter for 7 years, the
Attorney General shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the
House of Representatives and of the Senate a report that includes each
of the following:
(1) A description of the activities and operations of the
Department of Justice related to countering Chinese national
security threats and espionage in the United States, including
trade-secret theft, theft of United States intellectual
property and research, and threats from non-traditional
collectors, such as researchers in laboratories, at
universities, and at defense industrial base facilities (as
that term is defined in section 2208(u)(3) of title 10, United
States Code).
(2) An accounting of the resources of the Department of
Justice that are dedicated to programs aimed at combating
national security threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party,
and any supporting information as to the efficacy of each such
program.
(b) Form.--The report under subsection (a) shall be submitted in
unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. On the date on
which the Attorney General submits each report under subsection (a),
the Attorney General shall make such report publicly available on the
website of the Department of Justice.
(c) Consultation.--In preparing the report under subsection (a),
the Attorney General shall consult with other appropriate officials.
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