Countering Chinese Communist Party Malign Influence Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2329 To authorize appropriations to counter the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 1, 2021 Mr. MCCAUL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To authorize appropriations to counter the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Chinese 4 Communist Party Malign Influence Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION. 6 (a) COUNTERING CHINESE INFLUENCE FUND.— 7 There is authorized to be appropriated $300,000,000 for 8 each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025 for the Countering 9 Chinese Influence Fund to counter the malign influence 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2329.IH H2329 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2329 IH of the Chinese Communist Party globally. Amounts appro- 1 priated pursuant to this authorization are authorized to 2 remain available until expended and shall supplement, not 3 supplant, amounts otherwise authorized to be appro- 4 priated to counter such influence. 5 (b) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—Amounts appro- 6 priated or otherwise made available to counter the malign 7 influence of the Chinese Communist Party globally, in- 8 cluding pursuant to the authorization under subsection (a) 9 or before the date of the enactment of this Act, shall be 10 subject to prior consultation with, and the regular notifica- 11 tion procedures of— 12 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 13 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep- 14 resentatives; and 15 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 16 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. 17 (c) POLICY GUIDANCE, COORDINATION, AND AP- 18 PROVAL.— 19 (1) COORDINATOR.—The Secretary of State 20 shall designate a senior official of the Department at 21 the rank of Assistant Secretary or above to provide 22 policy guidance, coordination, and approval for the 23 obligation of funds authorized pursuant to sub- 24 section (a). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2329.IH H2329 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2329 IH (2) DUTIES.—The senior official designated 1 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be responsible for 2 the coordination and approval of all programming 3 conducted using the funds authorized to be appro- 4 priated by subsection (a), based on a determination 5 that such programming counters the malign influ- 6 ence and activities of the Chinese Communist Party 7 pursuant to the strategic objectives of the United 8 States, as established in the 2017 National Security 9 Strategy, the 2018 National Defense Strategy, and 10 other relevant national and regional strategies as ap- 11 propriate. 12 (3) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The senior 13 official designated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall, 14 in coordinating and approving programming pursu- 15 ant to paragraph (2), seek to— 16 (A) conduct appropriate interagency con- 17 sultation; and 18 (B) ensure, to the maximum extent prac- 19 ticable, that all approved programming func- 20 tions in concert with other Federal activities to 21 counter the malign influence and activities of 22 the Chinese Communist Party. 23 (4) ASSISTANT COORDINATOR.—The Adminis- 24 trator of the United States Agency for International 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2329.IH H2329 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2329 IH Development shall designate a senior official at the 1 rank of Assistant Administrator or above to assist 2 and consult the senior official designated pursuant 3 to paragraph (1). 4 (d) MALIGN INFLUENCE.—In this section, the term 5 ‘‘malign influence’’ with respect to the Chinese Com- 6 munist Party should be construed to include acts con- 7 ducted by the Chinese Communist Party or entities acting 8 on its behalf that— 9 (1) undermine a free and open international 10 order; 11 (2) advance an alternative, repressive inter- 12 national order that bolsters the Chinese Communist 13 Party’s hegemonic ambitions and is characterized by 14 coercion and dependency; 15 (3) undermine the national security or sov- 16 ereignty of the United States or other countries; or 17 (4) undermine the economic security of the 18 United States or other countries, including by pro- 19 moting corruption. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:48 May 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2329.IH H2329 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS