SOS ACT Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6598 To preserve national security by providing guarantees to investors for invest- ments in businesses at risk of predatory economic tactics by the Com- munist Party of the People’s Republic of China, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 23, 2020 Mr. GREEN of Tennessee introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To preserve national security by providing guarantees to investors for investments in businesses at risk of preda- tory economic tactics by the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China, 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 ‘‘Secure Our Systems 4 Against China’s Tactics Act’’ or the ‘‘SOS ACT Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:23 Apr 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6598.IH H6598 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6598 IH (1) while the United States is committed to 1 promoting cultural and technological exchange with 2 other countries, it is our responsibility to protect the 3 United States when channels for such exchange are 4 exploited by adversaries; and 5 (2) the People’s Republic of China consistently 6 seeks to exploit those channels, not only in its theft 7 of intellectual property but also in its manipulation 8 of lawful acquisition of companies in the United 9 States in ways that directly support its military ob- 10 jectives and threaten those of the United States. 11 SEC. 3. GUARANTEES. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treasury is 13 authorized to make guarantees to investors to cover up 14 to 50 percent of the costs of an investment in an eligible 15 business made during the emergency period (as defined 16 in paragraph (1)(B) of section 1135(g) of the Social Secu- 17 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–5(g))). 18 (b) CRITERIA FOR AWARDING GUARANTEES.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—In making guarantees pur- 20 suant to subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treas- 21 ury shall, in consultation with the Secretary of De- 22 fense and the Secretary of Commerce, establish cri- 23 teria to award guarantees to investors. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:23 Apr 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6598.IH H6598 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6598 IH (2) NATIONAL SECURITY INTEREST.—In estab- 1 lishing the criteria under paragraph (1), the Sec- 2 retary of the Treasury shall, in consultation with the 3 Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State, de- 4 termine which eligible businesses should be 5 prioritized based on the objectives of the 2018 Na- 6 tional Defense Strategy. 7 (3) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 15 8 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 9 Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, 10 and the Secretary of Commerce shall jointly submit 11 to Congress a report outlining the criteria estab- 12 lished under paragraph (1). 13 (c) FUNDING.—In carrying out this section, the Sec- 14 retary of the Treasury shall redirect, from the funds avail- 15 able under section 4003(b)(4) of the CARES Act (Public 16 Law 116–136), $10,000,000,000 to fund the guarantees 17 under subsection (a). 18 (d) DURATION.—The Secretary of the Treasury may 19 make the guarantees authorized under subsection (a) dur- 20 ing the period beginning on the date of the submission 21 of the report required under subsection (b)(3) and ending 22 on the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment 23 of this Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:23 Apr 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6598.IH H6598 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6598 IH (e) LIMITATIONS.—With respect to an investment 1 guaranteed under this section by an investor in an eligible 2 business, if such business fails— 3 (1) such investor may only receive monetary 4 compensation for up to 3 years after the last day of 5 the emergency period (as defined in paragraph 6 (1)(B) of section 1135(g) of the Social Security Act 7 (42 U.S.C. 1320b–5(g))), if the reason for the fail- 8 ure of such business is reasonably related to issues 9 stemming from COVID–19; and 10 (2) the Secretary of the Treasury shall deter- 11 mine how much money such investor may recover 12 and whether such investor may recover money before 13 or after the liquidation of such business. 14 (f) ELIGIBLE BUSINESS DEFINED.—In this section, 15 the term ‘‘eligible business’’ means a company that— 16 (1) incurred losses as a result of COVID–19; 17 (2) advances a national security interest; and 18 (3) is susceptible to being purchased by an enti- 19 ty from, associated with, or located within China (as 20 defined in paragraph (1)(B) of section 1135(g) of 21 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b–5(g))). 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:23 Apr 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6598.IH H6598 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS