Preventing China from Exploiting COVID–19 Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7484 To direct the Director of National Intelligence to submit to Congress a report on efforts by the People’s Republic of China to exploit the COVID–19 pandemic to advance the national security and foreign policy interests of China. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 2, 2020 Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma (for herself, Mrs. MURPHY of Florida, Mr. ROSE of New York, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Mr. CASE, Mr. MCADAMS, Mr. CORREA, Mr. GOLDEN, Mr. BRINDISI, Mr. CRIST, and Mr. CUNNINGHAM) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence A BILL To direct the Director of National Intelligence to submit to Congress a report on efforts by the People’s Republic of China to exploit the COVID–19 pandemic to advance the national security and foreign policy interests of China. 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 ‘‘Preventing China from 4 Exploiting COVID–19 Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7484.IH H7484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7484 IH SEC. 2. REPORT ON EFFORTS BY CHINA TO EXPLOIT 1 COVID–19 PANDEMIC TO ADVANCE NATIONAL 2 SECURITY AND FOREIGN POLICY INTERESTS 3 OF CHINA. 4 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 5 of the enactment of this Act, the Director of National In- 6 telligence, in coordination with the Secretary of State, the 7 Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Se- 8 curity, shall submit to the appropriate congressional com- 9 mittees, and make publicly available on the internet 10 website of the Director, a report on efforts by the People’s 11 Republic of China to exploit the COVID–19 pandemic to 12 advance the national security and foreign policy interests 13 of China in ways that undermine the interests of the 14 United States, allies and partners of the United States, 15 and the rules-based international order. 16 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 17 shall include the following: 18 (1) An assessment of— 19 (A) the tactics and techniques used by 20 China to obstruct or retaliate against countries, 21 such as Australia, that have sought a full and 22 fair inquiry into the role of China in the emer- 23 gence and spread of COVID–19; and 24 (B) the motivations of China for under- 25 taking such obstruction or retaliation. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7484.IH H7484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7484 IH (2) A description of activities undertaken by 1 China, including with respect to cyber-theft, in- 2 tended to licitly or illicitly acquire information and 3 intellectual property in the possession of non-Chi- 4 nese governments and businesses relating to 5 COVID–19 testing, treatment, and vaccines. 6 (3) An assessment of whether the activities de- 7 scribed under paragraph (2) violate the commitment 8 of China under the cybersecurity agreement entered 9 into by China and the United States in 2015 to re- 10 frain from conducting or supporting cyber-enabled 11 economic espionage. 12 (4) An assessment of the manner by which 13 China seeks to advance the foreign policy interests 14 of China by providing economic aid or medical 15 equipment to countries adversely affected by 16 COVID–19 and a discussion of the degree to which 17 such aid renders recipient countries more likely to 18 adopt positions favorable to the interests of China or 19 detrimental to the interests of the United States. 20 (5) An assessment of— 21 (A) the effects of the pledged economic 22 support by China to international organizations, 23 such as the World Health Organization; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7484.IH H7484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7484 IH (B) whether, and in what manner, China 1 uses such support to induce such organizations 2 to take actions favorable to the interests of 3 China or detrimental to the interests of the 4 United States. 5 (6) An identification of the different ways in 6 which China is using, or may be planning to use, the 7 global disruption and distraction associated with the 8 COVID–19 pandemic as an opportunity to more ag- 9 gressively pursue longstanding domestic and foreign 10 policy objectives, including the objectives of China 11 with respect to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang, and 12 territorial disputes. 13 (7) An assessment of— 14 (A) the means and methods by which 15 China disseminates misinformation, whether 16 overtly or covertly, about COVID–19, including 17 on United States-based social media platforms 18 or through other English language-based media; 19 and 20 (B) the motivations of China for dissemi- 21 nating such misinformation and a description of 22 how the departments and agencies of the Fed- 23 eral Government are collaborating to track, 24 analyze, and respond to such dissemination. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7484.IH H7484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7484 IH (8) An overarching assessment of— 1 (A) how the activities of China described in 2 this subsection collectively further the national 3 interests of China; and 4 (B) the extent to which such activities con- 5 stitute a continuation of the longstanding prac- 6 tices of China or are an evolution of the foreign 7 policy behavior of China. 8 (c) FORM.—The report under subsection (a) shall be 9 submitted in unclassified form without any designation re- 10 lating to dissemination control, but the report submitted 11 to the appropriate congressional committees may include 12 a classified annex. 13 (d) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES 14 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con- 15 gressional committees’’ means the following: 16 (1) the Committee on Appropriations, the Com- 17 mittee on Armed Services, the Committee on For- 18 eign Affairs, the Committee on Homeland Security, 19 and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence 20 of the House of Representatives; and 21 (6) the Committee on Appropriations, the Com- 22 mittee on Armed Services, the Committee on For- 23 eign Relations, the Committee on Homeland Secu- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7484.IH H7484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7484 IH rity and Governmental Affairs, and the Select Com- 1 mittee on Intelligence of the Senate. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7484.IH H7484 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS