SCHEME Against Congressional Access Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 9032 To direct the Sergeants at Arms of the House of Representatives and the Senate to develop an interagency plan to identify certain congressional employees with connections to the Chinese Communist Party and intent to engage in certain unlawful activities, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 18, 2020 Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. BANKS, and Mr. ABRAHAM) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration A BILL To direct the Sergeants at Arms of the House of Representa- tives and the Senate to develop an interagency plan to identify certain congressional employees with connec- tions to the Chinese Communist Party and intent to engage in certain unlawful activities, and for other pur- poses. 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 ‘‘Stop China’s Heinous 4 Exploitation and Malicious Espionage Against Congres- 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jan 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9032.IH H9032 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 9032 IH sional Access Act’’ or the ‘‘SCHEME Against Congres- 1 sional Access Act’’. 2 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL EMPLOYEES WITH CHINESE COM- 3 MUNIST PARTY CONNECTIONS AND INTENT 4 TO ENGAGE IN UNLAWFUL ACTIVITIES. 5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 6 (1) The Chinese Communist Party has an ex- 7 plicit and subversive interest in gaining access to 8 and influence over U.S. political activity. 9 (2) In a July 2020 speech, Director of the Fed- 10 eral Bureau of Investigations Chris Wray said that 11 ‘‘Beijing is engaged in a highly sophisticated malign 12 foreign influence campaign’’ with efforts that involve 13 ‘‘subversive, undeclared, criminal, or coercive at- 14 tempts to sway our government’s policies, distort our 15 country’s public discourse, and undermine con- 16 fidence in our democratic processes and values’’. 17 (3) There have been several instances and in- 18 vestigations of Chinese operatives developing exten- 19 sive ties and employment with U.S. elected officials, 20 both senior and junior. 21 (4) These same operatives, mostly Chinese na- 22 tionals, have been deployed to infiltrate political op- 23 erations by the main civilian spy agency of their 24 home country as a means to gain influence over de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jan 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9032.IH H9032 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 9032 IH cision-makers and gain access to classified informa- 1 tion. 2 (5) These instances demonstrate a devoted 3 strategy of China that takes years, or sometimes 4 decades, to knowingly gain access, influence, or in- 5 formation. 6 (6) To protect classified information and pre- 7 vent seditious influence over elected officials, Con- 8 gress must act to develop stronger oversight with re- 9 spect to the foreign involvement of covered individ- 10 uals. 11 (b) PLAN FOR BACKGROUND ASSESSMENTS.—Not 12 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 13 Act, the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives 14 and the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate shall jointly— 15 (1) consult with the Director of National Intel- 16 ligence, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Inves- 17 tigation, and the Secretary of State regarding poten- 18 tial unlawful activity engaged in by covered individ- 19 uals to the advantage of the Chinese Communist 20 Party; and 21 (2) in consultation with the Directors and Sec- 22 retary specified in paragraph (1), develop an inter- 23 agency plan to assess the background of each cov- 24 ered individual to determine whether— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jan 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9032.IH H9032 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 9032 IH (A) the covered individual has a connection 1 to the Chinese Communist Party or any ele- 2 ment thereof (including connections resulting 3 from citizenship, military service, or personal 4 travel); and 5 (B) the covered individual intends to en- 6 gage in unlawful activity to the advantage of 7 the Chinese Communist Party. 8 (c) ASSESSMENT OUTCOMES.— 9 (1) NOTIFICATION.—If, as the result of an as- 10 sessment conducted pursuant to the plan developed 11 under subsection (b)(2), the Sergeant at Arms con- 12 cerned determines that a covered individual meets 13 both of the criteria specified in such subsection, the 14 Sergeant at Arms concerned shall notify the head of 15 the employing office for the covered individual. 16 (2) OUTCOME.—Upon receipt of a notification 17 under paragraph (1), the head of the employing of- 18 fice for the covered individual shall— 19 (A) immediately terminate the employment 20 of the covered individual; and 21 (B) if the covered individual is not under 22 investigation by the Director of the Federal Bu- 23 reau of Investigation, refer the covered indi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jan 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9032.IH H9032 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 9032 IH vidual to such Director for appropriate inves- 1 tigation. 2 (d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 3 on which the plan under subsection (b)(2) is developed, 4 and annually thereafter, the Sergeant at Arms of the 5 House of Representatives and the Sergeant at Arms of 6 the Senate shall jointly submit to the President and the 7 congressional intelligence committees a report on any im- 8 provements to such plan made during the year covered by 9 the report. 10 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 11 (1) CONGRESSIONAL INTELLIGENCE COMMIT- 12 TEES.—The term ‘‘congressional intelligence com- 13 mittees’’ has the meaning given such term in section 14 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 15 3003). 16 (2) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘covered 17 employee’’ means an employee of the House of Rep- 18 resentatives or an employee of the Senate, as such 19 terms are defined in subsection (a) of section 101 of 20 the Congressional Accountability Act (2 U.S.C. 21 1301). 22 (3) EMPLOYING OFFICE.—The term ‘‘employing 23 office’’ has the meaning given such term in sub- 24 section (a) of section 101 of the Congressional Ac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jan 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9032.IH H9032 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 9032 IH countability Act (2 U.S.C. 1301), except such term 1 does not include the entities listed in subparagraphs 2 (D) or (E) of paragraph (9) of such subsection. 3 (4) SERGEANT AT ARMS CONCERNED.—The 4 term ‘‘Sergeant at Arms concerned’’ means— 5 (A) the Sergeant at Arms of the House of 6 Representatives, with respect to assessments 7 concerning an employee of the House of Rep- 8 resentatives; and 9 (B) the Sergeant at Arms of the Senate, 10 with respect to assessments concerning an em- 11 ployee of the Senate. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Jan 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H9032.IH H9032 SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS