WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, has joined Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and four other colleagues in introducing the Protect America’s Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act. This legislation will reestablish the CCP Initiative at the Department of Justice (DOJ), which the Biden Administration recklessly ended last month, and reinstate its effort to investigate and prevent spying by the Communist Party of China on U.S. intellectual property and academic institutions and counter threats to U.S. national security.
“America remains the most innovative country in the world, but the Chinese Communist Party is relentlessly trying to cheat American businesses by stealing their information and technology to fuel its repressive regime and compete against us,” said Senator Hagerty. “FBI Director Wray tells us that the Bureau opens a new Chinese spying case every 12 hours, and yet the Biden Administration is ending the Department of Justice initiative focusing on this unparalleled threat to our national and economic security. This legislation would prevent this misguided decision and ensure that combatting CCP espionage remains a top priority.”
“We know that the Communist Party of China will stop at nothing in its mission for global dominance – and the Biden administration cannot afford to be naïve to the national security threats we face,” said Senator Rick Scott. “It is unconscionable that the Biden administration ended the DOJ’s efforts to hold Communist China accountable for U.S. trade secret theft and economic espionage. I’m proud to lead this bill to reestablish the CCP Initiative, which will again be dedicated to protecting the United States’ intellectual property and our academic institutions from spying and interference by one of our greatest adversaries. Communist China has started the new Cold War with the United States – it’s our duty to protect our critical infrastructure and private sector, and take action to counter Communist China’s economic warfare.”
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