Shaheen, Scott Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Increase Transparency around U.S. Investments in China
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committees, and U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced the Protecting American Capital Act, a bipartisan bill to require the Treasury to annually report to Congress on the United States’ financial exposure to China. Companies based in China often benefit from American capital, while providing little to no financial reporting to foreign countries to validate their domestic economic claims. This lack of reliable data around investments limits the U.S.’ ability to assess the larger financial and national security risks imposed by China. This bipartisan bill responds to a bipartisan and unanimous recommendation by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
“As China intensifies aggression and economic manipulation of markets, tracking how U.S. dollars flow into China is critical to our national security. It’s alarming how little financial data and reporting requirements are currently in place to validate domestic economic claims made by China,” said Senator Shaheen. “That’s why I’m introducing this bipartisan bill to improve transparency measures and address significant investment risks posed by unchecked American capital in China. Ensuring accountability around U.S. investments that benefit China is critical to bolster U.S. economic and national security.”
“Communist China cares about one thing: exploiting Americans to drive up profits and further its mission of world domination. I continue to strongly advocate for all American investors and business leaders to cut ties with Communist China, and forcing transparency to expose both financial and national security risks is absolutely necessary to achieve this. We cannot allow Communist China to lie, cheat and steal any longer. I thank Senator Jeanne Shaheen for cosponsoring this legislation and urge our colleagues to join us in advancing this critical bill,” said Senator Scott
Full text of the bill is available here.
Shaheen is a leader in the Senate in the push against an increasingly competitive and aggressive China. In June, the Senate passed the watershed bill, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, and will soon conference with the House on final bill text. This legislation would bolster U.S. competitiveness over China by investing in innovative education, good-paying jobs and cutting-edge industries to increase American competitiveness and safeguard our national security against China. Shaheen has worked to include provisions that would increase U.S. exports to support developing nations, add defense attachés in the Indo-Pacific region to enhance U.S. diplomatic capabilities and reaffirm the urgency for the U.S. to confirm qualified ambassadors to key parts of the world to counter Chinese influence.
Shaheen also introduced the Transatlantic Telecommunication Security Act (TTSA), which would strengthen European telecommunications infrastructure and counter China’s influence by helping key allies in the region build 5G networks. As Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, Shaheen has also long advocated for serious investments in scientific and technology innovation to protect the U.S.’s global leadership and national security against China.
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