Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) reintroduced Wednesday a measure designed to counter China’s political influence operations in the United States and worldwide.
The Countering the Chinese Government and Communist Party’s Political Influence Operations Act would require the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to organize an interagency task force to compile an unclassified report on China’s disinformation, press manipulation, economic coercion and influence operations in the United States and certain allies and partners who are impacted by China’s influence operations.
“To effectively combat the Chinese Government and Communist Party’s political influence operations here in the United States and globally, we must better understand the full scope and breadth of their efforts,” Rubio said. “I am pleased to reintroduce this important and timely legislation which, if passed, will be instructive not only for policymakers but for the American people, media, academia, and other impacted sectors.”
The bill would also require a strategy to counter China’s growing influence in the United States and to protect U.S. citizens, officials said, particularly the Chinese, Uyghur and Tibetan diaspora communities, from Chinese government threats.
“Our democratic processes are increasingly under attack from authoritarian governments,” Cortez Masto said. “We must fully understand those threats to effectively combat them. This bipartisan bill will raise awareness about the threat Chinese government interference poses to democratic societies around the world while also preparing our government to develop policy solutions that protect our political processes and our national security.”