Introduced in Senate — S. 672

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 672

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

February 20, 2025

Mr. Scott of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To establish the CCP Initiative program, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

Section 1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Protect America’s Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act of 2025.

Sec. 2. CCP Initiative

(a) Establishment

There is established in the National Security Division of the Department of Justice the CCP Initiative to—

(1)

counter nation-state threats to the United States;

(2)

curb spying by the Chinese Communist Party on United States intellectual property and academic institutions in the United States;

(3)

develop an enforcement strategy concerning nontraditional collectors, including researchers in labs, universities, and the defense industrial base, that are being used to transfer technology contrary to United States interests;

(4)

implement the amendments to the authorities of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States under section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4565) made by the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (subtitle A of title XVII of Public Law 115–232; 50 U.S.C. 4565 note) for the Department of Justice, including by working with the Department of the Treasury to develop regulations to implement those amendments;

(5)

identify cases under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (Public Law 95–213; 91 Stat. 1494) involving Chinese companies that compete with United States businesses;

(6)

prioritize—

(A)

identifying and prosecuting those engaged in trade secret theft, hacking, and economic espionage;

(B)

protecting the critical infrastructure in the United States against external threats through foreign direct investment and supply chain compromises; and

(C)

identifying Chinese Communist Party theft of intellectual property from small businesses; and

(7)

investigate investments made by Chinese companies included on the Entity List maintained by the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce and set forth in Supplement No. 4 to part 744 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, or identified by the Secretary of Defense under section 1260H(a) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283; 10 U.S.C. 113 note) as a Chinese military company operating directly or indirectly in the United States and report to the Secretary of Commerce or the Secretary of Defense, as appropriate, on any findings of such investigations, including findings related to subsidiaries or other entities controlled by such companies, whether or not such subsidiaries or other entities are registered in or operate in the People’s Republic of China.

(b) Consultation

In executing the CCP Initiative’s objectives as set forth in subsection (a), the Attorney General, acting through the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, shall consult with relevant components of the Department of Justice as necessary, and coordinate activities with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and any other Federal agency as necessary.

(c) Requirement

Under the CCP Initiative—

(1)

the Initiative shall be separate from and not under the authority or discretion of any other Department of Justice initiative dedicated to countering nation-state threats; and

(2)

all resources used for the CCP Initiative shall solely be set aside for the CCP Initiative and shall not be combined to support any other Department of Justice program, including other programs and initiatives dedicated to countering nation-state threats.

(d) Annual report

The Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives on the progress and challenges of the CCP Initiative over the preceding year, including—

(1)

its progress in accomplishing the objectives set forth in subsection (a);

(2)

the amount and sufficiency of resources provided to, and expended by, the CCP Initiative;

(3)

the level and effectiveness of coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other Federal agencies;

(4)

the status of efforts by and the financial intelligence capabilities of the Chinese Communist Party to engage in trade secret theft, hacking, and economic espionage;

(5)

an analysis of the use of unmanned aircraft and associated elements (including communication links and the components that control the unmanned aircraft required for the operator to operate safely and efficiently in the national airspace system) by the Chinese Communist Party;

(6)

the impact of the CCP Initiative on those efforts of the Chinese Communist Party;

(7)

the level and effectiveness of coordination and information sharing between Federal agencies and private companies about economic espionage threats; and

(8)

an assessment of the economic loss to the United States as a result of hacking and trade secret theft by the Chinese Communist Party.

(e) Sunset

This Act shall cease to be in effect on the date that is 6 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

(f) Severability

If any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, and the application of the provisions of such to any person or circumstance, shall not be affected thereby.