On Friday, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) almost strictly along party lines. The bill contained special amendments aimed at combatting Chinese cultural influence and censorship of American media.
The legislation has a specific subsection dedicated to countering the “Coercion and Influence Campaigns” of the People’s Republic of China, which included “censorship monitor[ing]” and the formation of an “action group.” “Keeping Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda out of our films is paramount,” Representative Mark Green (R., Tenn.), a supporter of the amendment, noted in an official statement released on Friday afternoon.
Representative Green also successfully advocated for the inclusion of another amendment prohibiting the “use of funds to support entertainment projects with ties to the Government of the People’s Republic of China.” “My amendment will prevent studios that allow the CCP to censor their films from accessing federal assistance during production. Tax dollars should never support films that allow the CCP to dictate their content,” Green said.
In early March, the Tennessee representative introduced the Stopping Communist Regimes from Engaging in Edits Now (SCREEN) Act aimed at protecting Hollywood studios from Chinese pressure.
“I introduced the SCREEN Act to stop Communist China from using our film industry to spread its propaganda. I applaud the decision of the Pentagon to refuse government assistance to studios that censor American films at the request of the CCP, but we can do more. This amendment will make permanent changes to protect American taxpayers from subsidizing film studios kowtowing to the CCP,” Green told National Review on Friday.
Growing concerns over Chinese censorship emerged after reports that Top Gun: Maverick, the 2022 summer blockbuster, had been edited to appease the Chinese government. Producers of the Top Gun sequel had reportedly bowed to CCP pressure and agreed to remove Taiwanese and Japanese flag patches from Maverick’s famous bomber jacket.
The NDAA passed narrowly on Friday by a vote of 219–210, with four House Republicans opposing it, three of whom are members of the Freedom Caucus.
Likewise, only four Democrats crossed the aisle to support the bill, which Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) strongly denounced. “Extreme MAGA Republicans have chosen to hijack the historically bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act to continue attacking reproductive freedom and jamming their right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people.”