Since last year, the federal government’s retirement program — the Thrift Savings Plan — has offered millions of Americans the option to invest in Chinese military companies through mutual funds. An analysis by the Coalition for a Prosperous America found that at least 115 of the mutual funds on offer include 30 companies that have been either sanctioned or blacklisted by the U.S. government for their role in China’s military buildup, according to Newsweek.

This week, the Senate considered a bill, as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, introduced by Senator Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) that would prohibit the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board from offering mutual funds with Chinese military companies and other firms targeted by U.S. sanctions and blacklists. That provision was voted down on Wednesday, with no votes from many of the chamber’s Democrats and from two Republican lawmakers, Senators Bill Cassidy (La.) and Rand Paul (Ky.).

The data obtained by Newsweek showed that companies eligible to receive investment from U.S. service members, lawmakers, intelligence community staff, and other government employees include some of the most malign players in Chinese military activities and human-rights atrocities, such as:

Closing the loophole that funnels the funds of unsuspecting government employees to Chinese military companies is a no-brainer. As Rubio put it just before his amendment was killed: “Think about the irony: you’re a member of the military and your retirement money is being invested in companies that are building missiles designed to blow up the ship that you serve on.”

But in Washington, despite all the talk about an emerging consensus on countering the Chinese Communist Party, the old logic sometimes still prevails.