House Republicans this week passed — with the aid of Democrats — more than two dozen bills to counter the Chinese Communist Party, but their top priorities are unlikely to see action in the Democrat-run Senate.
In total, the House passed 28 China-related bills. The measures seek to combat China’s influence in an array of areas, including U.S. agricultural land, educational institutions, intellectual property and the electric vehicle market.
“We are the last superpower on the Earth,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, said. “Because the White House has chosen not to confront China and stand for American interests, House Republicans will.”
Republicans, trying to draw a contrast with the other party, picked five bills to highlight that received some bipartisan support but did not get close to earning a majority of Democrats. The chances are slim for the Senate to take up the bills.
“More or less I’m on board with the message, but I doubt that they’re going to secure any real policymaking,” Rep. Jared Golden, a Maine Democrat who supported all the bills, told The Washinton Times.
The White House came out in opposition to four of the bills and expressed reservations about the other. That only adds to the hurdles of getting them across the finish line, especially with only two legislative weeks remaining before the November election and five after that before the current Congress ends.
Sen. Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he expects Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer to focus on funding the government ahead of a looming Oct. 1 shutdown deadline.
“That’s top priority, no shutdown. So I think everything is going to be focused on that,” the Virginia Democrat told The Times.
Mr. Schumer, New York Democrat, also announced an upcoming messaging vote on a measure Republicans blocked in June to codify the right to fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization and impose coverage requirements on federal and private employer health plans.
Of the five bills House Republicans prioritized, the one that the White House objected to least would prohibit Homeland Security from funding higher education institutions with suspicious dealings with China. It passed 249-161, with three dozen Democrats joining all Republicans in support.
The White House said it “supports the intent” of the bill but believes “there may be more appropriate ways” to accomplish it. The administration did not specify alternatives but said it would work with Congress to refine the bill as it moves forward.
A bill to provide oversight of agricultural land bought by foreign adversaries such as China received the most bipartisan support of the five. It passed 269-149, with 55 Democrats voting for it, despite the White House’s opposition.
The bill would require the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review and potentially block Chinese and other foreigners from buying farmland if they pose a national security risk.
The White House said it is “unnecessary,” since its two main requirements are already part of the CFIUS process and were previously codified through the appropriations process.
Rep. Dan Newhouse, a Washington Republican who sponsored the bill, said he is pushing for permanent codification of the requirements, which cannot be done through the appropriations process.
Either the White House misunderstands that, “or they’re just opposed to the idea,” he said. “The rationale, I think, is incorrect.”
A bill to establish a CCP Initiative within the Justice Department to counter threats related to intellectual property, academic and research institutions and prosecute those who engage in the theft of trade secrets and espionage passed 237-180.
It had support from 23 Democrats despite the White House saying it “strongly opposes” the bill, which would set up an entity similar to the “China Initiative” that the Justice Department disbanded in 2022.
The administration said it works on countering threats the legislation targets, but grouping cases in that way “could give rise to incorrect and harmful public perceptions that DOJ applies a different standard to investigate and prosecute criminal conduct related to the Chinese people or to American citizens of Chinese descent.”
A bill to prohibit electric vehicles with battery materials sourced from China from qualifying for federal tax credits passed in a closer 217-192 vote.
Seven Democrats joined all Republicans in taking a swipe at clean vehicle tax credits their party passed last Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act. That law already has strict eligibility requirements, and the White House said the GOP bill adds “unclear and unworkable” restrictions.
The measure “would disrupt the market, threaten the more than $175 billion in investments made to date” and ultimately raise prices for consumers, the administration said.
The bill with the least Democratic support was also the least directly related to China. Only four Democrats joined Republicans in a 219-199 vote to make any World Health Organization agreement related to pandemic preparedness or prevention subject to ratification of two-thirds of the Senate before U.S. implementation.
The White House objected to the bill constraining the president’s authority, saying it would undermine any administration’s authority to better protect the U.S. from public emergencies like COVID-19.
The House also passed 23 less controversial China-related bills under a fast-track process known as suspension of the rules, which requires two-thirds support to pass. All but three passed by voice vote.
The bills that passed without opposition in the House — which included measures to strengthen export controls and sanctions and limit Chinese influence over U.S. telecommunications infrastructure — have the best shot in the Senate since they could be passed by unanimous consent if no senator objects.
The other three bills that passed through the fast-track process had majority support from both parties and could have a decent shot at being taken up in the Senate.
A measure to require the president to remove privileges and immunities provided to Hong Kong’s economic and trade offices in the U.S. if it’s determined they are no longer running with a high degree of autonomy from China passed 413-3.
A bill that would authorize appropriators to put up to $325 million annually through fiscal 2027 in a fund dedicated to countering “the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party and the Government of the People’s Republic of China and entities acting on their behalf globally” passed 351-36.
The other measure, which passed 306-81, would prohibit federal funds from flowing to biotechnology companies that are owned, operated or controlled by China, specifically calling out five companies with extensive ties to the Chinese Communist Party. That includes BGI, the world’s largest collector of genetic data, and its subsidiaries.
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.