Countering the Prc Malign Influence Fund Authorization Act of 2023
Floor Speech
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Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1157) to provide for the authorization of appropriations for the Countering the People's Republic of China Malign Influence Fund, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1157
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 ``Countering the PRC Malign Influence Fund Authorization Act of 2023''. SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR COUNTERING THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA MALIGN INFLUENCE FUND.
(a) Countering the People's Republic of China Malign Influence Fund.--
(1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated $325,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 for the Countering the People's Republic of China Malign Influence Fund to counter 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.
(2) Availability; amounts in addition to other amounts.-- Amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under paragraph (1)--
(A) are authorized to remain available until expended; and
(B) shall be in addition to amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated for the purposes described in paragraph (1).
(b) Consultation Required.--The obligation of funds appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) or otherwise made available for the purposes described in subsection (a)(1) shall be subject to prior consultation with, and consistent with section 634A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394-1), the regular notification procedures of--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.
(c) Policy Guidance, Coordination, and Approval.--
(1) Coordinator.--The Secretary of State shall designate an existing senior official of the Department of State to provide policy guidance, coordination, and approval for the obligation of funds appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a).
(2) Assistant coordinator.--The Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development shall designate an existing senior official of the United States Agency for International Development to assist and consult with the senior official of the Department of State designated pursuant to paragraph (1).
(3) Duties.--The senior official of the Department of State designated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be responsible for--
(A) on an annual basis, the identification of specific strategic priorities for using funds appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a), such as geographic areas of focus or functional categories of programming that funds are to be concentrated within, consistent with the national interests of the United States and the purposes of this section;
(B) the coordination and approval of all programming conducted using such funds, based on an assessment that such programming directly counters the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party or the Government of the People's Republic of China, including specific activities or policies advanced by the Chinese Communist Party or the Government of the People's Republic of China and entities acting on their behalf globally, pursuant to the strategic objectives of the United States, as established in the 2017 National Security Strategy, the 2018 National Defense Strategy, and other relevant national and regional strategies as appropriate;
(C) ensuring that all programming approved bears a sufficiently direct nexus to such activities of the Chinese Communist Party or the Government of the People's Republic of China described in subsection (d) and adheres to the requirements outlined in subsection (e); and
(D) conducting oversight, monitoring, and evaluation of the effectiveness of all programming conducted using such funds to ensure that it advances United States interests and degrades the ability of the Chinese Communist Party or the Government of the People's Republic of China, to advance activities that align with subsection (d) of this section.
(4) Interagency coordination.--The senior official of the Department of State designated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall, in coordinating and approving programming pursuant to paragraph (2), seek--
(A) to conduct appropriate interagency consultation; and
(B) to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that all approved programming functions in concert with other Federal activities to counter the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party or the Government of the People's Republic of China.
(d) Malign Influence.--In this section, the term ``malign influence'', with respect to the Chinese Communist Party or the Government of the People's Republic of China, shall be construed to include acts conducted by the Chinese Communist Party or the Government of the People's Republic of China, or entities acting on their behalf that--
(1) undermine a free and open international order;
(2) advance an alternative, repressive international order that bolsters the Chinese Communist Party's or the Government of the People's Republic of China's hegemonic ambitions and is characterized by coercion and dependency;
(3) undermine the national security or sovereignty of the United States or other countries; or
(4) undermine the economic security of the United States or other countries, including by promoting corruption and advancing coercive economic practices.
(e) Countering Malign Influence.--In this section, countering malign influence through the use of funds appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) shall include efforts--
(1) to promote transparency and accountability, and reduce corruption, including in governance structures targeted by the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party or the Government of the People's Republic of China;
(2) to support civil society and independent media to raise awareness of and increase transparency regarding the negative impact of activities related to the Belt and Road Initiative, associated initiatives, other economic initiatives with strategic or political purposes, and coercive economic practices;
(3) to counter transnational criminal networks that benefit, or benefit from, the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party or the Government of the People's Republic of China;
(4) to encourage economic development structures that help protect against predatory lending schemes, including support for market-based alternatives in key economic sectors, such as digital economy, energy, and infrastructure;
(5) to counter activities that provide undue influence to the security forces of the People's Republic of China;
(6) to expose misinformation and disinformation of the Chinese Communist Party's or the Government of the People's Republic of China's propaganda, including through programs carried out by the Global Engagement Center; and
(7) to counter efforts by the Chinese Communist Party or the Government of the People's Republic of China to legitimize or promote authoritarian ideology and governance models.
(f) Annual Summary.--Not later than September 30, 2023, and annually thereafter for 5 years, the senior official of the Department of State designated pursuant to subsection (c)(1) shall submit to the congressional committees specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b), a summary identifying each activity or program approved pursuant to subsection (c), and shall include--
(1) for each program or activity, an identification of the country or regional location of the program or activity;
(2) for each program or activity, whether the program or activity was ongoing prior to receiving support from funds from the Countering People's Republic of China Malign Influence Fund, or any predecessor resource intended for the same or substantially similar purpose;
(3) for each program or activity, an identification of the acts described in subsection (d) that such program or activity is intended to counter; and
(4) a table identifying the respective allocation of all programs or activities approved during that fiscal year across accounts and regional or functional bureaus.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my legislation, H.R. 1157, Countering the PRC Malign Influence Fund Authorization Act.
The Chinese Communist Party is the most dangerous threat America has faced in decades, and Beijing has been spreading its malign influence across the world.
China knows that one of the United States' greatest assets is our credibility and effectiveness in supporting our allies and partners.
Thus, the CCP is actively working to undermine U.S. legitimacy across the world by undercutting and distorting markets in areas such as critical infrastructure.
Among other things, their disruptive tools include predatory lending, coercive economic practices, misinformation, taking advantage of foreign corruption, and legitimizing authoritarianism.
The Countering the PRC Malign Influence Fund was originally created by an appropriation intended to address China's pernicious and growing influence, but for too long it has been used as a slush fund for the State Department's vanity projects, for example: $6 million for expanding Pacific Island weather and ocean data collection, $5 million for English language training in Angola, $2.5 million for scooter charging stations in Vietnam.
While some may argue that funding for these types of activities can counter the PRC by meeting the wish lists of our partners experiencing PRC pressure, there are other organizations like the Development Finance Corporation and USAID that are already able to meet these types of needs with their own appropriated and authorized funding.
The bill before us today will create specific statutory guardrails so that our taxpayer dollars are used strategically and effectively to counter the CCP's malign influence.
It specifies the aims and duties of the fund, requires consultation with Congress before funds are obligated, and mandates an annual report on the fund's activities. This is basic congressional stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
The bill received bipartisan support when it was marked up by the Foreign Affairs Committee last year.
While we will never be able to nor want to outspend the PRC dollar for dollar, we must ensure that every ounce of funding is going the farthest to counter this generational threat.
I urge my colleagues to support my bill, the Countering the PRC Malign Influence Fund Authorization Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I thank Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks for working with me to move this important legislation to the floor.
I share many of the comments that my friend, the ranking member from New York, just stated. We do need to invest. We need to invest in the tools of diplomacy that we have to counter PRC malign influence in the world. We need to support the China transformational exports program with the Export-Import Bank. We need to support the Development Finance Corporation. We need to support USAID where it can help and the Peace Corps where it can help with soft power. We need diplomacy. We need foreign deployed foreign service personnel. However, we have to remember that we cannot counter and we should not attempt to counter Communist China by becoming more like China.
We have a $35 trillion national debt, Mr. Speaker. Spending money like drunken sailors without any accountability and without any effective strategy is not effective diplomacy in countering the malign influence from China.
While I certainly do support the PRC malign influence fund, for goodness' sake, we are the Congress. We control the purse strings. Let's do our job. Let's create an authorization, put some guardrails around it and not allow the administration to spend this country into bankruptcy. That is the fastest way to lose the competition to China.
Let's put some parameters around this PRC malign influence fund and direct those scarce taxpayer resources effectively so that they actually do the job that the taxpayers deserve and we actually win this fight.
Spending our country into oblivion is what Communists do. We don't do that. Our ace in the hole is that we are capitalists. We do not misallocate resources. That is why we need this bill.
All of us agree that American taxpayer dollars should be used more effectively to counter China's disruptive, predatory influence around the world, but let's do it smart, Mr. Speaker. Let's do it the smart way.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote in favor of H.R. 1157, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
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