Protecting American Industry and Labor From International Trade Crimes Act of 2024

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 9151. This legislation would create a task force within the Department of Justice to increase the prosecution of trade-related crimes.

Although DOJ already has dedicated personnel to enforce laws protecting Americans from illegal products, limited funding prevents prosecutors from doing more.

Americans are protected from trade crimes by a patchwork of national security laws, including the Tariff Act of 1930, the Toxic Substances Control Act, and many others. These studies protect against a wide variety of crimes that impact the health, safety, and financial security of Americans, from the importation of counterfeit goods to the commission of trade secret theft through economic espionage.

We have all heard stories about the most egregious cases: exploding counterfeit batteries that cause e-cigarettes to maim users, computer chips equipped with spyware in our product stream that endanger military secrets, handbags made with forced Uyghur labor passed off as fair-trade materials. These are terrible outcomes with clear victims, and United States law enforcement should ensure these cases never happen again.

Other trade crimes may not have a clear victim or a defined perpetrator, but they are equally pernicious. For example, cyber intrusions can risk a company's trade secrets without their knowledge. They may never become aware of the data leak, but a foreign competitor can use the intellectual property to unfairly compete with the targeted company.

Counterfeit products that look identical to a brand's trademark can cause irreparable damage to a small business or designer. Victims can suffer reputational damage, lose the opportunity to break into a specific market, and otherwise lose revenue that would have gone to them.

The deluge of counterfeits and the unique way trade crimes are perpetrated have made it increasingly difficult for prosecutors at the Department of Justice to enforce our laws. H.R. 9151 would help the government prevent trade loss by creating a task force to identify, investigate, and prosecute crimes that hurt Americans in every industry.

This legislation has been a bipartisan effort, and I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on the select committee on China, the Appropriations Committee, and the Judiciary Committee for creating carefully negotiated legislation that, if properly funded, would help the Department of Justice better pursue their objectives.

Without such funding, however, the myriad investigators, prosecutors, and support staff envisioned for the task force will never be hired. You cannot increase trade crime enforcement without increasing the number of prosecutors working on the issue, and you cannot increase the number of staff handling trade crimes without more funding.

Over and over again, I have heard my colleagues across the aisle call for Congress to defund agencies across the Federal Government, especially the Department of Justice, yet in the same breath they ask them to do more to protect Americans. You cannot withhold funding from agencies that keep us safe and then act surprised when they do not have enough people to do the job.

I sincerely hope we commit dedicated appropriations to this program and all aspects of DOJ in the days and months ahead. I support this legislation, and I support funding this legislation. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' when it comes to a vote.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Krishnamoorthi).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Ivey).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Over the last year, the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet has held multiple bipartisan subcommittee hearings regarding the IP and trade crimes threat posed by the Chinese Government. Witnesses have testified about the flood of trade crimes and the inability of our government's limited resources to prevent, detect, and prosecute violations of the law.

This legislation, if adequately funded, would help address these concerns. It is a small step in the right direction, but it will be a significant step nonetheless, so long as we complete the puzzle by properly funding the program through the appropriations process.

Mr. Speaker, I intend to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 9151, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same. I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source