Strong Legislation to Counter CCP Passes House of Representatives with Broad Support

WASHINGTON – Today, the House of Representatives passed Representative Dale W. Strong’s (AL-05) legislation, the Strategic Homeland Intelligence and Enforcement Legislation to Defend (SHIELD) Against CCP Act, by a vote of 409 - 4.

“China is one of the biggest threats to our country, and they have taken every opportunity over the last 4 years to exploit Biden's open borders. This bill will ensure DHS has a dedicated team working to combat this threat head-on. After a long four years, it’s time to make America safer. I’m excited to get this bill through to better protect the American people,” said Rep. Dale Strong.  

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, apprehensions of Chinese foreign nationals nationwide have now surpassed 64,000 since the Biden-Harris Administration took office. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has previously acknowledged that certain Chinese nationals “exploit our lawful immigration and travel systems to collect intelligence, steal intellectual property, and harass dissidents.”   

This legislation would establish a dedicated Department of Homeland Security working group to counter such threats and, specifically, would require the group to examine, assess, and report on the spectrum of nontraditional tactics employed by the government of China and the efforts of DHS to counter these malign activities.

BACKGROUND:

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to threaten U.S. homeland security, particularly in light of the Biden-Harris Administration’s open border policies.  

• From the CCP surveillance balloon that spied on sensitive homeland defense sites in February 2023, to the illegal Chinese police stations operating throughout the United States, as in New York, the CCP has been emboldened by soft-on-China policies.  

During a March 9, 2023, House Committee on Homeland Security hearing, national security experts testified on the CCP’s efforts to circumvent U.S. homeland security.  

• Specifically, witnesses highlighted the CCP’s exploitation of American universities, its theft of intellectual property (IP) and technology, risks to economic supply chain security, the threat it poses to critical infrastructure, and its alarming surveillance activities across the U.S. homeland.  
• It is estimated that the People’s Republic of China’s theft of U.S. intellectual property extends to the billions, amounting to approximately $4,000 to $6,000 per American family of four after paying taxes.  

Top government agencies contextualize the counterintelligence and economic espionage activities of the government of China as a “grave threat to the economic well-being and democratic values of the United States.”