News Alert from US Senator Rick Scott

NEWS ALERT!

Sen. Rick Scott is Fighting to Hold Communist China Accountable and Keep American Families Safe

Senator Rick Scott released the following statement after Vice President Kamala Harris told POLITICO that Communist China’s threats and recent incursion into American airspace with a spy balloon will have no impact on diplomatic relations between the United States and the communist Chinese regime.

Senator Rick Scott said, “Vice President Harris has shown nothing but total incompetence when it comes to dealing with the threats facing America. As President Biden’s ‘border czar’ her utter failures to secure our southern border have allowed historic illegal immigration and tons of deadly fentanyl to pour into our communities and kill thousands of our fellow Americans. Now after watching Communist China fly a spy balloon over the entire United States, she thinks that we should just carry on like nothing happened? Her failure to understand and act on the threats facing our nation isn’t just embarrassing, it’s dangerous. Communist China is our enemy and wants to destroy our way of life. If Kamala Harris doesn’t understand that, she should resign. The American people cannot afford weakness from unserious politicians in the White House.”

Read more HERE.

Senator Rick Scott announced a package of five national security focused bills to hold Communist China accountable and better protect American families. This legislative package contains bills which prohibit the U.S. Government from buying drones made by America’s adversaries, protect Taiwan from Communist China’s growing aggression, sever all financial transactions between the U.S. and Communist China once it engages in armed aggression against Taiwan, reestablish the China Initiative at Department of Justice, and require a list to be published listing all countries who have a bilateral security arrangement with Communist China to protect Americans abroad and prevent CCP police stations in the US. Since being elected to the Senate in 2018, Senator Scott has been urging both federal agencies and private businesses to decouple operations and investments from Xi’s communist regime and hold it accountable for the genocide and human rights atrocities it continues to commit against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.

Senator Rick Scott said, “Communist China’s disturbing actions in recent days have been yet another reminder that Xi’s regime will stop at nothing to exploit Americans and take advantage of the United States. But a Chinese spy balloon is only one of many threats from the Chinese Communist Party as it works toward world domination. We cannot take these threats lightly. I have been fighting for years to take an all of the above approach to cut ties with and isolate the evil Communist Chinese regime, protect America’s national security and the interests of our allies and keep Americans safe from China’s spying, data theft and covert operations. Today I am proud to introduce multiple pieces of legislation which advance these priorities, put American interests first and keep Communist China in check. I’m proud to have such strong, bipartisan support from my colleagues and look forward to fighting this Congress to pass these good bills, hold Communist China accountable and keep American families safe.”

Senator Scott’s package to hold Communist China accountable includes the following bills:

The American Security Drone Act, cosponsored by Senators Marco Rubio, Mark Warner, Chris Murphy, Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn

This bill works to protect U.S. national security by prohibiting the federal government and military from buying drones manufactured in countries that are adversaries, like Communist China.

The Taiwan Invasion Prevention Act

This bill works to protect Taiwan from Communist China’s growing aggression. The bill would further reinforce the U.S.-Taiwan relationship and strengthens Taiwan’s ability to resist Communist China’s aggressive policies and military actions. The bill also helps Taiwan counter Communist China’s military buildup across the Taiwan straits and establishes a limited authorization for the President to use military force to secure and protect Taiwan against an armed attack.

The Deterring Communist Chinese Aggression Against Taiwan through Financial Sanctions Act, cosponsored by Senator Kevin Cramer

This bill would impose devastating financial sanctions on the Chinese government if Communist China invades or blockades Taiwan, or attempts to change the status of Taiwan’s governance through use of force.

The Protect America’s Innovation And Economic Security from CCP Act, cosponsored by Senators Bill Hagerty and Marco Rubio

This bill would codify the China Initiative and reinstate its effort to prevent spying by the Chinese Communist Party on U.S. intellectual property and U.S. academic institutions. The China Initiative would focus on identifying and prosecuting those engaged in trade secret theft, hacking, and economic espionage, as well as protecting our critical infrastructure against external threats through foreign direct investment and supply chain compromises.

The No CCP (Chinese Communist Police) in the United States Act of 2023, cosponsored by Senators Thom Tillis and Mike Braun

This bill would require the State Department, in collaboration with the FBI, to publish all countries who have a “joint police initiative” with the Chinese Communist Party to ensure all American travelers are aware of existing agreements when traveling to another country for business or leisure.

Read more HERE.

Senator Rick Scott joined Senator Mark Warner to introduce their American Security Drone Act which would prohibit the purchase of drones from countries identified as national security threats, such as China.

Senator Rick Scott said, “I’ve been clear for years: the United States should never spend taxpayer dollars on anything made in Communist China, especially drones which pose a significant threat to our national security. Xi and the Communist Party of China are on a quest for global domination and whether it’s with spy balloons, TikTok or drones, they will stop at nothing to infiltrate our society and steal our data. I’m proud to join my colleagues to reintroduce the bipartisan American Security Drone Act to STOP the U.S. from buying drones manufactured in nations identified as national security threats. This important bill is critical to our national security and should be passed by the Senate, House and signed into law IMMEDIATELY.”

Read more from Senator Mark Warner’s office HERE.

Senator Rick Scott joined Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to introduce a bipartisan bill to prohibit the sale of American crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to any company under the control of the Chinese Communist Party, and prohibit the export of any crude oil from the SPR to China.

Senators John Boozman (R-Ark.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Angus King (I-Maine), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) cosponsored the legislation. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed similar legislation by an overwhelming, bipartisan vote of 331-97, with 113 House Democrats voting in support of the bill.

Senator Rick Scott said, “In only two years as president, Joe Biden has managed to cozy up to Communist China AND wage a war on American energy. Families are facing historically high prices when it comes to gas and groceries and it is forcing them to make tough choices. The LAST THING Joe Biden should be doing with America’s strategic petroleum reserve is giving it away to our adversaries. We must focus on unleashing American energy for America—NOT Communist China.”

Read the legislation HERE.

Senator Rick Scott joined Senator Tom Cotton and their colleagues in introducing the China Trade Relations Act to strip China of its Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status.

This legislation would require China to obtain Most Favored Nation (MFN) status through annual presidential approval, per the requirements of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. The bill would also expand the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to include human rights and trade abuses as disqualifying factors for MFN status.

Senator Rick Scott said, “The CCP cares about one thing: undermining America. There is no reason why the United States should be helping a communist government’s trade operation through preferential treatment and ‘most-favored-nation’ status. That is absolutely absurd when they are working against us. It is time to put American interests first, not the CCP, and reverse this antiquated law.”

Read more HERE.

Senator Rick Scott and Representative Bill Posey are demanding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo investigate whether Chinese solar companies under investigation for illegally circumventing U.S. trade law helped power a Chinese surveillance balloon before it was shot down.

In the letter to the secretaries, Senator Scott and Representative Posey note they are moving forward with bipartisan legislation that utilizes the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to reverse the damage done by the Solar Emergency Declaration. It is believed this declaration may have possibly undermined economic and national security by protecting Chinese solar manufacturers that are not only illegally violating U.S. trade law, but also advancing the surveillance activities of the Chinese military and intelligence agencies. Below is an excerpt from the Washington Examiner article:

“In the letter, Scott and Posey argued that an emergency rule intended to quell a nervous solar industry could be shielding companies linked to Beijing’s spy balloon fleet. The lawmakers also asked whether the Biden administration would take action against Chinese panel manufacturers violating U.S. trade laws intended to level the playing field for American workers.

‘Not only is the Biden administration protecting Chinese solar companies and allowing them to continue illegal trade activity without consequence, but the administration is also quite possibly protecting the very same companies providing solar panels that are powering Chinese spy balloons,’ Scott and Posey write.

Scott and Posey said the event raises major questions about whether the administration’s solar policy is undermining national security ‘by protecting Chinese solar manufacturers that are not only illegally violating U.S. trade law, but also advancing the surveillance activities of the Chinese military and intelligence agencies.’

…

In the letter, Scott and Posey ask if the administration has determined whether the panels that helped operate the balloon were manufactured by a company with known trade violations and whether the Pentagon has panels in use by the same company.

The episode has stirred questions about Beijing’s surveillance programs and Washington’s willingness to respond to even the most visible incursions. Now, Scott and Posey are urging the Biden administration to connect the dots between China’s trade violations made possibly by the government’s use of industrial subsidies and its aerial spy program.”

Read the full article in The Washington Examiner HERE and the full letter HERE.