Washington, D.C. – There is no doubt that the CCP is our greatest geopolitical and national security threat, and everything they do is as our adversary’
February 23, 2023 — U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.), ranking member of the Homeland Security subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, is a leading voice in the Senate pushing back on aggression from the Chinese Communist Party. Recently, Senator Britt joined colleagues in introducing four pieces of legislation holding the CCP accountable and standing up for hardworking Americans.
The first was a bipartisan resolution condemning the unlawful incursion into the United States’ airspace by the People’s Republic of China high-altitude surveillance balloon, which was a brazen violation of American sovereignty. This resolution passed the Senate by unanimous consent on February 15. Second, Senator Britt has cosponsored the Foreign Adversary Risk Management (FARM) Act, which was introduced by Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.).
This bill would crack down on the CCP’s growing ownership of U.S. farmland and agricultural companies by placing the Secretary of Agriculture on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States; requiring the committee to review any investment that could result in foreign control of any U.S. agricultural business; including agricultural systems and supply chains in the definitions of critical infrastructure and critical technologies for the purposes of reviewing such investments; and mandating that the Department of Agriculture and the Government Accountability Office must each analyze and report on foreign influence in the U.S. agricultural industry. China and other foreign nations continue to pose an increasing threat to our nation’s agriculture industry. According to USDA’s 2021 report, foreign investors currently hold approximately 40 million acres of U.S. agricultural land, with increases of 2.2 million acres annually since 2015.
Next, Senator Britt cosponsored the Cutting-off Communist Profiteers (CCP) Act. This piece of legislation would prohibit any former U.S. presidential appointees from knowingly representing, aiding, or advising the Chinese Communist Party or Chinese military companies. The final piece of legislation is the Protecting America from Spies Act. Senator Britt has cosponsored this bill, which would amend Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow the Department of State to deny visas to individuals who have committed acts of espionage or intellectual property theft against the United States. This legislation intends to target Chinese Communist Party spies that are committing espionage toward American technology firms and businesses.
“The spy balloon was only the latest, most visible instance in an ongoing trend of aggressive behavior by the Chinese Communist Party,” said Senator Katie Britt. “There is no doubt that the CCP is our greatest geopolitical and national security threat, and everything they do is as our adversary. The FBI has said that they open a new counterintelligence case against China about twice per day. From stealing our intellectual property and spying on our children through TikTok, to buying up American farmland and engaging in unfair trade practices that undercut Alabama steel makers and shrimpers, we must hold the CCP accountable. We accomplish this through strength, not continued weakness, which is why I’m committed to modernizing our defense and intelligence capabilities. I’ll continue to fight to put hardworking Alabamians first while protecting our homeland.”
Senator Britt is also a member of the National Security and International Trade and Finance Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
