Rep. Jackson Introduces First Piece of Legislation, Stands up to the Chinese Communist Party

Yesterday I introduced my first piece of legislation as a Member of Congress, titled Opposing Business with Chinese Military Companies Act. This legislative effort is a part of a broad push by the Republican Study Committee, the House’s largest Republican caucus, aimed at carrying on President Trump’s legacy of standing up to the Chinese Communist Party.

In the Fiscal Year 1999 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress directed the President to produce a list of Chinese Communist military companies operating in America and gave the President authority to impose sanctions on them. For over 20 years the law was ignored, and no President had the courage to use this authority until President Trump came on the scene.

President Trump produced the list, including companies like Huawei, and imposed critical sanctions. President Biden has since paused these sanctions, following through on his campaign promise to cozy up to China. The National Defense Strategy rightly emphasizes the growing threat of China, so removing the sanctions and allowing American dollars to go to the Chinese Communist Party would be counterproductive to the goals of the Department of Defense. Based on President Biden’s actions so far, there is a real fear that he will repeal the sanctions imposed by President Trump.

My bill changes the Fiscal Year 1999 provision from an authorization to a requirement. Additional background from the National Review can be found here.

I said: “President Trump confronted the Chinese Communist Party in a way no President had before him. It should be common sense to prohibit investment in Chinese Communist military companies, which threaten America’s national security, jeopardize American intellectual property, and aid China in carrying out genocide against its own people. Now President Biden wants to abandon these important sanctions, making clear that Congress needs to change the law from an authorization to a requirement. I, along with my colleagues in the Republican Study Committee, are committed to standing up to China’s aggression. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I am proud to introduce the Opposing Business with Chinese Military Companies Act as my first piece of legislation, and I fully intend on inserting it into this year’s NDAA.”

Original co-sponsors of the bill include Reps. Lisa McClain, Mario Diaz-Balart, Michael Waltz, Burgess Owens, Ralph Norman, Ashley Hinson, Steven Palazzo, and Jim Baird.