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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) today reintroduced the Countering the Chinese Government and Communist Party’s Political Influence Operations Act, bipartisan legislation that aims to combat China’s political influence operations in the United States and worldwide. The legislation requires the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to organize an interagency task force to compile an unclassified report on China’s disinformation, press manipulation, economic coercion and influence operations in the United States and certain allies and partners who are impacted by China’s influence operations. The bill also requires a strategy to counter China’s growing influence in the United States and to protect U.S. citizens, particularly the Chinese, Uyghur and Tibetan diaspora communities, from Chinese government threats.
 
“To effectively combat the Chinese Government and Communist Party’s political influence operations here in the United States and globally, we must better understand the full scope and breadth of their efforts,” Rubio said. “I am pleased to reintroduce this important and timely legislation which, if passed, will be instructive not only for policymakers, but for the American people, media, academia and other impacted sectors.”  
 
“Our democratic processes are increasingly under attack from authoritarian governments,” Cortez Masto said. “We must fully understand those threats to effectively combat them. This bipartisan bill will raise awareness about the threat Chinese government interference poses to democratic societies around the world, while also preparing our government to develop policy solutions that protect our political processes and our national security.”
 
Joining Rubio and Cortez Masto as original cosponsors of the legislation are Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO), Ed Markey (D-MA), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Tom Cotton (R-AR).