Andy Barr

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1103, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Certification Act introduced by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith). Hong Kong was once a shining beacon in Asia and the gateway into China, known for its economic freedom, rule of law, and vibrant civil society. Tragically, this ended when the Chinese Communist Party crushed democracy and free enterprise in Hong Kong. People of all walks of life, and much international capital, have fled this authoritarian wave, and the city has never been the same. We cannot allow the CCP to use Hong Kong's former legitimacy as a continuing gateway into U.S. systems. Both Secretary of State Pompeo and Secretary Blinken have certified that because of the Chinese Communist Party's control over Hong Kong's legislature, judicial system, and police force, Hong Kong can no longer be considered a separate entity from the People's Republic of China. We must adjust our treatment of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices to match the sad current reality. This bill would require the President to annually certify whether those offices should be covered by the International Organizations Immunities Act. If certification is not granted, they must terminate their operations in the United States. The bipartisan membership of the Foreign Affairs Committee voted unanimously in favor of this bill at our markup last year. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of our colleagues to support the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Certification Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), who is a tireless champion for human rights. He is the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, and he is the author of this bill.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the purpose of closing. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Smith as well as Mr. McGovern and their bipartisan cosponsors for bringing this bill forward. The tragedy that has unfolded in Hong Kong and the ripping up of an international treaty by the Chinese Communist Party is a stark lesson that Beijing cannot be trusted, which we have to learn, especially when it comes to deterrence in Taiwan. We cannot allow what happened in Hong Kong to happen to the democracy in Taiwan. We also cannot allow the Chinese Communist Party to use Hong Kong's economic and trade offices as a back door into the United States. They must not be able to use the preferential treatment previously afforded to the city and society they continue to brutalize and oppress. For these and many other reasons, I urge all Members to vote in favor of H.R. 1103, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8361) to impose sanctions with respect to economic or industrial espionage by foreign adversarial companies, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 8361, the Economic Espionage Prevention Act, introduced by my colleague and friend from Georgia, Mr. McCormick. Today, our adversaries are working more closely than ever before. The Chinese Communist Party is providing massive industrial and economic support to Russia's renewed invasion of Ukraine. In fact, our State Department assesses that in the second half of 2023, China supported the transfer of nearly $300 million worth of semiconductors to Russia, including for use in missiles and drones. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said: ``I think we have assessed over the course of the last couple of months that Russia has almost completely reconstituted militarily . . . with the support of China in particular.'' The Economic Espionage Prevention Act is therefore essential to changing the nature of the battlefield in Ukraine. This bill addresses cooperation between the CCP and Russia's defense industrial base by providing for sanctions against Chinese and Iranian individuals and entities that violate U.S. export control laws, engage in economic or industrial espionage, or support the Russian defense industrial base. The bill also requires the State Department to issue a report identifying Chinese individuals and entities that are supporting the Russian defense industrial base. The United States and our allies cannot stand for China's decisive support of Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. The Chinese companies providing that support must be subjected to the full weight of our sanctions regime. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC, September 3, 2024. Hon. Michael McCaul, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman McCaul: I write regarding H.R. 8361, the Economic Espionage Prevention Act. Provisions of this bill fall within the Judiciary Committee's rule X jurisdiction, and I appreciate that you consulted with us on those provisions. The Judiciary Committee agrees that it shall be discharged from further consideration of the bill so that it may proceed expeditiously to the House floor. The Committee takes this action with the understanding that forgoing further consideration of this measure does not in any way alter the Committee's jurisdiction or waive any future jurisdictional claim over these provisions or their subject matter. We also reserve the right to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees in the event of a conference with the Senate involving this measure or similar legislation. I ask that you please include this letter in your committee's report to accompany this legislation or insert this letter in the Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 8361 on the House floor. I appreciate the cooperative manner in which our committees have worked on this matter, and I look forward to working collaboratively in the future on matters of shared jurisdiction. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Jim Jordan, Chairman.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. McCormick), a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the author of this bill.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative McCormick for his bill and for his service, as well as Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Meeks, and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan for working to bring this bipartisan bill to the floor to ensure that we address China's support for Russia's defense industrial base. There should be no doubt that the Chinese Communists are aiding and abetting Putin in his illegal aggression against Ukraine. General Secretary Xi and Putin have described the bilateral alliance between the PRC and Russia as a no-limits relationship. The material support that China is providing Russia with the semiconductors is evidence of that. Mr. Speaker, that is why I urge all Members to support H.R. 8361, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers. I am prepared to close.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 5245, the Science and Technology Agreement Enhanced Congressional Notification Act. In 2012, General Keith Alexander said that China's theft of industrial information and intellectual property through cyber espionage constituted the greatest transfer of wealth in history. The annual cost to the U.S. economy of China's intellectual property theft is between $225 billion and $600 billion. China is using this access to American science and technology, including academic and research partnerships, to support state-owned or controlled national champions in key dual-use technologies. In 1979, the United States and China signed a bilateral agreement to build science and technology ties between the two countries. In 2018, the agreement was amended to address U.S. concerns about China's approach to technology, innovation, and practices of concern, including IP theft and forced technology transfer. In February of 2024, the two sides agreed to another 6-month extension of the agreement to negotiate renewal terms, which actually expired on August 27. This current lapse in the agreement provides the ideal context for Congress to assert our oversight responsibilities to ensure that any subsequent agreement does not threaten U.S. national security and American intellectual property. Let's take a step back and review why we are here at this moment. Why is this a problem today? Well, in his authoritative and influential book, ``The Hundred-Year Marathon,'' Michael Pillsbury recounts key historical events since the Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949, in which China embarked on this 100-year marathon to displace the United States as the world's global superpower. In this book, he writes about this science and technology agreement and the mistake that was made, dating back to 1978. Here is what he says: ``In 1978, relations with the United States moved toward normalization--that is, official American recognition of Communist China as the legitimate government of the Chinese people. That year, Deng focused immediately on what was at the top of his American wish list: science and technology. This was an example of the Warring States concept known as wu wei, or having others do your work. ``As he formulated a strategy in 1978, Deng understood, as he put it, that `technology is the number one productive force' for economic growth. The only way China could pass the United States as an economic power, Deng believed, was through massive scientific and technological development. An essential shortcut would be to take what the Americans already had. Deng found a willing partner in that effort in a new American President, Jimmy Carter, who was eager to achieve the diplomatic coup of a formal Sino-American partnership.'' Later in that same chapter, he continues: ``On January 31, 1979, during his visit to the United States, Deng and Fang Yi, director of the State Science and Technology Commission, signed agreements with the U.S. Government to speed up scientific exchanges. That year, the first 50 Chinese students flew to America. In the first 5 years of exchanges, some 19,000 Chinese students would study at American universities, mainly in the physical sciences, health sciences, and engineering, and their numbers would continue to increase. ``Carter and Deng also signed agreements on consular offices, trade, science, and technology--with the United States providing all sorts of scientific and technical knowledge to Chinese scientists in what would amount to the greatest outpouring of American scientific and technological expertise in history.'' Mr. Speaker, we now know that was a massive, massive mistake. This bill establishes new oversight tools to create transparency and accountability in U.S.-China relations by requiring congressional notification of any scientific and technological partnership agreements between the two nations. Under this bill, the State Department would be required to inform the House Foreign Affairs Committee 15 days before renewing the agreement, including the contents of the deal, national security concerns, and how the agreement addresses human rights concerns. Science and technology are central to U.S.-China strategic competition, which are shaping the course of this century. Thus, Congress must exercise its oversight authority to ensure that U.S. national security and foreign policy interests are protected. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Science and Technology Agreement Enhanced Congressional Notification Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. In closing, I thank Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Meeks, and the bipartisan membership of the Foreign Affairs Committee, who voted 50-0 to move this bill forward. Regrettably, in the 1970s, when the United States extended the hand of peace, extended the hand of cooperation in advancement of science and technology for the advancement of mankind, that was not reciprocated. In fact, instead, the Chinese Communist Party rejected peace and cooperation and stole intellectual property and militarized that technology in a very hostile way. Congress must ensure that any new science and technology agreements with China safeguard the interests, the property, and the values of the American people. Mr. Speaker, for that reason, I urge unanimous support for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8152, the Remote Access Security Act. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lawler), the author of the bill.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8152) to amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to provide for control of remote access of items, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the right to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to vote in favor of 8152, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5613) to require a review of whether individuals or entities subject to the imposition of certain sanctions through inclusion on certain sanctions lists should also be subject to the imposition of other sanctions and included on other sanctions lists, as amended.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Well done, my friend, from New York for opening and closing. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, Congressman Waltz, for his leadership on this. This is a good bill. This is something we need to do. We need to force harmonization, coordination on the interagency. We have a lot of different lists. We have got the Treasury's Chinese Military-Industrial Complex List. We have the entity list at Commerce BIS. We have the Military End User List at Commerce. We have the 1260H list at DOD. We need this bill. We need better coordination. I thank Chairman McCaul and Armed Services Committee Chairman Rogers for their leadership in moving this bill to the floor today. I hope that all of our colleagues will join us in ensuring that U.S. sanctions remain a powerful tool for defending our interests and values against those who seek to undermine democracy, security, and human rights around the world. Until we get outbound sanctions legislation, this is a good placeholder. Mr. Speaker, I urge unanimous support for H.R. 5613, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7701) to require the imposition of sanctions with respect to any foreign person that knowingly participates in the construction, maintenance, or repair of a tunnel or bridge that connects the Russian mainland with the Crimean peninsula.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7701, the No Russian Tunnel to Crimea Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by the gentleman from New York, Ranking Member Meeks, and the gentleman from South Carolina, Mr. Wilson. China has provided Russia with extensive dual-use goods that by the administration's own admission have helped Russia revitalize its defense industrial base, rebuild its military, and continue its genocidal campaign of aggression against Ukraine. Aiding in the construction of repair of any infrastructure connecting Russia and Crimea would be yet another example of Chairman Xi's ``no limits partnership'' with Putin. Mr. Speaker, for this reason, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC, September 3, 2024. Hon. Michael McCaul, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman McCaul: I write regarding H.R. 7701, the No Russian Tunnel to Crimea Act. Provisions of this bill fall within the Judiciary Committee's Rule X jurisdiction, and I appreciate that you consulted with us on those provisions. The Judiciary Committee agrees that it shall be discharged from further consideration of the bill so that it may proceed expeditiously to the House floor. The Committee takes this action with the understanding that forgoing further consideration of this measure does not in any way alter the Committee's jurisdiction or waive any future jurisdictional claim over these provisions or their subject matter. We also reserve the right to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees in the event of a conference with the Senate involving this measure or similar legislation. I ask that you please include this letter in your committee's report to accompany this legislation or insert this letter in the Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 7701 on the House floor. I appreciate the cooperative manner in which our committees have worked on this matter, and I look forward to working collaboratively in the future on matters of shared jurisdiction. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Jim Jordan, Chairman.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support H.R. 7701, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a special man, James D. Anderson, Jr. Mr. Anderson passed away on May 21, 2024. He served the people of Powell County as Judge-Executive. Mr. Anderson was born on June 4, 1975, in Winchester, KY. He graduated from Powell County High School and the University of Kentucky with a degree in Agricultural Economics. Mr. Anderson was a lifelong farmer and cherished his animals. Mr. Anderson was a strong advocate for the people of Powell County. He was elected County Judge Executive and served three terms in that important leadership position. He supported numerous worthy projects, including the creation of Hollerwood ATV Park, construction projects for the Emergency Dispatch and Operation Center, the Senior Citizens Center, the Animal Shelter, Recycling Center, and jail expansion projects. He worked on improving the infrastructure of Powell County by paving over 5 miles of gravel roads and being a part of over twenty bridge projects and flood mitigation projects. In 2019, Mr. Anderson was recognized by the Kentucky Association of Counties as the County Judge Executive of the Year. Mr. Anderson was a well-respected member of his community. He loved God and he loved his family. He was a member of Stanton Christian Church and the Powell County Lions Club. Mr. Anderson is survived by his wife Candace, his son James, and his daughter Josi. It is my honor to lift up the life of this dedicated public servant. Mr. Anderson's leadership and his love for Powell County will be greatly missed.