Brian Mast

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support for H.R. 1486, the Economic Espionage Prevention Act, introduced by my colleague from Georgia (Mr. McCormick). The Chinese Communist Party is working to undermine America's interests around the world and is the global supplier of America's adversaries. As President Trump and his administration are working tirelessly to finally bring an end to the war in Ukraine, the CCP continues to stoke global chaos by providing massive amounts of industrial and economic support to Russia. In fact, our State Department assessed that in the second half of 2023 alone, China supported the transfer of nearly $300 million worth of semiconductors to Russia, including for use in missiles and drones. The CCP's actions are blatant violations of U.S. export controls and detrimental to our ongoing peace efforts. China's economic and industrial support for Russia is a critical lifeline for the Russian military. This is why it is critical that Congress pass the Economic Espionage Prevention Act. This bill would provide important sanction authorities for cutting off the CCP's illegal and industrial supply chains to America's adversaries. Enhancing U.S. export control enforcement with economic sanctions will help shut down China's massive support for Russia's defense industrial base. This bill also enhances Congress' visibility into this illicit supply chain by requiring the State Department to issue a report identifying these individuals and entities that are supporting the Russian defense industrial base. The CCP is relentlessly undermining President Trump's efforts to bring an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Chinese companies illegally supplying Russia in violation of U.S. export controls must be subjected to the full weight of our sanctions regime. The bill ensures that the CCP and the world understand that supplying America's adversaries comes with a very severe cost. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC, May 1, 2025. Hon. Brian Mast, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Mast: I write regarding H.R. 1486, 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 insert this letter in the Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 1486 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. MAST. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. McCormick), the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. MAST. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, in closing, I again thank Representative McCormick for his bill, as well as Select Committee on the CCP Chairman Moolenaar and Representatives Baumgartner and Lawler for their work to bring this bill to the floor to ensure that we finally end China's support for Russia's defense industrial base. It is a great piece of legislation, and I urge all Members to support H.R. 1486. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1540) to provide for the imposition of sanctions with respect to forced organ harvesting within the People's Republic of China, and for other purposes.

Mr. MAST. Madam 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 issue.

Mr. MAST. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1540, Mr. Perry's Falun Gong Protection Act. For decades, the House of Representatives has been raising alarms about organ harvesting perpetrated by the Chinese Communist Party. We spoke about it earlier. As United Nations human rights experts stated in 2021: ``Forced organ harvesting in China appears to be targeting specific ethnic, linguistic, or religious minorities held in detention, often without being [informed of] the reasons for their arrest or provided arrest warrants.'' Among those most frequently reported as targets are Falun Gong practitioners and Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang Province. These detainees, often imprisoned for their beliefs, are subjected to medical procedures that other prisoners are not: blood draws, organ examinations, and ultrasound scans. These are not for their health. These results are then entered into a database, turning them into a human inventory for a state-run organ harvesting system. This is barbaric. These crimes, these abuses by the Chinese Communist Party, must end. I think we can all agree that they have to come to an end. The legislation before us today, the Falun Gong Protection Act, takes long-overdue action to confront this horror. It directs the U.S. Government to identify and publicly name individuals and entities involved in forced organ harvesting in China. It imposes targeted sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act, including visa bans and asset freezes, against those responsible. It strengthens reporting requirements for the State Department, ensuring that U.S. foreign policy fully accounts for the scope of organ trafficking abuses. Madam Speaker, I urge support of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC, May 1, 2025. Hon. Brian Mast, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Mast: I write regarding H.R. 1540, the Falun Gong Protection 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 insert this letter in the Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 1540 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. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry), the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, this bill signals that the United States will not tolerate the use of state violence to extract profit from the bodies of the persecuted. I thank my friend, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry), along with his bipartisan cosponsors for their leadership on this critical human rights issue. Mr. Speaker, I urge strong support of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1724) to prohibit the use of funds supporting any activities within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, as amended.

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

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the No Dollars to Uyghur Forced Labor Act. The Chinese Communist Party is carrying out a campaign of genocide against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. The evidence, documented by human rights organizations, journalists, and survivors, is overwhelming: over a million people detained, families torn apart, entire communities forced into labor in factories that feed global supply chains. Some of those goods end up right here in the United States on our shelves and in our homes. The No Dollars to Uyghur Forced Labor Act makes one principle clear: Not a single American taxpayer dollar should be used to purchase goods, raw materials, or services tainted by Uyghur forced labor. It ensures that Federal contracts, programs, and policies only go to companies that can certify their supply chains are free from this abuse. American consumers should not be complicit in human rights violations. American businesses should not profit from forced labor, and our government, our tax dollars, must never enable oppression. Mr. Speaker, I urge strong support, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Moran), the sponsor of this legislation and a former committee member.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Speaker, this bill, this debate, and previous bills send a clear message to the Chinese Communist Party and to the world, the United States does not turn a blind eye to China's atrocities. I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Moran) for his leadership. We must pass this bill and say with one voice: Not one more dollar. I urge my colleagues to pass this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1316) to amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 relating to licensing transparency, as amended.

Mr. MAST. 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. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Maintaining American Superiority by Improving Export Control Transparency Act. I wish my colleague could have picked a shorter name for it, but that is my friend, Mr. Jackson. He does good legislation, sometimes a little long- winded on the names. Export controls are a critical tool for protecting American national security. Foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party are working tirelessly to steal and exploit U.S. technology. We have known this. The CCP is using its military-civil fusion strategy to fuel China's military buildup and commit human rights atrocities, just like we spoke about on Uyghur genocide. No American servicemember should have to face a foreign adversary armed with U.S. technology, and no act of genocide should be enabled by American innovation. As important as export controls are to protecting American lives and values, they are only as strong as their administration and enforcement. Every U.S. export control ultimately requires the government to decide on whether to approve or deny a license for the item in question. The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, or the BIS, is the lead agency for administering and enforcing U.S. export controls. As export controls have become more vital to our national security, the importance of congressional oversight has only increased. The licensing data for how BIS is administering export controls can be difficult for Congress to gain access to for oversight purposes. Last Congress, the Foreign Affairs Committee worked persistently to uncover that BIS was routinely approving export control licenses for even the worst actors, such as Huawei and SMIC. Last Congress, the Foreign Affairs Committee worked to expose this in hearing after hearing without much help from the Biden administration. Huawei and SMIC are two of the CCP's national champions and play a critical role in supporting China's military buildup and human rights abuses. It is essential that Congress has visibility into how many licenses are being approved for the worst actors on export control blacklists, known as the Entity List. This bill will improve transparency and ensure Congress is able to conduct regular oversight of how BIS is handling licenses and how effectively our export controls are being enforced. I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Jackson), and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Jacobs) for introducing this important legislation. The Foreign Affairs Committee marked up this legislation last Congress, and it passed the committee and the House floor with strong bipartisan support. I expect it will receive the same support today. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Maintaining American Superiority by Improving Export Control Transparency Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Jackson), the sponsor of this long-titled legislation.

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the purpose of closing. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working to improve transparency and congressional oversight of U.S. export controls. It is vital. That can't be overstated enough. It is vital. I urge all Members to vote in favor of H.R. 1316, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2416) to amend the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act of 2019 to provide that the United States, as a member of any international organizations, should oppose any attempts by the People's Republic of China to resolve Taiwan's status by distorting the decisions, language, policies, or procedures of the organization, and for other purposes.

Mr. MAST. 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. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, Taiwan is not just a friend. Taiwan is a self-governing democracy, a critical economic partner, and a responsible global stakeholder. It deserves to be seen and heard and not erased or silenced. When the United States shows leadership, we know that others follow. We must lead now before the Chinese Communist Party permanently rewrites international norms. I thank Mr. Connolly for his work on this piece of legislation. I miss seeing my friend here. As much as we have differences on many things--and we have had many intense arguments back and forth--I wouldn't want to argue with anybody else. I miss seeing him here. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MAST

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1800) to repeal the sunset provision of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, and for other purposes.

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

Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1800, the Solidify Iran Sanctions Act of 2025. The Iran Sanctions Act was enacted back in 1996. For 29 years, this law has acted as the cornerstone of U.S. efforts to address the Iran regime's malign influence. From its support to terrorist proxies to its dangerous nuclear program, the impact of the regime's provocative actions continues to be felt far and wide. These sanctions are more important now than ever. As this administration pursues a last-ditch effort to address the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program diplomatically, these sanctions continue to provide much-needed leverage to address the full range of Iran's malign activity. They are a vital and necessary tool not only to deny Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon and to cut off its enrichment capabilities but also to counter Iran's malign influence abroad, including its ongoing support to terrorist proxies like the Houthis. What we see across the region and beyond is that the threat Iran poses to the United States and our partners and allies is becoming more and more entrenched. We need a policy response that is durable and shows that we are committed, day in and day out, to choking off any financial support to Iran's malign activities. That is why, today, the House is considering the Solidify Iran Sanctions Act, which would eliminate the upcoming 2026 sunset from the Iran Sanctions Act. We need to send Iran a clear and simple message. They cannot wait out our sanctions. Our sanctions will not expire on some arbitrary date. The only way to make U.S. sanctions go away is to stop the sanctionable conduct and not threaten the United States' national security interests or our allies, period. The fact that we are considering this bill under suspension of rules is hugely significant. It shows that eliminating this sunset is not a partisan issue. Republicans and Democrats agree that we need durable, long-lasting, and long-term pressure on Iran. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.