WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Ronny Jackson (TX-13) introduced legislation to strengthen the federal government's strategy in combatting the Chinese Communist Party’s military and economic aggression.

In the Fiscal Year 1999 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress directed the Department of Defense (DoD) 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 Biden has since followed President Trump’s lead, but diverted authority from DoD to the Department of the Treasury. Jackson asserts that this decision was a strategic failure, and his legislation would help get DoD back into the process.

Jackson said: “The Chinese Communist Party is the greatest threat our country faces, so we cannot afford a strategic shortfall that gives China a leg up. No one understands the threat posed by Chinese Communist military companies better than DoD. Their analysis of which companies we should sanction is rooted in the National Defense Strategy, which guides the U.S. military in our great power competition with China. Our national security should always come first in the conversation on China, and DoD is much better positioned than Treasury to identify these threats.  For these reasons, we must ensure DoD remains a part of the conversation and my legislation will do just that.”

Bill text can be found here. Jackson is a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees.

###