WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Senator Rick Scott and Senator Marsha Blackburn introduced the Countering Corrupt Political (CCP) Influence Act to crack down on foreign adversaries attempts to conduct espionage on U.S. soil. The CCP Influence Act requires officials from the Communist Party of China, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, Russia, North Korea, and other adversarial nations to notify the U.S. Department of State 96 hours in advance of any planned government meetings, including to educational or research institutions, and requires the State Department to submit monthly reports of these meetings to Congress.

This legislation would codify and expand a recent move by the Trump administration’s Department of State to require members of the Cuban regime to notify the U.S. government before entering the United States and meeting our state and local officials, which poses significant risks to our national security. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, in a report published in 2018, found that “Chinese theft of American intellectual property (IP) cost between $225 billion and $600 billion annually.”

Senator Rick Scott said, “The United States is facing threats from adversaries around the world who want to destroy our way of life. Xi and the Communist Chinese Party have blatantly spied on the United States, stolen our research and intellectual data, and attempted to infiltrate the inner workings of government to the regime’s interests. Under the Biden administration, Cuban officials were given the red-carpet treatment at Miami International Airport and given a literal tour of airport security operations, while the dictatorship proudly harbors terrorists and hosts a Chinese spy base 90 miles from Florida’s shore. For years, these regimes have been allowed to exploit America, our government, and our research while denying Americans the same privilege in their nations. We cannot continue putting America’s national security at risk by allowing regimes unlimited access to spy on U.S. soil. President Trump is taking significant action to stand against our adversaries and put America and our national security first, and Congress must do the same by passing my CCP Influence Act.”

Senator Marsha Blackburn said, “Our adversaries will not hesitate to infiltrate American institutions to achieve their own objectives. The Countering Corrupt Political Influence Act would require foreign missions of adversarial countries - including Communist China, Russia, and Iran - to disclose their diplomatic activities to the Department of State, strengthening transparency and enabling the U.S. to counter their malign influence.”

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