U.S. Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) and Republicans on the U.S. House of Representatives China Task Force (CTF) on Oct. 1 plan to issue a final report that will provide Americans with comprehensive details on the military, economic, political, and technological threats the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) poses to the nation.
“The CCP is the greatest national security challenge the United States has faced in a generation,” said Rep. Barr, who serves as co-chair of two subgroups on the task force, which was established in May by U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to hold the CCP accountable for its role in the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The CTF also offers a roadmap of strategic proposals Congress should enact to counter the CCP’s most dangerous initiatives and limit their influence on the international stage,” Rep. Barr explained on Sept. 4.
The congressman also noted that confronting the CCP should be a bipartisan effort and he urged Democrats “to re-engage in a bipartisan commitment to counter this present communist threat.” Democrats originally agreed to participate in the CTF, but then declined before the launch of the caucus.
As part of his work on CTF, Rep. Barr last month proposed two pieces of related legislation.
The NIST COVID-19 Cyber-Security Act, H.R. 7998, which Rep. Barr sponsored on Aug. 11, would instruct the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to produce standards for reducing and preventing cyberattacks against American universities researching COVID-19. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in July indicted two Chinese hackers with ties to the CCP for attempting to steal COVID-19 research.
Rep. Barr on Aug. 4 also sponsored the Transparency in Chinese Government Investment Act of 2020, H.R. 7924, which would require public disclosure from any company listed on the U.S. stock exchange receiving CCP financial support or employing any company director or officer currently or formerly part of the CCP.
In addition to releasing the CTF report, Rep. Barr plans soon to propose additional legislation to address the CCP threat.