Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Republican Tennessee Rep. Mark Green, is introducing a bill Wednesday that aims to purge Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence from the State Department.
The “No CCP Consultants Act,” first obtained by the Daily Caller, would prohibit the State Department from using a consultant or consulting firm that has previously engaged in work for an “adversarial government.” The CCP and the Government of the Russian Federation are each named as a “covered entity” under the bill. The legislation prohibits the Secretary of State from entering, renewing or extending a contract with such entities. (RELATED: Gavin Newsom Says Biden Admin Told Him Not To Bring Up Human Rights Abuses With Xi, Focus On Climate Change)
“The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will seize every opportunity to undermine our national security,” Green said in a statement to the Daily Caller. “The State Department should never retain consultants and firms that deal with China’s communist regime. This goes beyond irresponsibility; it is dangerous.”
Green’s office could not specify which major consulting firms the bill would crack down on.
U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) speaks alongside U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise (L) (R-LA), U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) during a Republican-led forum on the origins of the COVID-19 virus at the U.S. Capitol on June 29, 2021 in Washington, DC. The forum examined the theory that the coronavirus came from a lab in Wuhan, China. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The House Homeland Security Committee has been working to crack down on CCP influence within the United States; Green and the committee demanded in September that the Biden administration provide more records about information that emerged alleging Chinese nationals conducted unauthorized surveillance of highly sensitive U.S. facilities, including the White House.
“My bill acts as a safeguard,” Green said in a statement to the Daily Caller. “The State Department handles diplomatic strategy, sensitive material, classified intelligence and the data of millions of Americans through passports and visas. Any consultant or firm which has worked for an adversarial government should have a stop sign put in its way when it comes to being retained by the State Department.”
“The stakes are too high. Allowing the CCP or other adversarial government consultants close proximity to the State Department is foolish.”