This week, Florida’s senators championed a bill “to increase the frequency and quality of outbound investment data so that it reflects the full extent of investment in China and the sectors where that investment flows” which would “mandate that information about U.S. investment in China be shared with Congress on a regular basis.”
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced the “American Investment Accountability Act” with U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., co-sponsoring it.
“Americans invest hundreds of billions of dollars in Communist China, including in sensitive companies and sectors. Yet, Congress and the U.S. government do not have access to accurate, timely data about how much American money is flowing to China, and for what purposes. In fact, investment in China is obscured in many government reports, which fail to account for investments masked by intermediaries. This quirk makes it appear as if offshore financial centers like the Cayman Islands are the top recipients of U.S. investment when most of that money flows to China,” Rubio’s office noted.
“Our current investment reporting policies have critical information gaps. This bill would ensure that policymakers have access to accurate data on investments by Americans into Communist China,” said Rubio.
“We know that CCP-controlled companies with access to our markets are funneling massive amounts of capital, data and information back to Communist China, an adversary of the United States, led by an evil dictator who wants to destroy our economy to achieve global dominance. We need transparency about how money is flowing out of the U.S. and this bill would create the transparency and disclosures required to understand the true influence of Communist China in our markets,” said Scott.
The bill was sent to the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
Over in the U.S. House, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY, is championing the proposal.
“I am proud to introduce the American Investment Accountability Act to ensure that there is accurate and timely information on the true scope and nature of American investments into Communist China and other adversarial countries. The current reports done by the Biden Administration’s Commerce and Treasury Departments are insufficient and leave Americans vulnerable. We must have greater visibility into how U.S. investment is strengthening the capabilities of our adversaries,” said Stefanik.
Stefanik has reeled in three co-sponsors for her bill including U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla. Her bill was sent to the U.S. House Financial Services and the Foreign Affairs Committees.
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