This week, U.S. Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Bob Casey, D-Penn., teamed up on a bill to “provide transparency into investments made by American private equity firms in countries of concern like China and Russia.”
Casey introduced the “Disclosing Investment in Foreign Adversaries Act” with Scott co-sponsoring it.
“Currently, private equity and venture capital firms can invest Americans’ savings and pensions in China without the American people’s knowledge. The legislation would require private equity, mutual funds and ETFs to annually disclose the percentage of any assets invested in countries like China to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); require the SEC to publicly release a report of firms investing assets in countries of concern and the percentage of those invested assets; entities selling stock in the private markets would also be required to disclose the recipient of the investment, the intended location of the investment, and the investment’s intended purpose. Without the ability for the U.S. public to monitor investments made by large private equity and venture capital funds in foreign economies, American states, municipalities, universities, unions, and pension funds could unknowingly be investing in the United States’ economic competitors like China and Russia,” Scott’s office noted.
“Americans deserve to know where and how their savings are being invested. It is vital to know if our money is being used to boost the economies of our adversaries who steal our technological know-how and steal our jobs. This legislation will help the United States better understand how our own dollars are being used to advance the interests of countries like China,” said Casey.
“Our adversaries, like Communist China, benefit from a complete lack of transparency allowing them to hide and fund bad behavior—especially when it comes to financial markets. These foreign adversaries lie, cheat and steal, and it’s almost impossible to call them out for it. It is time to stop sending American dollars to these countries of concern. I am proud to lead this bipartisan charge with my colleague Senator Casey as we work across the aisle to hold bad actors accountable,” said Scott.
The American Securities Association and FDD Action are backing the proposal.
The bill was sent to the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. So far, there is no companion bill in the U.S. House.
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