Washington, D.C. — Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) has co-sponsored S. 2894, the Science and Technology Agreement Enhanced Congressional Notification Act.
The bill would strengthen oversight of science and technology agreements (STAs) between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by requiring the Secretary of State to provide comprehensive details to Congress about any new, renewed, or extended agreement and establishing a minimum 30-day Congressional review period.
The bill was originally introduced by Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE).
Sen. Budd said in a statement:
“In this new era of authoritarian aggression, it’s imperative that we do more to counter risks from the unfair economic practices and intellectual property theft being carried out by adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party. I want to thank Senator Ricketts for his leadership in this effort to ensure Congress has the tools needed to do our due diligence in providing more oversight over these scientific and technological agreements with China that could put our national security at risk.”
Background:
The bill prohibits the Secretary of State from renewing or extending the STA until he has provided Congress with at least 30 days to review:
- The full text of the agreement.
- A detailed justification for the STA, including an explanation as to why such agreement is in the national security interests of the United States.
- An assessment of the risks and potential effects of such agreement, including any potential for the transfer under such agreement of technology or intellectual property capable of harming the national security interests of the United States.
- A detailed justification for how the Secretary intends to address human rights concerns in any scientific and technology collaboration proposed to be conducted under such agreement.
- An assessment of the extent to which the Secretary will be able to continuously monitor the commitments made by the PRC under such agreement.
Upon enactment of this legislation, the Secretary has 60 days to provide Congress with the necessary reporting requirements listed above or any existing STA with the PRC will be revoked.
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