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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 104 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 104

    Condemning the Chinese Communist Party's use of a high-altitude 
surveillance balloon over United States territory as a brazen violation 
                     of United States sovereignty.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 8, 2023

    Mr. McCaul (for himself, Mr. Fry, and Mr. Zinke) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
    Condemning the Chinese Communist Party's use of a high-altitude 
surveillance balloon over United States territory as a brazen violation 
                     of United States sovereignty.

Whereas, on February 2, 2023, the Department of Defense publicly announced it 
        was tracking over United States territory a high-altitude surveillance 
        balloon belonging to the People's Republic of China (PRC);
Whereas the Department of Defense has since acknowledged that North American 
        Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) first began tracking the surveillance 
        balloon on January 28, 2023, prior to its entry into United States 
        airspace;
Whereas the Secretary of Defense has stated that the balloon ``was being used by 
        the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental 
        United States'';
Whereas the surveillance balloon traveled near sensitive United States national 
        security facilities, including Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana;
Whereas, on February 4, 2023, a United States Air Force aircraft shot down the 
        surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina;
Whereas the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) intelligence collection directed 
        against the United States poses a threat to United States interests and 
        security;
Whereas, while the PRC has a long history of intelligence collection operations 
        against United States national security entities, reports of its 
        espionage have risen significantly in recent years;
Whereas the CCP attempted to spread false claims about the nature and purpose of 
        the surveillance balloon, falsely claiming it to be a weather balloon 
        that veered off-course due to ``force majeure'' events;
Whereas, on February 3, 2023, the Secretary of State postponed his planned trip 
        to the PRC and referred to the balloon incident as an ``irresponsible 
        act and a clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law that 
        undermined the purpose of the trip'';
Whereas Article I of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known 
        as the Chicago Convention, states that ``every State has complete and 
        exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory'';
Whereas although PRC surveillance balloons have previously violated United 
        States airspace, this incident differs from those prior violations due 
        to the length of time the balloon spent over United States territory; 
        and
Whereas it is in the United States national security interest to deter foreign 
        adversaries from engaging in intelligence collection and other malign 
        activities within United States territory and airspace: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the PRC's brazen violation of United States 
        sovereignty;
            (2) denounces the CCP's efforts to deceive the 
        international community through false claims about its 
        intelligence collection campaigns in violation of United States 
        sovereignty;
            (3) determines that it should be the policy of the United 
        States to promptly and decisively act to prevent foreign aerial 
        surveillance platforms, including those directed by or 
        connected to the CCP, from violating United States sovereignty; 
        and
            (4) calls on the Biden administration to continue to keep 
        Congress apprised by providing comprehensive briefings on this 
        incident that include--
                    (A) a complete account of all known infiltrations 
                of the national airspace by the PRC over the past 
                several years, regardless of platform;
                    (B) a complete account of similar past incidents of 
                the PRC's use of surveillance balloons around the 
                world;
                    (C) a complete timeline of events for the most 
                recent infiltration from first detection to the 
                eventual shootdown of the balloon;
                    (D) an assessment of what surveillance data the PRC 
                was potentially able to collect or transmit, via the 
                balloon while it was over United States territory;
                    (E) a detailed account of what measures were taken 
                to mitigate the intelligence collection threat posed by 
                the balloon, the costs of those measures, and the 
                impact on the regular operations of the affected 
                installations, platforms, and personnel;
                    (F) a description of what options were identified 
                to mitigate the threat, and a description and timing of 
                the recommendation the U.S. military made to the 
                President regarding those response options;
                    (G) a detailed account of diplomatic communications 
                between the United States and the PRC regarding this 
                incident, including any demarches by Department of 
                State personnel and subsequent responses by the PRC; 
                and
                    (H) a detailed description of plans, capabilities, 
                and methods to deter and defeat intelligence collection 
                activities conducted by the PRC or other foreign 
                adversaries in the national airspace system and any 
                additional authorities needed from Congress to ensure 
                detection and defeat of these activities in the future.
                                 <all>
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