IB 
Union Calendar No. 695 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9668 
[Report No. 118–850, Part I] 
To establish in the Department of Homeland Security a working group 
relating to countering terrorist, cybersecurity, border and port security, 
and transportation security threats posed to the United States by the 
Chinese Communist Party, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 
Mr. STRONG (for himself and Mr. SUOZZI) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to 
the Committees on Ways and Means, Financial Services, the Judiciary, 
and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
DECEMBER 10, 2024 
Additional sponsors: Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, Mr. D’ESPOSITO, Mr. GREEN 
of Tennessee, Mr. GUEST, and Mr. BUCHANAN 
DECEMBER 10, 2024 
Reported from the Committee on Homeland Security 
DECEMBER 10, 2024 
Committees on Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, Ways and Means, and the 
Judiciary discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
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A BILL 
To establish in the Department of Homeland Security a 
working group relating to countering terrorist, cybersecu-
rity, border and port security, and transportation secu-
rity threats posed to the United States by the Chinese 
Communist Party, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strategic Homeland 
Intelligence and Enforcement Legislation to Defend 
against the CCP Act’’ or the ‘‘SHIELD Against CCP 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. WORKING GROUP TO COUNTER CERTAIN THREATS 
POSED TO THE UNITED STATES BY THE CHI-
NESE COMMUNIST PARTY. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security shall establish in the 
Department of Homeland Security a working group 
(in this section referred to as the ‘‘Working 
Group’’), which shall carry out the duties specified 
in subsection (b) relating to countering terrorist, cy-
bersecurity, border and port security, and transpor-
tation security threats posed to the United States by 
the Chinese Communist Party. 
(2) DIRECTOR.— 
(A) APPOINTMENT.—The head of the 
Working Group shall be a Director (in this sec-
tion referred to as the ‘‘Director’’), who shall be 
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appointed by the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity. 
(B) REPORTING.—The Director shall re-
port to the Secretary of Homeland Security re-
garding all administrative, operational, and se-
curity matters of the Working Group. 
(3) STAFFING.—The Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall ensure the Working Group is provided 
with the following: 
(A) A sufficient number of employees to 
perform required duties. 
(B) Not fewer than one employee dedicated 
to ensuring compliance with privacy laws and 
regulations. 
(4) DETAILEES.—The Working Group may ac-
cept and employ detailees with expertise in coun-
tering terrorist, cybersecurity, border and port secu-
rity, and transportation security threats posed by 
the Chinese Communist Party to the United States, 
or in related fields, from any element of the intel-
ligence community or any other Federal agency the 
Director determines appropriate, with or without re-
imbursement, consistent with applicable laws and 
regulations regarding such employees. 
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(b) DUTIES.—The Working Group shall carry out the 
following: 
(1) Examine, assess, and report upon efforts by 
the Department of Homeland Security to counter 
terrorist, cybersecurity, border and port security, 
and transportation security threats posed to the 
United States by the Chinese Communist Party, in-
cluding efforts to counter the Chinese Communist 
Party’s— 
(A) nontraditional tactics and exploitation 
of the United States immigration system 
through— 
(i) identity theft; 
(ii) the immigrant and nonimmigrant 
visa processes; 
(iii) unlawful border crossings; 
(iv) human smuggling; and 
(v) human trafficking; 
(B) predatory economic and trade prac-
tices, including the trafficking of counterfeit 
and pirated goods, the use of forced labor, labor 
exploitation for financial gain, customs fraud, 
money laundering practices, theft of intellectual 
property and technology, and risks to the crit-
ical infrastructure supply chain; 
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(C) 
malign 
influence 
operations 
and 
transnational 
repression 
targeting 
United 
States persons; 
(D) threats to critical infrastructure; 
(E) 
direct 
or 
indirect 
support 
for 
transnational criminal organizations trafficking 
in fentanyl, illicit drug precursors, or other con-
trolled substances through— 
(i) the United States border; 
(ii) international mail shipments; or 
(iii) express consignment operations; 
(F) the movement of cross-border funds 
through traditional money laundering practices, 
third party facilitators, or emerging money 
laundering 
techniques, 
including 
cryptocurrency; and 
(G) exploitation of vulnerabilities in the 
United States export control regime, including 
the export in violation of law of controlled tech-
nologies from the United States. 
(2) Account for the resources of the Depart-
ment that are dedicated to programs aimed at coun-
tering terrorist, cybersecurity, border and port secu-
rity, and transportation security threats posed to the 
United States by the Chinese Communist Party, and 
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any supporting information as to the efficacy of each 
such program. 
(3) Build upon existing or ongoing evaluations 
and avoid unnecessary duplication by reviewing the 
findings, conclusions, and recommendations of other 
appropriate working groups, committees, commis-
sions, or entities established by the Department re-
lated to efforts to counter terrorist, cybersecurity, 
border and port security, and transportation security 
threats posed to the United States by the Chinese 
Communist Party. 
(4) Identify gaps in policies, processes, and ac-
tivities of the Department to respond to terrorist, 
cybersecurity, border and port security, and trans-
portation security threats posed to the United States 
by the Chinese Communist Party. 
(5) Facilitate cooperation and coordination 
among offices and components of the Department on 
a holistic response to countering terrorist, cybersecu-
rity, border and port security, and transportation se-
curity threats posed to the United States by the Chi-
nese Communist Party. 
(c) ADDITIONAL DUTY RELATING TO INFORMATION 
SHARING.—The Working Group, in accordance with appli-
cable constitutional, privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties 
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protections, shall review, in coordination with the Office 
of Intelligence and Analysis of the Department of Home-
land Security, information relating to terrorist, cybersecu-
rity, border and port security, and transportation security 
threats posed to the United States by the Chinese Com-
munist Party that is gathered by Federal, State, local, 
Tribal, and territorial partners, and the National Network 
of Fusion Centers, and incorporate such information, as 
appropriate, into the Working Group’s own information 
relating to such threats. The Working Group, in coordina-
tion with the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, shall also 
ensure the dissemination to Federal, State, local, Tribal, 
and territorial partners, and the National Network of Fu-
sion Centers, of information related to such threats. 
(d) ANNUAL ASSESSMENTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this section and 
annually thereafter for five years, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security, in coordination with the Under 
Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis of the De-
partment of Homeland Security, the Director of the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Director of 
National Intelligence, shall submit to the Committee 
on Homeland Security of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Homeland Security and 
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Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report that as-
sesses terrorist, cybersecurity, border and port secu-
rity, and transportation security threats posed to the 
United States by the Chinese Communist Party dur-
ing the immediately preceding 12 months. 
(2) CONTENTS.—Each assessment under para-
graph (1) shall also include the following: 
(A) A description of the activities and op-
erations of the Working Group undertaken pur-
suant to subsection (b). 
(B) Any other matters the Secretary of 
Homeland Security determines relevant. 
(3) FORM.—Each assessment under paragraph 
(1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may 
include a classified annex. The Secretary of Home-
land Security shall post on a publicly available 
website of the Department of Homeland Security the 
unclassified portion of each assessment. 
(4) BRIEFING.—Not later than 30 days after 
the submission of each assessment under paragraph 
(1), the Secretary of Homeland Security shall pro-
vide to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the 
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Senate a briefing on such assessment and the 
progress and challenges of the Working Group. 
(e) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW.—Not later 
than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 
to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, a report on the 
implementation of this section. 
(f) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 
one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the 
Director and the Under Secretary for Science and Tech-
nology of the Department of Homeland Security, shall, to 
the extent practicable, carry out research and develop-
ment, including operational testing, of technologies and 
techniques for enhancing the Department’s security and 
situational awareness relating to countering terrorist, cy-
bersecurity, border and port security, and transportation 
security threats posed to the United States by the Chinese 
Communist Party, in accordance with applicable constitu-
tional, privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties protections. 
(g) SUNSET.—The Working Group shall terminate on 
the date that is seven years after the establishment of the 
Working Group under subsection (a)(1). 
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(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) CRITICAL
INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 
‘‘critical infrastructure’’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 1016(e) of Public Law 107–56 (42 
U.S.C. 5195c(e)). 
(2) FUSION CENTER.—The term ‘‘fusion cen-
ter’’ has the meaning given such term in subsection 
(k) of section 210A of the Homeland Security Act 
of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 124h). 
(3) INTELLIGENCE
COMMUNITY.—The term 
‘‘intelligence community’’ has the meaning given 
such tern in section 3(4) of the National Security 
Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)). 
(4) NATIONAL
NETWORK
OF
FUSION
CEN-
TERS.—The term ‘‘National Network of Fusion Cen-
ters’’ means a decentralized arrangement of fusion 
centers intended to enhance individual State and 
urban area fusion centers’ ability to leverage the ca-
pabilities and expertise of all such fusion centers for 
the purpose of enhancing analysis and homeland se-
curity information sharing nationally. 
(5) UNITED
STATES
PERSONS.—The term 
‘‘United States person’’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 1637(d)(10) of the Carl Levin and 
Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon National Defense Au-
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thorization Act for Fiscal year 2015 (50 U.S.C. 
1708(d)(10)). 
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