I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1151 
To hold the People’s Republic of China accountable for the violation of 
United States airspace and sovereignty with its high-altitude surveillance 
balloon. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 24, 2023 
Mr. MEEKS (for himself and Mr. MCCAUL) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, 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 
A BILL 
To hold the People’s Republic of China accountable for the 
violation of United States airspace and sovereignty with 
its high-altitude surveillance balloon. 
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 ‘‘Upholding Sovereignty 
of Airspace Act’’ or the ‘‘USA Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) According to the Department of State, sur-
veillance balloons owned and operated by the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China (PRC) have entered United 
States airspace multiple times since 2017 and have 
violated the airspace of more than 40 countries 
across 5 continents. 
(2) On February 10, 2023, the Department of 
Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security issued 
a final rule (88 Fed. Reg. 9389) that added 6 PRC 
entities to the Entity List for supporting the PRC’s 
military modernization efforts related to aerospace 
programs, including airships and balloons and re-
lated materials and components, that are used by 
the People’s Liberation Army for intelligence and re-
connaissance. 
(3) The PRC’s response has been to use misin-
formation and propaganda to deflect blame for the 
illegal surveillance activities of these balloons. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the presence of the PRC’s high altitude sur-
veillance balloon over United States airspace was an 
unacceptable violation of United States sovereignty; 
(2) the United States should continue to neu-
tralize foreign aerial surveillance assets that are in 
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tion of airspace and the PRC’s ICAO commitments; 
and 
(8) as consistent with international law, the 
United States should use regulatory and enforce-
ment tools to protect national security and sov-
ereignty by identifying and disrupting the PRC’s use 
of surveillance balloons. 
SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION AND PRESSURE. 
(a) DIPLOMATIC
STRATEGY.—The Secretary of 
State, in consultation with the Director of National Intel-
ligence and the United States Permanent Representative 
to the United Nations, shall develop a diplomatic strategy 
to inform allies and partners of the scope of the PRC sur-
veillance program and build global consensus in order to 
address the PRC’s global surveillance balloon program, in-
cluding by— 
(1) sharing intelligence, as appropriate about 
the PRC’s global balloon program and its past viola-
tion of the sovereign airspace of allies and partners; 
(2) coordinating with United States allies and 
partners to identify and track future PRC surveil-
lance balloons, counter PRC propaganda and misin-
formation about its global surveillance program, and 
publicly share any future violations of sovereignty; 
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(3) using the voice, vote, and influence of the 
United States at the United Nations and other 
international and regional organizations to spur 
greater diplomatic pressure on the PRC to halt its 
surveillance collection operations that violate inter-
national sovereignty; 
(4) raising the challenges posed by the PRC’s 
global surveillance balloon program at major multi-
lateral forums, including at the G7 and G20 sum-
mits; and 
(5) coordinating with allies and partners on the 
imposition and implementation of substantially simi-
lar sanctions and export controls to ensure that com-
modities, software, or technology from the United 
States and its allies and partners are not supporting 
the PRC’s global surveillance efforts. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in 
consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and 
the United States Permanent Representative to the 
United Nations, shall submit to the appropriate congres-
sional committees a report that outlines the strategy devel-
oped pursuant to subsection (a) and describes in detail 
the various steps taken by the United States in line with 
said strategy. 
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(c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 
In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
House of Representatives; and 
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 
the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate. 
SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF EXPORT CONTROLS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce shall 
evaluate, for appropriate controls under the Export Ad-
ministration Regulations, the export, reexport, and in- 
country transfer of the items and technologies subject to 
United States jurisdiction related to aerospace programs, 
including airships and balloons and related materials and 
components, that are used by the People’s Liberation 
Army for intelligence and reconnaissance, and not later 
than 180 days after the enactment of this Act submit a 
report to the appropriate congressional committees that 
includes— 
(1) a description of the types of items and tech-
nologies that were evaluated for potential controls 
with respect to this section; and 
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(2) a list of the controls that BIS has imple-
mented or plans to implement because of its evalua-
tion under this section. 
(b) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 
In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate. 
SEC. 6. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS. 
(a) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—On and after the 
date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the President may impose the sanctions described 
in subsection (b) with respect to any PRC individual the 
President determines is directly managing and overseeing 
the PRC’s global surveillance balloon program. 
(b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions that 
may be imposed with respect to a foreign person described 
in subsection (a) are the following: 
(1) PROPERTY
BLOCKING.—Notwithstanding 
the requirements of section 202 of the International 
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701), 
the President may exercise of all powers granted to 
the President by that Act to the extent necessary to 
block and prohibit all transactions in all property 
and interests in property of the foreign person if 
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such property and interests in property are in the 
United States, come within the United States, or are 
or come within the possession or control of a United 
States person. 
(2) ALIENS INADMISSIBLE FOR VISAS, ADMIS-
SION, OR PAROLE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—An alien described in 
subsection (a) is— 
(i) inadmissible to the United States; 
(ii) ineligible for a visa or travel to the 
United States; and 
(iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 
or paroled into the United States or to re-
ceive any other benefit under the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 
seq.). 
(B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—The visa or other 
documentation issued to an alien described 
in subsection (a) shall be revoked, regard-
less of when such visa or other documenta-
tion is or was issued. 
(ii) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.—A visa 
or other entry documentation revoked 
under clause (i) shall, in accordance with 
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section 221(i) of the Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), no longer 
be valid for travel to the United States. 
(c) EXCEPTIONS.— 
(1) EXCEPTION FOR INTELLIGENCE, LAW EN-
FORCEMENT, 
AND
NATIONAL
SECURITY
ACTIVI-
TIES.—Sanctions under this section shall not apply 
to any authorized intelligence, law enforcement, or 
national security activities of the United States. 
(2) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA-
TIONS
HEADQUARTERS
AGREEMENT.—Sanctions 
under subsection (b)(3) shall not apply with respect 
to the admission of an alien to the United States if 
the admission of the alien is necessary to permit the 
United States to comply with the Agreement regard-
ing the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed 
at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into 
force November 21, 1947, between the United Na-
tions and the United States, the Convention on Con-
sular Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and 
entered into force March 19, 1967, or other applica-
ble international obligations. 
Æ 
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