BRIDGE Act
Bill: H.R.2978 | Sponsor: Rep. Fitzgerald, Scott (R-WI)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Build Responsible Infrastructure Development for the Global Economy Act or the BRIDGE Act
This bill requires the Department of State to report to Congress on China's Belt and Road Initiative and U.S. efforts to counter the initiative. (The initiative is a Chinese government effort to boost infrastructure development and expand China's influence across most of the globe.)
Within one year of the bill's passage, the State Department must also report to Congress a plan to implement a detailed strategy for the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Department of Commerce to coordinate resources to counter the initiative.

To require a report regarding the scope of efforts by the People's 
 Republic of China and Chinese Communist Party to utilize the Belt and 
Road Initiative to undermine the United States-led international world 
     order and a detailed strategy regarding how the United States 
 Government intends to counter such Initiative, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Build Responsible Infrastructure 
Development for the Global Economy Act'' or the ``BRIDGE Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Chinese government's Belt and Road Initiative 
        (BRI), enshrined in the CCP's constitution, is a comprehensive, 
        long-term economic development strategy founded by General 
        Secretary and President Xi Jinping to link regions worldwide 
        through multi-billion infrastructure projects. The CCP utilizes 
        the BRI's informal framework as a vehicle to establish a 
        Sinocentric world order based on its authoritarian model of 
        governance.
            (2) The BRI poses immediate and long-term risks to the 
        national security, economic security, and international 
        influence of the United States and our partners by giving the 
        PRC the ability to project power more widely in geostrategic 
        regions such as the Indo-Pacific. The BRI, covering countries 
        representing over half of the world's population and over one-
        third of global economic output, seeks to pull nations into 
        Beijing's geopolitical orbit.
            (3) Despite the BRI's well-documented scope and 
        consequences, the United States government has never formalized 
        an official view or strategy to counter its efforts. This puts 
        our national security objectives at a severe disadvantage as 
        Beijing seeks to leverage its regional inroads worldwide 
        through the BRI and other PRC-alternative institutions to 
        achieve global preeminence.
            (4) The United States should not underestimate the 
        significance of the BRI and establish a coherent, government-
        wide strategy that effectively seeks to counter Beijing's 
        economic and political scope and influence through the BRI.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States to counter efforts by the 
People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) 
to create an integrated economic and political order under its 
leadership, which continues to threaten the national security, foreign 
policy, and economy of the United States
     (a) Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination 
with the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of other relevant Federal 
departments and agencies, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a report that includes the following:
            (1) Information relating to the scope of efforts by the 
        People's Republic of China (PRC) and Chinese Communist Party 
        (CCP) to utilize the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to 
        undermine the United States-led international world order.
            (2) Information relating to the means and objectives of the 
        PRC and the CCP in using the BRI as a vehicle to create a 
        parallel order of alternative PRC-centric organizations.
            (3) An assessment of current United States Government tools 
        and strategies to counter the BRI.
            (4) A detailed strategy regarding how the Department of 
        State, the United States Agency for International Development 
        (USAID), and the Department of Commerce intend to coordinate 
        its resources to counter the BRI. Such strategy shall include 
        the following elements:
                    (A) A description of interagency efforts to counter 
                the BRI, together with recommendations on how to 
                bolster the United States Government's economic 
                competition against China.
                    (B) An assessment of past efforts by the United 
                States Government to mitigate the effects of BRI, as 
                well as the gaps in current United States Government 
                policy and implementation.
                    (C) A timeline that holds the United States 
                Government accountable in planning and executing such 
                strategy.
                    (D) A strategic roadmap that details how the United 
                States Government will link such strategy to broader 
                national security priorities and objectives, including 
                the National Security Strategy and the National Defense 
                Strategy.
                    (E) A description that elaborates how the United 
                States Government will align strategic planning and 
                coordination with key allies and partners to 
                effectively respond to the BRI, particularly in the 
                Indo-Pacific.
    (b) Implementation Plan.--Not later than one year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with 
the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of other relevant Federal 
departments and agencies, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
committees a plan for implementing the strategy described in subsection 
(a)(4), including the following:
            (1) A description of clearly defined program metrics, 
        goals, targets, and planned outcomes for such strategy.
            (2) A plan to monitor and evaluate such strategy, and 
        progress made toward achieving such goals, targets, and planned 
        outcomes.
            (3) A plan to ensure such strategy is promoting United 
        States foreign policy goals in the Indo-Pacific by offering a 
        positive vision for shared economic and infrastructure growth 
        in a free and open international order.
    (c) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted 
in unclassified form but may include a classified annex if necessary. 
The unclassified portion of such report shall be made available on a 
publicly available internet website of the Federal Government.
    (d) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on 
        Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Ways and Means of the 
        House of Representatives and
            (2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Finance of the Senate.
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