SCRIPT Act

Bill: 116-s-3835
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX]
Introduced: 2020-05-21
Policy area: Arts, Culture, Religion
Subjects: Asia

Business records

China

Congressional oversight

Executive agency funding and structure

Government information and archives

Intellectual property

Public contracts and procurement

Television and film
Latest action: action_date: 2020-05-21
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2590-2591)

Summaries:
action_date: 2020-05-21
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Stopping Censorship, Restoring Integrity, and Protecting Talkies Act or the SCRIPT Act</b></p> <p>This bill limits the provision of financial and technical assistance for the production or funding of a film for screening in China.</p> <p>The President may only authorize the provision of technical support or access to an asset controlled by the federal government for, or authorize a federal agency to enter into a contract related to, the production or funding of a film by a U.S. company, if the company</p> <ul> <li> provides to the the Department of Commerce a list of all films produced or funded by the company whose content has been submitted, during a specified period, to a Chinese official or the Chinese Communist Party for evaluation for screening in China; </li> <li>enters into a written agreement with the President or the federal agency not to alter the content of the film in response to, or in anticipation of, a request by a Chinese official or the Chinese Communist Party; and</li> <li> submits such agreement to Commerce. </li> </ul> <p>The bill requires specified annual reports on the films disclosed pursuant to such limitation.</p> <p>The President may not authorize the provision of such support, access, or authorization of such a contract if (1) the film is co-produced by an entity located in China that is subject to conditions on content imposed by a Chinese official or the Chinese Communist Party, or (2) the company is listed in the most recent annual report. </p>

tv_txt: II 116th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3835 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 21, 2020 Mr. Cruz introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To prohibit the use of funds for the production of films by United States companies that alter content for screening in the People's Republic of China, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Stopping Censorship, Restoring Integrity, and Protecting Talkies Act or the SCRIPT Act . 2. Limitation on use of funds for production of films and prohibition on use of such funds for films subject to conditions on content or altered for screening in the People's Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party (a) Limitation on use of funds The President may only authorize the provision of technical support or access to an asset controlled by the Federal Government for, or authorize the head of a Federal agency to enter into a contract relating to, the production or funding of a film by a United States company if the United States company, as a condition of receiving the support or access— (1) provides to the Secretary a list of all films produced or funded by the United States company the content of which has been submitted, during the shorter of the preceding 10-year period or the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, to an official of the Government of the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party for evaluation with respect to screening the film in the People’s Republic of China, including, for each film— (A) the title of the film; and (B) the date on which the submittal occurred; (2) enters into a written agreement with the President, or the Federal agency providing the support or access, not to alter the content of the film in response to, or in anticipation of, a request by an official of the Government of the People's Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party; and (3) submits such agreement to the Secretary. (b) Prohibition with respect to films subject to conditions on content or altered for screening in the People's Republic of China Notwithstanding subsection (a), the President may not authorize the provision of technical support or access to any asset controlled by the Federal Government for, or authorize the head of a Federal agency to enter into any contract relating to, the production or funding of a film by a United States company if— (1) the film is co-produced by an entity located in the People's Republic of China that is subject to conditions on content imposed by an official of the Government of the People's Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party; or (2) with respect to the most recent report submitted under subsection (c), the United States company is listed in the report under subparagraph (C) or (D) of paragraph (2) of that subsection. (c) Report to Congress (1) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on films disclosed under subsection (a) that are associated with a United States company that has received technical support or access to an asset controlled by the Federal Government for, or has entered into a contract with the Federal Government relating to, the production or funding of a film. (2) Elements Each report required by paragraph (1) shall include the following: (A) A description of each film listed pursuant to the requirement under subsection (a)(1) the content of which was submitted, during the shorter of the preceding 10-year period or the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, by a United States company to an official of the Government of the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party for evaluation with respect to screening the film in the People’s Republic of China, including— (i) the United States company that submitted the contents of the film; (ii) the title of the film; and (iii) the date on which the submittal occurred. (B) A description of each film with respect to which a United States company entered into a written agreement with the President or the Federal agency providing the support or access, as applicable, pursuant to the requirement under subsection (a)(2) not to alter the content of the film in response to, or in anticipation of, a request by an official of the Government of the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party, during the shorter of the preceding 10-year period or the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, including— (i) the United States company that entered into the agreement; and (ii) the title of the film. (C) The title of any film described under subparagraph (A), and the corresponding United States company described in clause (i) of that subparagraph— (i) that was submitted to an official of the Government of the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party during the preceding 3-year period; and (ii) for which the Secretary assesses that the content was altered in response to, or in anticipation of, a request by an official of the Government of the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party. (D) The title of any film that is described in both subparagraph (A) and subparagraph (B), and the corresponding one or more United States companies described in clause (i) of each such subparagraph— (i) that was submitted to an official of the Government of the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party during the preceding 10-year period; and (ii) for which the Secretary assesses that the content was altered in response to, or in anticipation of, a request by an official of the Government of the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party. (d) Definitions In this section: (1) Appropriate committees of Congress The term appropriate committees of Congress means— (A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives. (2) Content The term content means any description of a film, including the script. (3) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Commerce. (4) United States company The term United States company means a private entity incorporated in the United States.