Defund China’s Allies Act

Bill: 118-hr-2511
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Ogles, Andrew [R-TN-5]
Introduced: 2023-04-06
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2023-04-06
text: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-04-06
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Defund China's Allies Act</b></p> <p>This bill prohibits providing U.S. foreign assistance, including humanitarian assistance and security assistance, to certain countries that do not have full diplomatic relations with Taiwan. </p> <p>The countries barred from foreign assistance by the bill are Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Cuba, Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Bolivia, Uruguay, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Solomon Islands, and Kiribati.</p> <p>The prohibition shall be lifted the earlier of (1) 30 days after the President certifies to Congress that the country has resumed or established full diplomatic relations with Taiwan, or (2) 10 years after the date of the bill's enactment. </p>

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2511 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 6, 2023 Mr. Ogles (for himself, Mr. Tiffany , Mrs. Boebert , Mr. Brecheen , Mrs. Miller of Illinois , and Mr. Moore of Alabama ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To prohibit the availability of foreign assistance to certain countries that do not recognize the sovereignty of Taiwan, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Defund China’s Allies Act . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) The global political influence campaign of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has contributed to numerous countries in Central America and the Caribbean switching political allegiances from Taiwan to China over the past several years. (2) Costa Rica was the first Central American country to abandon a political relationship with Taiwan in 2007. Panama chose to recognize the PRC in 2017. El Salvador chose to cut ties with Taiwan in 2018, over the latter’s unwillingness to fund a financially unsustainable port. The Dominican Republic abandoned Taiwan that same year. In December 2021, the dictatorial Marxist government of Daniel Ortega chose to sever ties with Taiwan, and in March 2023, President Castro of Honduras, a fellow Marxist, chose to do the same thing. (3) Given the proximity of these countries to the United States, these switches in political allegiances necessarily represent a more tangible threat to United States national security interests and must be confronted. (4) United States efforts to condemn these countries’ willing diplomatic shift toward a genocidal government is undermined by an incomprehensible adherence to the so-called One China policy, on terms dictated by the Chinese Communist Party. (5) To pose a credible deterrence threat to the People’s Republic of China, the United States must first admit that the continuation of anachronistic foreign policy—based on the idea that the Chinese Communist Party is a responsible, good faith actor—is no longer a reasonable or even rational course of action. To that end, the United States must support full diplomatic relations with Taiwan and Taiwan’s full and unmitigated membership into the international community. (6) Good-faith assumptions about the Chinese Communist Party that have lingered since the 1970s have proven false. China has demonstrated its unwillingness to work collaboratively with the international community, including through its efforts to hijack the global market and the rules-based international order. China’s continued assault on the natural rights of the individual—including through the ongoing genocide of the Uyghurs and other populations—highlight Beijing’s cruelty and its indifference to the concept of basic human decency. (7) The Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly utilized violence and the threat of violence to coerce Taiwan and undermine Taiwan’s democratically elected government, in clear contradiction of existing United States law (the Taiwan Relations Act), which reads: the United States decision to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means . (8) The CCP’s ongoing efforts to delegitimize Taiwan, if not checked, increases the risk of armed conflict by threatening to completely isolate Taiwan from any political support; as a result, the United States government must work to deter these malign efforts and mitigate their effectiveness, including by committing to the following: (A) Establishing full diplomatic ties with Taiwan. (B) Imposing restrictions on foreign assistance on countries, particularly those in the Western Hemisphere, who choose to offer full political support to the People’s Republic of China. (C) Working with allies and partners who maintain unofficial relations with Taiwan (including through Representative offices) to pursue full diplomatic relations with Taiwan. 3. Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that not later than 30 days after the enactment of this Act, the President should establish full diplomatic relations with Taiwan. 4. Prohibition on financial assistance (a) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, with respect to each country listed in subsection (c), no Federal funds may be made available in the form of foreign assistance (including humanitarian assistance or security assistance) to such country during the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending on the date described in subsection (b) for such country. (b) Termination The date described in this subsection, with respect to a country, is the earlier of— (1) the date that is 30 days after the date on which the President certifies to the Congress that such country has resumed or established full diplomatic relations with Taiwan; or (2) the date that is 10 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. (c) Countries specified The countries listed in this subsection are the following: (1) Honduras. (2) Nicaragua. (3) Dominica. (4) Antigua and Barbuda. (5) Grenada. (6) Cuba. (7) Bahamas. (8) Barbados. (9) Jamaica. (10) Trinidad and Tobago. (11) Panama. (12) Costa Rica. (13) The Dominican Republic. (14) El Salvador. (15) Bolivia. (16) Uruguay. (17) Guyana. (18) Suriname. (19) Venezuela. (20) Solomon Islands. (21) Kiribati.