Senate Republicans Voice Support for China Bill
Two Senate Republicans this week suggested they will support the Foreign Relations Committee’s recently introduced China legislation (see 2104080066) that would authorize more export controls and investment restrictions to counter Chinese trade and technology practices.
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Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the committee’s top Republican, specifically praised a provision that would expand the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to cover “certain foreign gifts” and contracts awarded to universities. “This has been a very positive step forward and it is certainly bipartisan,” Risch said during an April 15 committee hearing. “There are parts of it I'm not in love with, but on the other hand, it's always a give-and-take proposition to get where we want to go.”
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., called the legislation a “serious bill” and applauded the committee members' collaboration. “They’ve done a real good job of trying to give everyone a piece of ownership,” Rubio told reporters at the Capitol this week. “This is one of the issues where I think we can do that.”
Although Risch said the bill has strong support, he said he is “concerned” about combining it with legislation from other Senate committees to be possibly included under a comprehensive China package envisioned by Senate leadership (see 2102240052). “These are always difficult enough, but the more of those you wrap together, the more difficult it will be,” he said. “Whatever happens, I hope we're able to move this forward in a bipartisan fashion.”