Moolenaar Introduces Bill to Reform State Department and Protect U.S. Economic Security From China
WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party today will introduce the Economic Security and Diplomacy Act of 2024. The bill would streamline the State Department’s efforts to advance U.S. economic security interests, particularly as adversaries like China pose greater economic threats. Presently, the State Department maintains little coordination to compete against the Chinese Communist Party on economic and technology issues, with its offices and authorities scattered across the vast government bureaucracy.
Here's how the bill works:
- The Economic Security and Diplomacy Act solves this problem by consolidating all State offices working on economic and tech issues under a single official – a new position called the Deputy Secretary for Economic Security.
- The Deputy Secretary will be placed in charge of export controls, supply chain security, sanctions, investment screening, amongst other responsibilities.
- It creates a new “Economic Security Officer Program” to place U.S. Diplomats in key capitals overseas with an explicit focus on advocating for policies to protect U.S. and allied economic security interests.
- It consolidates and streamlines existing offices in the State Department to make a better functioning bureaucracy that better serves the American people.
Chairman Moolenaar said, “Economic security is national security, and control of supply chains and emerging technologies will shape the future. By creating a new Deputy Secretary for Economic Security, Congress will ensure our diplomats are able to advocate for U.S. economic interests in the 21st century.”
Read the Economic Security and Diplomacy Act of 2024 HERE.