After more than a year of debate, the White House has achieved a consensus among relevant government agencies on an approach to legislation that mandates notification but empowers the president to go further: to develop regulations restricting and even prohibiting what officials say would be a broad set of investments in a narrow range of sectors that it believes undermine national security.
After several years of false starts, a somewhat unlikely coalition of Democrats and Republicans in both chambers have drafted a proposal — with administration input — that would require U.S. companies to disclose plans to invest in advancing Chinese sectors, such as semiconductors, quantum technology, artificial intelligence, critical minerals and materials, and high-capacity batteries.
The legislation is called the National Critical Capabilities Defense Act. Drafters say the bill is critical to keeping factory jobs in the United States and preventing China from surpassing U.S. industry in emerging technologies.“From [masks and ventilators] to computer chips, the pandemic shined a spotlight on just how vulnerable U.S. supply chains are,” said Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. , a member of the Finance Committee who introduced the bill last year with Sen. John Cornyn .
A vocal opponent is Sen. Patrick J. Toomey , the top Republican on the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, who has criticized the lack of public hearings on the legislation and the prospect of a new bureaucracy to screen investments. He also argues that existing export controls are adequate to address any issues.“I have yet to be convinced that existing export-control laws are falling short,” Toomey said.