Letter to Hon. Lloyd J. Austin, Secretary of Defense - Cotton, Colleagues Call on Department of Defense to Release Delayed List of Chinese Military Companies

Letter

Dear Secretary Austin,

We write to urge you to send Congress the delayed Department of Defense report on Chinese military companies mandated under the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Last year, the U.S. government took necessary and long overdue action to combat the threat of Chinese military companies operating in the United States. The Department of Defense began using statutory authority in Section 1237 of the FY1999 NDAA (Public Law 105-261) to publicly identify Chinese military companies operating directly or indirectly inside the United States. Executive Order 13959 bolstered the Section 1237 listing of Chinese military companies by prohibiting Americans from investing in publicly traded securities of certain Chinese military companies and requiring eventual divestment from existing holdings. Congress then formalized the Section 1237 listing process by mandating in Section 1260H of the FY21 NDAA (Public Law 116-283) that the Secretary of Defense submit to Congress and publish a list of Chinese military companies by April 15, 2021, and annually thereafter.

The U.S. government must continue to act boldly in blocking the Chinese Communist Party's economic predation against our industrial base. We must not allow China to erode America's military primacy. We urge you to submit this report on Section 1260H companies to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees and publish it in the Federal Register as soon as possible.

Thank you for your consideration of this urgent national security issue. We look forward to your response.