119-hr708

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 708 Referred in Senate

    (RFS) ]

<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 708

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 March 11 (legislative day, March 10), 2025

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 
 and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 AN ACT

 To establish in the Department of Homeland Security a working group 
 relating to countering terrorist, cybersecurity, border and port 
 security, and transportation security threats posed to the United 
 States by the Chinese Communist Party, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Strategic Homeland Intelligence and 
Enforcement Legislation to Defend Against the CCP Act'' or the ``SHIELD 
Against CCP Act''.

SEC. 2. WORKING GROUP TO COUNTER CERTAIN THREATS POSED TO THE UNITED 
 STATES BY THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY.

    (a) Establishment.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
 shall establish in the Department of Homeland Security a 
 working group (in this section referred to as the ``Working 
 Group''), which shall carry out the duties specified in 
 subsection

    (b) relating to countering terrorist, cybersecurity, 
 border and port security, and transportation security threats 
 posed to the United States by the Chinese Communist Party.

    (2) Director.--
        (A) Appointment.--The head of the Working Group 
 shall be a Director (in this section referred to as the 
 ``Director''), who shall be appointed by the Secretary 
 of Homeland Security.
        (B) Reporting.--The Director shall report to the 
 Secretary of Homeland Security regarding all 
 administrative, operational, and security matters of 
 the Working Group.

    (3) Staffing.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
 ensure the Working Group is provided with the following:
        (A) A sufficient number of employees to perform 
 required duties.
        (B) Not fewer than one employee dedicated to 
 ensuring compliance with privacy laws and regulations.

    (4) Detailees.--The Working Group may accept and employ 
 detailees with expertise in countering terrorist, 
 cybersecurity, border and port security, and transportation 
 security threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party to the 
 United States, or in related fields, from any element of the 
 intelligence community or any other Federal agency the Director 
 determines appropriate, with or without reimbursement, 
 consistent with applicable laws and regulations regarding such 
 employees.

    (b) Duties.--The Working Group shall carry out the following:

    (1) Examine, assess, and report upon efforts by the 
 Department of Homeland Security to counter terrorist, 
 cybersecurity, border and port security, and transportation 
 security threats posed to the United States by the Chinese 
 Communist Party, including efforts to counter the Chinese 
 Communist Party's--
        (A) nontraditional tactics and exploitation of the 
 United States immigration system through--
            (i) identity theft;
            (ii) the immigrant and nonimmigrant visa 
 processes;
            (iii) unlawful border crossings;
            (iv) human smuggling; and
            (v) human trafficking;
        (B) predatory economic and trade practices, 
 including the trafficking of counterfeit and pirated 
 goods, the use of forced labor, labor exploitation for 
 financial gain, customs fraud, and theft of 
 intellectual property and technology;
            (C) direct or indirect support for transnational 
 criminal organizations trafficking in fentanyl, illicit 
 drug precursors, or other controlled substances 
 through--
            (i) the United States border;
            (ii) international mail shipments; or
            (iii) express consignment operations; and
            (D) support for illicit financial activity by 
 Chinese Money Laundering Organizations, including any 
 repatriation to China or any other country of the 
 proceeds derived from the activities described in 
 subparagraphs
        (A) through
            (C) .

    (2) Account for the resources of the Department that are 
 dedicated to programs aimed at countering terrorist, 
 cybersecurity, border and port security, and transportation 
 security threats posed to the United States by the Chinese 
 Communist Party, and any supporting information as to the 
 efficacy of each such program.

    (3) Build upon existing or ongoing evaluations and avoid 
 unnecessary duplication by reviewing the findings, conclusions, 
 and recommendations of other appropriate working groups, 
 committees, commissions, or entities established by the 
 Department related to efforts to counter terrorist, 
 cybersecurity, border and port security, and transportation 
 security threats posed to the United States by the Chinese 
 Communist Party.

    (4) Identify gaps in policies, processes, and activities of 
 the Department to respond to terrorist, cybersecurity, border 
 and port security, and transportation security threats posed to 
 the United States by the Chinese Communist Party.

    (5) Facilitate cooperation and coordination among offices 
 and components of the Department on a holistic response to 
 countering terrorist, cybersecurity, border and port security, 
 and transportation security threats posed to the United States 
 by the Chinese Communist Party.
            (c) Additional Duty Relating to Information Sharing.--The Working 
Group shall review, in coordination with the Office of Intelligence and 
Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security, information relating 
to terrorist, cybersecurity, border and port security, and 
transportation security threats posed to the United States by the 
Chinese Communist Party that is gathered by Federal, State, local, 
Tribal, and territorial partners, and the National Network of Fusion 
Centers, and incorporate such information, as appropriate, into the 
Working Group's own information relating to such threats. The Working 
Group, in coordination with the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, 
shall also ensure the dissemination to Federal, State, local, Tribal, 
and territorial partners, and the National Network of Fusion Centers, 
of information related to such threats.
            (d) Annual Assessments.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
 the enactment of this section and annually thereafter for five 
 years, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with 
 the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis of the 
 Department of Homeland Security, the Director of the Federal 
 Bureau of Investigation, and the Director of National 
 Intelligence, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
 committees a report that assesses terrorist, cybersecurity, 
 border and port security, and transportation security threats 
 posed to the United States by the Chinese Communist Party 
 during the immediately preceding 12 months.

    (2) Contents.--Each assessment under paragraph

    (1) shall 
 also include the following:
        (A) A description of the activities and operations 
 of the Working Group undertaken pursuant to subsection

    (b) .
        (B) Any other matters the Secretary of Homeland 
 Security determines relevant.

    (3) Form.--Each assessment under paragraph

    (1) shall be 
 submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified 
 annex. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall post on a 
 publicly available website of the Department of Homeland 
 Security the unclassified portion of each assessment.

    (4) Briefing.--Not later than 30 days after the submission 
 of each assessment under paragraph

    (1) , the Secretary of 
 Homeland Security shall provide to the appropriate 
 congressional committees a briefing on such assessment and the 
 progress and challenges of the Working Group.

    (e) Comptroller General Review.--Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a report on the implementation of this section.

    (f) Research and Development.--Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
in coordination with the Director and the Under Secretary for Science 
and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security, shall, to the 
extent practicable, carry out research and development, including 
operational testing, of technologies and techniques for enhancing the 
Department's security and situational awareness relating to countering 
terrorist, cybersecurity, border and port security, and transportation 
security threats posed to the United States by the Chinese Communist 
Party.

    (g) Implementation.--All activities carried out pursuant to this 
section--

    (1) shall be carried out in accordance with applicable 
 constitutional, privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties 
 protections; and

    (2) may not infringe upon the lawful exercise of free 
 speech by United States persons.

    (h) Sunset.--The Working Group shall terminate on the date that is 
seven years after the establishment of the Working Group under 
subsection

    (a)

    (1) .
            (i) === Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
 ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
        (A) in the House of Representatives--
            (i) the Committee on Homeland Security;
            (ii) the Committee on Ways and Means;
            (iii) the Committee on Financial Services;
            (iv) the Committee on the Judiciary; and
            (v) the Committee on Foreign Affairs; and
        (B) in the Senate--
            (i) the Committee on Homeland Security and 
 Governmental Affairs;
            (ii) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
 Urban Affairs;
            (iii) the Committee on Finance;
            (iv) the Committee on the Judiciary; and
            (v) the Committee on Foreign Relations.

    (2) Fusion center.--The term ``fusion center'' has the 
 meaning given such term in subsection

    (k) of 

section 210A of 
 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 124h).

    (3) Intelligence community.--The term ``intelligence 
 community'' has the meaning given such term in 

section 3

    (4) of 
 the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003

    (4) ).

    (4) National network of fusion centers.--The term 
 ``National Network of Fusion Centers'' means a decentralized 
 arrangement of fusion centers intended to enhance individual 
 State and urban area fusion centers' ability to leverage the 
 capabilities and expertise of all such fusion centers for the 
 purpose of enhancing analysis and homeland security information 
 sharing nationally.

    (5) United states persons.--The term ``United States 
 person'' has the meaning given such term in 

section 1637
            (d) (10) of the Carl Levin and Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon National 
 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal year 2015 (50 U.S.C. 
 1708
            (d) (10) ).

 Passed the House of Representatives March 10, 2025.

 Attest:

 KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

 Clerk.