Defund China’s Allies Act

#2511 | HR Congress #118

Subjects:

Last Action: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. (4/6/2023)

Bill Text Source: Congress.gov

Summary and Impacts
Original Text
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2511 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2511

To prohibit the availability of foreign assistance to certain countries 
    that do not recognize the sovereignty of Taiwan, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 2023

 Mr. Ogles (for himself, Mr. Tiffany, Mrs. Boebert, Mr. Brecheen, Mrs. 
Miller of Illinois, and Mr. Moore of Alabama) introduced the following 
      bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To prohibit the availability of foreign assistance to certain countries 
    that do not recognize the sovereignty of Taiwan, 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 ``Defund China's Allies Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The global political influence campaign of the People's 
        Republic of China (PRC) has contributed to numerous countries 
        in Central America and the Caribbean switching political 
        allegiances from Taiwan to China over the past several years.
            (2) Costa Rica was the first Central American country to 
        abandon a political relationship with Taiwan in 2007. Panama 
        chose to recognize the PRC in 2017. El Salvador chose to cut 
        ties with Taiwan in 2018, over the latter's unwillingness to 
        fund a financially unsustainable port. The Dominican Republic 
        abandoned Taiwan that same year. In December 2021, the 
        dictatorial Marxist government of Daniel Ortega chose to sever 
        ties with Taiwan, and in March 2023, President Castro of 
        Honduras, a fellow Marxist, chose to do the same thing.
            (3) Given the proximity of these countries to the United 
        States, these switches in political allegiances necessarily 
        represent a more tangible threat to United States national 
        security interests and must be confronted.
            (4) United States efforts to condemn these countries' 
        willing diplomatic shift toward a genocidal government is 
        undermined by an incomprehensible adherence to the so-called 
        ``One China'' policy, on terms dictated by the Chinese 
        Communist Party.
            (5) To pose a credible deterrence threat to the People's 
        Republic of China, the United States must first admit that the 
        continuation of anachronistic foreign policy--based on the idea 
        that the Chinese Communist Party is a responsible, good faith 
        actor--is no longer a reasonable or even rational course of 
        action. To that end, the United States must support full 
        diplomatic relations with Taiwan and Taiwan's full and 
        unmitigated membership into the international community.
            (6) Good-faith assumptions about the Chinese Communist 
        Party that have lingered since the 1970s have proven false. 
        China has demonstrated its unwillingness to work 
        collaboratively with the international community, including 
        through its efforts to hijack the global market and the rules-
        based international order. China's continued assault on the 
        natural rights of the individual--including through the ongoing 
        genocide of the Uyghurs and other populations--highlight 
        Beijing's cruelty and its indifference to the concept of basic 
        human decency.
            (7) The Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly utilized 
        violence and the threat of violence to coerce Taiwan and 
        undermine Taiwan's democratically elected government, in clear 
        contradiction of existing United States law (the Taiwan 
        Relations Act), which reads: ``the United States decision to 
        establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of 
        China rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will 
        be determined by peaceful means''.
            (8) The CCP's ongoing efforts to delegitimize Taiwan, if 
        not checked, increases the risk of armed conflict by 
        threatening to completely isolate Taiwan from any political 
        support; as a result, the United States government must work to 
        deter these malign efforts and mitigate their effectiveness, 
        including by committing to the following:
                    (A) Establishing full diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
                    (B) Imposing restrictions on foreign assistance on 
                countries, particularly those in the Western 
                Hemisphere, who choose to offer full political support 
                to the People's Republic of China.
                    (C) Working with allies and partners who maintain 
                unofficial relations with Taiwan (including through 
                Representative offices) to pursue full diplomatic 
                relations with Taiwan.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that not later than 30 days after the 
enactment of this Act, the President should establish full diplomatic 
relations with Taiwan.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, with 
respect to each country listed in subsection (c), no Federal funds may 
be made available in the form of foreign assistance (including 
humanitarian assistance or security assistance) to such country during 
the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and 
ending on the date described in subsection (b) for such country.
    (b) Termination.--The date described in this subsection, with 
respect to a country, is the earlier of--
            (1) the date that is 30 days after the date on which the 
        President certifies to the Congress that such country has 
        resumed or established full diplomatic relations with Taiwan; 
        or
            (2) the date that is 10 years after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
    (c) Countries Specified.--The countries listed in this subsection 
are the following:
            (1) Honduras.
            (2) Nicaragua.
            (3) Dominica.
            (4) Antigua and Barbuda.
            (5) Grenada.
            (6) Cuba.
            (7) Bahamas.
            (8) Barbados.
            (9) Jamaica.
            (10) Trinidad and Tobago.
            (11) Panama.
            (12) Costa Rica.
            (13) The Dominican Republic.
            (14) El Salvador.
            (15) Bolivia.
            (16) Uruguay.
            (17) Guyana.
            (18) Suriname.
            (19) Venezuela.
            (20) Solomon Islands.
            (21) Kiribati.
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