Lawmakers hoping to stanch the flow of U.S. money into China’s tech sectors are turning to a time-tested method to improve their odds by appending the measure to a must-pass defense policy bill.
A bipartisan amendment by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, appears among nearly 100 separate proposals that make up a manager’s package for the Senate fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. That package, with the underlying Senate Armed Services Committee bill, is to be the chamber’s offer in an informal conference with the House.
The amendment would require U.S. companies and individuals to notify the Treasury Department if their planned investment is directed toward certain critical tech sectors in China — otherwise known as an outbound investment notification mechanism. The sectors that would require notice include advanced semiconductors and microelectronics, artificial intelligence systems, quantum information science and technology, hypersonics, satellite-based communications and networked laser scanning systems with both civilian and military applications.
