Golden supports slate of bills to protect American interests from foreign competitors

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) today completed voting for a series of bills scheduled in the House this week, all of which seek to address economic, technological, and national security threats. 

“These bills take common sense steps to ensure American interests are protected,” Golden said. 

The bills include: 

• H.R. 1516, the DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act, which would bar the Homeland Security Department from providing any funds to institutions of higher education that have a relationship with a Confucius Institute or certain Chinese universities, which have been linked with espionage, theft of intellectual property, and intimidation of Chinese dissidents in the U.S. 
   
• H.R. 9456, the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act, which would increase scrutiny of foreign purchases of American agricultural land to protect U.S. farms and farmers. 
   
• H.R. 7980, the End Chinese Dominance of Electric Vehicles in America Act of 2024, which would prohibit electric vehicles using batteries or battery components manufactured by companies based in China and other U.S. adversaries from receiving EV tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This bill is substantively similar to an effort by Golden earlier this year to ensure tax credits in the IRA designed to support American manufacturing are not used to prop up foreign competitors. 
   
• H.R. 1398, the Protect America’s Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act of 2024,which would direct the U.S. Department of Justice to set aside resources for a program aimed at countering espionage specifically by the Chinese Communist Party, in recognition of the disproportionate amount of economic espionage cases prosecuted by DOJ that involve China. 

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