Tennessee Republican Set to Insert Anti-China Provisions Into Dem Spending Bill – By Adam Kredo (Washington Free Beacon) / Aug 5, 2022
Marsha Blackburn measures would stop China from purchasing American farmland, infiltrating U.S. universities
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) is spearheading two legislative measures that would crack down on China’s purchase of American farmland and make it more difficult for CCP forces to infiltrate American universities.
Blackburn is set to offer the anti-CCP measures as amendments to the hotly contested, Democrat-led health, tax, and climate bill, which the Senate is scheduled to debate this weekend, according to congressional sources familiar with the effort. Senate Democrats are expected to fast-track the $740 billion bill, dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act, over GOP senators’ objections.
Blackburn’s anti-CCP measures would block China from cashing in on any agricultural programs offered in the new legislative package. Chinese owners control more than 194,000 acres of U.S. farmland and forestry, estimated to be worth around $1.9 billion, according to background information on Blackburn’s amendments reviewed by the Free Beacon.
The second amendment would increase congressional pressure on China’s partnership with U.S. universities. While Confucius Institutes—the CCP-run satellite centers that made deep inroads in American academia before coming under federal scrutiny in recent years—are shutting down across the country, China is replacing them with alternate programs as part of a bid to maintain its presence in American higher education. Blackburn’s measure would make it more difficult for these CCP institutions to develop ties with American universities.
