House Passes Rep. Mills’ Legislation To Safeguard U.S. Embassies From Chinese Influence

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Rep. Cory Mills’ (FL-07) H.R. 6306, the Embassy Construction Integrity Act, passed the House of Representatives.  

Recently, it was discovered that a Chinese government-owned company was involved in the construction of a U.S. embassy in South Asia. Rep. Mills' legislation requires the State Department to increase its due diligence when establishing new diplomatic and consular posts around the world to safeguard against vulnerabilities to Chinese government interference and/or espionage.  

While there are existing risk mitigation requirements throughout the process of establishing a diplomatic or consular post, there are clear gaps – which the Chinese government is exploiting – that Congress can mitigate. This bill mandates that the State Department must first identify the beneficial owners of the companies involved in constructing, maintaining, and managing new diplomatic or consular posts before establishing them.  If any inconsistent actions are found, the Secretary of State would be required to report it to Congress within seven days.

“It is of great concern to learn that at least one American embassy was constructed with the involvement of the CCP,” said Rep. Mills. “We cannot permit malign actors, like the Chinese Communist Party, to continue attempting to infiltrate our systems. I am honored that the House passed my legislation to counter this threat and ensure Congress is able to conduct proper oversight over embassy construction.”

Read the full bill HERE.  

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