Washington – In a historic vote, the House of Representatives adopted an amendment authored by Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48) to the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that begins the essential termination of the cornerstone agreement underpinning the vast array of science and technology collaboration between the U.S. and China. Over the years, this agreement has led directly to the widespread theft of American intellectual property and the loss of cutting-edge technology.
“It is clearer than ever that America must decouple the research and development of science and technology from China along with the associated network of programs and partnerships begun in a different time that have now become an economic and national security liability for this country,” said Rep. Issa.
The amendment blocks renewal of the Scientific and Technological Cooperation Protocol Between the U.S. and China (STA), which would allow it to expire. Its passage also represents a critical milestone in decoupling America’s research apparatus with China. The State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which passed the House 216-212 on September 30, 2023, will now head to the Senate for bicameral negotiations.
Rep. Mike Gallagher (WI-08) – Chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party – added: “For years, thanks to its strategy of military-civil fusion, the Chinese Communist Party has abused the openness of the American scientific community to steal our research and coopt it for its own malign purposes, including to surveil the Chinese public and strengthen its military-industrial complex. Rep. Issa’s amendment sends a clear message to the PRC that it no longer deserves the benefits and honor of having a Science and Technology Agreement with the United States.”
“Bringing the STA to an end will send an unmistakable signal that America is taking seriously the full measure of the threat posed by the CCP, and its expiration will lead to even more reforms that reaffirm our national interest,” said Rep. Issa.
Text of the amendment can be found here.
Darrell Issa is the Representative of California’s 48th Congressional District. The District encompasses the central and eastern parts of San Diego County and a portion of Riverside County, including the communities of Fallbrook, Valley Center, Ramona, Escondido, Santee, Lakeside, Poway, Temecula, Murrieta, and the mountain and desert areas of the San Diego-Imperial County line. Issa served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2011-2015.
