HR 1398: Protect America’s Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act of 2024

HR 1398 in plain English: This bill reestablishes within the Department of Justice's National Security Division a program—renamed the CCP Initiative—that was ended in 2022, focusing on countering threats from China's government. It directs the initiative to combat spying on U.S. intellectual property and academic institutions, prosecute trade secret theft and economic espionage, and protect critical infrastructure. The initiative would automatically terminate six years after enactment.

Stated purpose

The bill reestablishes a dedicated program within the Department of Justice's National Security Division, called the CCP Initiative, to counter threats from the Chinese Communist Party including intellectual property theft, economic espionage, hacking, and foreign investment risks to U.S. critical infrastructure.

Key points

• Reestablishes and renames DOJ's former China Initiative as the 'CCP Initiative' within the National Security Division
• Targets Chinese Communist Party spying on U.S. intellectual property and academic institutions
• Directs prosecution of trade secret theft, hacking, and economic espionage
• Requires DOJ to annually brief specified congressional committees on the initiative's progress
• Initiative automatically terminates six years after the bill is enacted

Arguments supporters make

• China's government-linked theft of U.S. trade secrets and intellectual property causes real economic harm, and a dedicated, ring-fenced program ensures these cases stay a top enforcement priority rather than getting lost in broader national security work.
• Requiring annual reports and a six-year sunset clause builds in accountability and lets Congress evaluate whether the program is actually working before deciding to continue it.
• Focusing specifically on CCP-linked foreign investment threats and supply chain risks protects critical American infrastructure and small businesses that may lack the resources to defend themselves.

Arguments opponents make

• The original DOJ China Initiative was shut down in 2022 partly because critics said it led to racial profiling of Chinese American researchers and academics, and reviving a similar program risks repeating those civil liberties harms.
• Singling out one country with a dedicated, resource-locked program may not be the most effective counterintelligence strategy, since economic espionage and hacking threats also come from other nation-state actors.
• Requiring that all CCP Initiative resources be strictly separated from other national security programs could reduce flexibility and efficiency, preventing DOJ from deploying expertise where it is most needed at any given time.

Tradeoffs

The bill trades broad counterintelligence flexibility for a focused, China-specific enforcement effort, which may strengthen accountability and prioritization but risks concentrating scrutiny in ways that could affect civil liberties for individuals connected to China while leaving fewer resources for threats from other actors.

Current status in Congress: Passed House.

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