# Stop Funding the PLA Act: What It Does

This bill prevents Americans from investing money in foreign defense companies that have close ties to China's military. Specifically, it targets companies outside the United States that work with or receive support from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) and related Chinese military and intelligence organizations. The goal is to stop American investors—whether individuals, retirement funds, or investment firms—from putting their money into companies that strengthen China's military capabilities.

Here's how it would work in practice. The Treasury Department would create and update a list of foreign defense companies that have substantial contracts with, connections to, or support from the Chinese military. Once a company lands on this list, Americans would have six months to stop buying its stock or bonds. If you already own shares in one of these companies, you'd have six months to sell them. The only exception is if you can prove that selling within that timeframe would cause you extreme financial hardship—in which case you'd get an extra nine months. After the initial six-month period, it would be illegal for Americans to purchase securities from any company on the list.

The Treasury Department would be responsible for enforcing these rules and creating the specific guidelines for how to identify which companies qualify. Companies could petition to be removed from the list if they can prove they don't actually have substantial ties to the Chinese military. The law would last for ten years, after which Congress would need to decide whether to extend it. The idea behind this bill is that by cutting off American investment money, it reduces resources flowing to companies supporting China's military, which supporters argue protects American national security interests.

Stop Funding the PLA Act

Banks, Jim

Stop Funding the PLA Act This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to establish a list of entities the securities of which a U.S. person shall be prohibited from purchasing or holding. Specifically, the Treasury must submit a report specifying each foreign industrial defense corporation with substantial contacts with, ties to, or support from any PLA entity (any entity of the Chinese military). The bill prohibits a U.S. person from purchasing a security of a foreign industrial defense corporation specified in the report, and it requires a U.S. person who owns any such security to divest themselves of it.