This bill brings back a government program that the Justice Department shut down in 2022. The program, now called the CCP Initiative, is designed to protect America from threats coming from China's government. Specifically, it focuses on four main goals: stopping Chinese spying on American companies and universities, catching people who steal trade secrets and business information, preventing computer hacking attacks, and defending critical American infrastructure like power grids and water systems from foreign attacks.

The Justice Department will have to report to Congress every year about how the program is doing and what challenges it's facing. The program is set to run for six years from when this bill becomes law, after which it will automatically end unless Congress decides to extend it. Essentially, this is the government saying it wants to be more aggressive about investigating and prosecuting cases where China or Chinese citizens are accused of stealing American business secrets or conducting cyberattacks.

Protect America’s Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act

Scott, Rick

Protect America&rsquo;s Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act This bill reestablishes an initiative related to China within the National Security Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and outlines the goals and requirements for this initiative. In 2022, DOJ ended a program named the China Initiative. This bill reestablishes and renames it the CCP Initiative to (1) counter nation-state threats to the United States; (2) curb spying by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on U.S. intellectual property and academic institutions; (3) identify and prosecute individuals engaged in trade secret theft, hacking, and economic espionage; and (4) protect U.S. critical infrastructure from foreign threats. DOJ must annually brief specified congressional committees on the progress and challenges of the initiative. The initiative terminates six years after enactment of this bill.