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The Leader’s Floor Lookout: Week of March 11, 2024

Washington, March 10, 2024
Here’s what to watch for on the House Floor this week:

Cutting the CCP Out of TikTok and Protecting American Data

TikTok, which is controlled by ByteDance and tied to the Chinese Communist Party, poses a significant national security threat to the United States. ByteDance, a Chinese company with an internal Chinese Communist Party committee, must comply with China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law requiring Chinese companies to “support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work.” This means they must provide any information requested to the Chinese government – including highly sensitive data collected on American users.
 
ByteDance has demonstrated their willingness to use TikTok to spy on Americans, and allegedly provided its internal CCP committee members with a “god credential” to view all data collected on TikTok users, including Americans. In 2022, leaked audio from internal TikTok meetings exposed that “[e]verything is seen in China” and ByteDance has confirmed using TikTok to monitor American journalists’ physical location. Just last week, TikTok demonstrated its ability to weaponize its roughly 150 million American users against U.S. national security interests.
 
On March 7, TikTok launched a propaganda campaign in an attempt to disrupt an Energy and Commerce Committee markup of legislation that would force them to sever ties with the Chinese Communist Party. In order to access the platform, TikTok forced some users to enter their ZIP code into the app and call their Member of Congress to oppose this critical legislation. This led to a flood of calls pushing TikTok’s propaganda and, ultimately, forcing offices to shut down their phones, preventing them from assisting constituents in need. This propaganda effort further underscored national security concerns related to TikTok and its ties to the CCP.


House Republicans are bringing forward bipartisan legislation that places the choice in TikTok’s hands: Either they can sever their ties with the CCP or no longer be available in the United States. Refusing to divest would suggest China’s real purpose behind TikTok in America is to spy on Americans and use the platform for China’s own interest.

We must ensure the Chinese government cannot weaponize TikTok against American users and our government through data collection and propaganda. 

H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, introduced by Rep. Mike Gallagher, protects our national security from the threat posed by foreign adversary owned applications like TikTok by requiring such applications to cut ties with the foreign adversary or no longer be available on U.S. This legislation was reported out of the Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously by a 50-0 vote and is on strong legal footing. President Biden has stated he will sign the legislation if Congress sends it to his desk.

House Republicans will continue working to remove the Chinese Communist Party and their propaganda from American social media apps and protect American user data and privacy from foreign adversaries. 
 

Condemning Biden’s Open Border Policies 

Since President Biden took office, he has done everything in his power to dismantle United States border security. On his first day, Biden used his pen to stop construction of the border wall, revoke President Trump’s executive order to ensure meaningful enforcement of border laws, end restrictions on immigration from countries associated with terrorism, and sign other executive orders incentivizing migrants to cross illegally. And those are just a few examples: The Biden Administration has purposefully undermined U.S. border security on more than 60 occasions.

Under President Biden, 7.2 million illegal immigrants have entered our country, which is more than the population of 36 states, including 169 people on the terrorist watch list. Not only does this pose a threat to our national security, but communities across America are suffering the tragic consequences of Biden’s open border policies daily.


Laken Riley was brutally murdered by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record who was released into the U.S. on parole. In South Louisiana, an illegal was arrested for raping a 14-year-old girl at knifepoint and brutally stabbing a man multiple times. In Maryland, a Salvadoran immigrant with a criminal record was arrested in connection to the murder of a 2-year-old. And, in Boston, ICE arrested an illegal from Guatemala recently convicted of sexual assault of a child under 14 years old.

President Biden could secure the border today the same way he created this crisis: With a pen. He chooses not to, putting criminals before the safety of the American people. Meanwhile, House Republicans passed a bill over nine months ago to stop the flow of migrants and keep our communities safe: H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act. But the Democrat-led Senate and the White House refuse to take up any meaningful border legislation, instead trying to shift blame and pretend to take action with a Senate open border bill that does nothing to actually close the border.

President Biden and his Administration must be held accountable for their egregious disregard of and efforts to subvert our border laws, and for the consequences their actions have had on American families.

Rep. Monica De La Cruz’s legislation, H. Res. 1065, condemns President Biden and his Administration for their disastrous open border policies and holds them accountable for creating the worst border security crisis in U.S. history. 

While President Biden refuses to stand up for the safety of Americans over illegal immigrant criminals, House Republicans won’t stop fighting to protect our communities and secure the border. 
 
Ensuring Federal Office Space is Utilized Efficiently to Cut Costs 

To assess the utilization of federal agency headquarters, the GAO conducted a review of 24 agencies that occupy 98 percent of federal real property during select weeks in early 2023. The review found that most federal agencies use 25 percent or less of their buildings’ capacity – wasting federal money as well as creating a higher impact on the environment.

Currently, the federal government owns over 500 million square feet of office space in federal office buildings, costing billions of dollars every year to maintain and operate whether or not the space is being used. Furthermore, federal agencies spend around $5 billion to lease office buildings annually. 

By reducing underutilized federal office space, we could lower these costs and cut down on wasteful Washington spending. This week, House Republicans are bringing legislation to the floor that ensures these spaces are used more efficiently and responsibly. 

H.R. 6276, the Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies Act of 2023, sponsored by Rep. Scott Perry, requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the General Services Administration (GSA) to identify the utilization rate of public buildings and federally-leased spaces, ensure it averages at least 60 percent over the course of a year, and put forward a plan to consolidate federal agency headquarters so building utilization is over 60 percent.

House Republicans will always work to cut wasteful government spending and ensure taxpayer dollars are being used efficiently.