A tall security fence surrounds the US Capitol ahead of US President Joe Bidens address to a joint session of Congress in Washington, on April 28, 2021. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images) Thinking About China

Proposed protections in the House stalled by Democrats Anders Corr November 27, 2021 Updated: November 30, 2021 biggersmallerPrint

News Analysis

Members of Congress are finally pushing to remove the malign influence of foreign money from the U.S. political system.

Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) recently introduced legislation to require think tanks to disclose foreign money they’ve received, according to a statement by Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), who’s pushing for a Truth in Testimony resolution that requires congressional witnesses to divulge their sources of foreign funding.

Those funded by the adversaries of the United States—including China, North Korea, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba—would face extra scrutiny.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) has proposed to prohibit lobbying by former members of Congress on the part of communist regimes. A group of House Republicans wants to strengthen the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

Some Democrats support these measures, but have done so quietly thus far. Josh Rogin, a journalist for the Washington Post who often writes on foreign influence issues, wrote an opinion piece published on Nov. 23, demanding that Democrats use their majority to take action on this bipartisan issue.

“Dozens of D.C. think tanks and other policy organizations take money from foreign countries and corporations without ever disclosing the details,” Rogin wrote. “The staffers who have received this financing then write policy papers and testify before Congress, posing as objective, disinterested experts.”

Banks said the proposed rules “would allow Committees to know when individuals are being paid for consulting or advising services to Chinese companies with internal CCP [Chinese Communist Party] committees or companies such as Huawei and Tencent.”

“It would also encompass witnesses who perform consulting work for oligarchs in … adversarial nations, which is often not disclosed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act [LDA] or FARA,” he said.

The lack of transparency is even worse in the Senate, which doesn’t require witnesses to divulge foreign conflicts of interest—and apparently has no plans to do so.

Think tanks that refuse foreign funding, such as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the American Foreign Policy Council, support additional transparency on the Hill.

Banks is leading demands for the House reform effort.

“Witnesses appearing before committees are often able to skirt disclosure requirements. … This is problematic considering [the] Chinese Communist Party’s disinformation operations in the United States include funding Washington D.C. think tanks,” he said.

“The U.S. China Security and Economic Commission has noted that a number of Washington D.C. think tanks and universities have received funding from Tung Chee-hwa, a vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, which is a group that directs the United Front Work Department.”

The rule changes would be a step in the right direction, but even they don’t go far enough.

U.S. Air Force Academy professor Jahara Matisek, whose forthcoming book, “Old and New Battlespaces,” addresses the issue of foreign influence in the United States, said, “From a national security perspective, all foreign money (and even big corporate money) should be kept out because it skews American democracy, not to mention skewing domestic and foreign policies that benefit other countries and elites at the expense of the average American.”

The most effective lobbyists for Beijing in Washington are U.S. corporations that export to China and want the U.S. government to look the other way on certain issues—the CCP’s multiple genocides, for example—so as to not derail the gravy train of $600 billion in annual U.S.–China trade and $2.3 trillion in U.S. institutional investments in China.

“U.S. national security is not taken that seriously by either political party in the US, precisely because the incentive structures are upside down,” Matisek wrote. “No politicians seem to be punished by their electorate for [bad] national security outcomes.”

So it would seem that even the Republican proposals don’t go far enough.

The penalty for lying on disclosure forms that they’ve proposed is only a ban on speaking before the same committee for three years. Perjury is a more serious offense, especially on matters of national security. Anyone who purposefully lies to Congress should spend time in prison.

Professors at U.S. universities, which receive extensive funding from China through individual student tuition that the CCP can turn on or off, would likely be exempt under the new rules.

Politically influential professors, who can make millions of dollars in outside contracts with foreign governments, should have to report this publicly. Professors at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government aren’t required to publicly disclose foreign funding, even as they often appear as media and congressional experts on national security matters.

Greater transparency about foreign revenues should also apply to corporate experts. Everyone who’s politically influential in the United States, if they receive any foreign money, should have to disclose that funding. At risk is the future of freedom.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Only saw one vehicle/individual twice in 28 days while camping this time – obviously not counting a few necessary trips into town for food and supplies after deciding to extend the previously planned week of activities. (Just can’t work like I used to when younger and being stuck in the mud on a county road for a couple of days cut into the planned work schedule.) Undoubtedly another successful (though very challenging) desert retreat. Still evaluating what I learned from this most recent experience. There were challenging obstacles, frightening failures, and a host of disappointments that were ultimately and successfully negotiated under a simple one word suggestion of action (by a recently acquired and very good friend already): IMPROVISE.

Various carefully constructed plans unequivocally failed (primarily due to environmental elements such as rain, snow, ice and of course extremely strong rotating winds) with potential danger lurking at each subsequent step, so any approach to this situation had to be flexible in order to meander through the developing and quickly changing maze of difficulties. Prior plans were immediately abandoned to make room for the new approach. Yup, the answer was simple, logical and effective: TRASH PRIOR PLANS and IMPROVISE! Strange how in that deep pit of physical and emotional exhaustion, the angst and feelings of helplessness almost magically disappeared with just hearing that familiar word spoken by another. Especially when the activity is something I have always enjoyed, yet for whatever reasons, that simple solution had completely bypassed my cognitive awareness in that pit of despair. The feeling of growing helplessness gradually vanished with hearing that one word. IMPROVISE was a shinning beacon through the fog of doubt and apprehension and put everything into a crystal clear perspective for not only basic survival, but the continuation of a journey planned for months. [Wonder if “BIG D” truly appreciates how important and meaningful his one word suggestion was? Guess I’ll just have to keep thanking him until joining the blowing dust of this planet myself?]

FEELS GOOD WHEN YOU STOP BANGING YOUR HEAD AGAINST A BRICK WALL

So many things have become as clear as the stars in the Nevada desert sky. I’m through with wasting precious time and effort on matters without a chance of correction due to decades of systemic fraud, corruption and betrayal of MR WECs (Merced River Water Entitled Customers) of the Lake Don Pedro residential subdivision. Haven’t changed my opinion on this STATE SUPPORTED CRIMINAL CORRUPTION OF A PUBLIC AGENCY one bit, but rather, only how much more time I am willing to sacrifice in the failed attempt to educate/motivate other victims of this subsidized special benefit groundwater substitution program created to circumvent clear PLACE OF USE restrictions contained in water license 11395 which regulates use and consumption of Merced River water. (Mouthful yeah? lol) When the holders of such a precious license actually cooperate with intentional violators – well, that’s a big clue as to what is actually happening behind the scenes and the probability for corrective action under the current DEMO RAT political environment is minimal. Such obstructionism to the RULE OF LAW goes all the way to the STATE WATER BOARD where employees in particular divisions of expertise/authority can quite effectively prevent and/or sabotage legitimate investigations and corrective actions with impunity to the benefit of their third party special interests. All the while taxpayers pay for the grand deception of honesty in government and rule of law as they are routinely cheated and lied to on a daily basis. The Demo Rat method of operation.

Nope. Haven’t changed my political opinion at all, and not surrendering, rather just focusing on what I believe to be the best course of action for me personally at this juncture in my life as I certainly am not getting younger. (Although the desert in some ways does simulate such feelings as being young again – possibly due to all the new things being learned?) Life is too precious to waste on state protected cheats, liars and bureaucratic criminals. I’m tired of the ANTI-AMERICAN DEMO RAT DRAMA (impossible without a corrupted Main Stream Media – finally unmasked as the crucial co-conspirator it is) they talk and talk and talk about American values and the good things they do while waving the red, white and blue and screwing the American Citizen and Patriot at every imaginable opportunity.

Yes indeed, multiply my previous comments and opinions a 100 times or so as these DEMO RAT TRAITORS AND SUBTLE TERRORISTS MUST BE REMOVED FROM ANY POSITION OF GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITY ASAP IF WE ARE TO SAVE THIS GREAT NATION from its obvious direction towards destruction. THEY (DEMS) ARE WOLVES IN SHEEP CLOTHING WHO CONTINUALLY STRIVE TO DESTROY OUR AMERICA (emphasis on the all inclusive “OUR”) in any way they believe might be effective which necessarily operates through disinformation and surreptitious betrayal of legal American citizens at every level of government. And what have public schools been teaching impressionable students for many years? Effective correction takes time.

DEMO RATS will continue to fail miserably and will eventually exhaust the supply of traditional American compassion, sensitivity and understanding for activities now clearly identified and recognized as Anti-American, unconstitutional and an assault on our system of justice and Rule of Law. Freedom of Speech and the speaking of truth has been suppressed long enough by these tyrants and the time for public accountability is rapidly approaching. Stay informed and do what you can to save YOUR AMERICA……. but enjoy life and appreciate the blessings we all will continue to receive as American Citizens and Patriots of this indeed exceptional and God Blessed Nation.

My best to you and yours, Lew