4 progressives, 2 conservatives vote against bill to hold China accountable for spy balloon

Four progressives and two conservatives voted against a bill on Monday that seeks to hold the People’s Republic of China (PRC) accountable for flying a spy balloon over the continental U.S., including through sanctions, export controls and international coordination and pressure.

The legislation — titled the Upholding Sovereignty of Airspace Act, or USA Act — passed in a 405-6 vote.

Democratic Reps. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Delia Ramirez (Ill.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) — all members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — voted against the measure, in addition to Republican Reps. Warren Davidson (Ohio) and Thomas Massie (Ky.).

Davidson is a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and Massie — who is not a member of the group — considers himself to be adjacent to them.

A spokesperson for Davidson told The Hill on Tuesday that the congressman opposed the bill because it “gives Joe Biden a free pass for failing to stop the CCP’s invasion of our airspace” and, he claimed, “grants Biden the ability to do something he already has the power to do, and yet again he’s failed to act.”

“Rep. Davidson has the strongest record of being a deterrent to Communist China,” the spokesperson added in a statement.

The Hill reached out to the other lawmakers for comment on why they voted against the legislation.

The House approved the bill more than two months after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina after the device floated through several states in the U.S. Days after the balloon was downed, the House unanimously approved a resolution that condemned the Chinese Communist Party’s use of the balloon.

Monday’s bill proposed holding the PRC “accountable for the violation of United States airspace and sovereignty with its high-altitude surveillance balloon.”

One way to achieve that, according to the legislation, is through imposing sanctions. The legislation, if enacted, would allow President Biden to impose sanctions on “any PRC individual the President determines is directly managing and overseeing the PRC’s global surveillance balloon program.” The president could impose the sanctions as soon as 180 days after the legislation is enacted.

Potential sanctions include blocking property and revoking visas. Any authorized intelligence, law enforcement or national security activities of the U.S., however, would be exempted, among other individuals.

The legislation also calls on the Commerce Secretary to evaluate the export, reexport and in-country transfer of items and technology that is subject to U.S. jurisdiction that pertains to aerospace programs — including airships, balloons and related materials — that are used by the People’s Liberation Army for intelligence and reconnaissance. The secretary would be directed to submit a report to congressional committees on the findings.

Thirdly, the bill calls on the Secretary of State — in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations — to “develop a diplomatic strategy to inform allies and partners of the scope of the PRC surveillance program and build global consensus in order to address the PRC’s global surveillance balloon program.”

That task, according to the bill, would include sharing intelligence as appropriate regarding the PRC’s global balloon program and previous examples of it violating sovereign airspace belonging to allies and partners, coordinating with allies to identify and track future Chinese spy balloons, and using the authority of the U.S. at the UN “to spur greater diplomatic pressure on the PRC to halt its surveillance collection operations that violate international sovereignty.”

It also calls for “raising the challenges posed by the PRC’s global surveillance balloon program at major multilateral forums, including the G7 and G20 summits,” among other tenets.

This story was updated on April 18, 2023 at 10:52 am ET.