State capitals and city halls are learning to become the front line in the war against hostile foreign influence. For years, agents and entities under the control of the Chinese Communist Party and other hostile foreign actors have attacked local institutions through espionage, disinformation, and covert political operations.
Fortunately, state officials are stepping up to face the threat head-on. Governors, legislators, and other state officials are embracing the genius of federalism and exploring both novel and proven policies to protect their citizens from hostile regimes.
Take foreign agents, for example. It’s common for foreign governments to hire local lobbyists or political consultants to push policies and messaging benefiting their foreign clients – often at the expense of American citizens. This is wrong, and it should be exposed. Both Arkansas and Louisiana passed comprehensive foreign agent registration laws this year, requiring any lobbyist or political group funded by a foreign adversary to disclose their funding and activities.
Beyond hiring local counsel, foreign cash is also being used to manipulate academic curriculum and research. We’ve seen repeatedly how foreign governments buy influence in academia to steal intellectual property, sway research and classroom instruction, or indoctrinate students with anti-American views. The federal government requires universities to disclose foreign donations exceeding $250,000. Georgia, however, lowered the threshold this spring for its state university system to any foreign gift or contract totaling $1,000 or more.
In addition to agents and academics, foreign governments target American assets like land. Foreign land ownership – especially near military bases or critical infrastructure – has become an increasingly well-known issue, and state lawmakers have taken note. Florida and South Dakota banned foreign land ownership. Texas followed suit this spring, a significant move, given that nearly half of all Chinese-controlled land in the U.S. is located in the Lone Star State.
Another asset lawmakers are protecting is cash. State employee and teacher pension funds are massive – some of the largest funds of their type in the world. Yet often, these taxpayer dollars are used to invest in and grow companies completely controlled by our adversaries. Arkansas, under the leadership of Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, passed legislation this spring banning public investment in Chinese companies. In Missouri, Treasurer Vivek Malek worked with industry to launch a China-free investment fund, removing taxpayer dollars from CCP-controlled entities and setting a national example for pension reform.
Finally, we’re seeing states protect supply chains and manufacturing. Drones are among the many products manufactured offshore to our detriment, like medicine or semiconductors. Small and cheap unmanned drones have exploded in popularity in recent years, used daily by farmers, police departments, and, increasingly, criminals and spies.
The issue escalates as a dominating majority of commercial drones (90%) are made in China, some of which maintain data connections to CCP-controlled servers. Nebraska is mitigating this growing threat by ensuring state agencies only purchase drones on a whitelist cleared by the U.S. Department of Defense. This will help ensure only verified drones are being used by Nebraska government entities. Additionally, Louisiana became the first state to empower local law enforcement to neutralize drones that pose a threat, offering a new public safety solution for these potential weapons – whether they’re controlled by the CCP or not.
China, Iran, and other hostile regimes may feel far away, but their influence operations are already reaching into our communities. Americans should be encouraged that in state legislatures and halls of power around this country, elected leaders are thinking seriously about how to counteract foreign influence. The public is demanding they do. We conducted a poll that found 75% of likely voters said they are concerned that foreign adversaries are trying to compromise U.S. security, and 67% believe the Chinese government and CCP leadership pose a major threat to U.S. national security.
I started State Shield to work with state leaders to develop and implement policy solutions to counter foreign influence. We’re proud to play a significant role in the passage of many of these bills. We will continue to embrace our federalist system, trying new approaches and replicating successful policies, as we build a safer and stronger America one state at a time.
Joe Gebbia is founder and CEO of State Shield, a non-partisan organization that helps state and local leaders counter hostile foreign influence threatening America’s security, supply chains and core values.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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