{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnson-leads-bill-block-state-investments-communist-china", "Johnson Leads Bill to Block State Investments in Communist China", "2023-11-30", "2023", "2023-11", "Republican", "House", "SD", "Dusty Johnson", "J000301", "dustyjohnson.house.gov", "dustyjohnson", "https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) introduced legislation to allow states to prohibit state funds from bankrolling the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP); Governor Kristi Noem endorsed the legislation.\n\n\u201cAmerica should not help advance the CCP agenda, especially with state funds,\u201d said Johnson. \u201cMy bill empowers states to divest their investment dollars from CCP-linked companies. South Dakota understands the threat of the CCP, and I am grateful for Governor Noem\u2019s leadership and partnership to protect our state from their communist regime.\u201d\n\nThroughout the summer, Governor Noem and Congressman Johnson held several conversations about this legislation and how it would benefit both South Dakota and the nation. In December 2022, Governor Noem wrote to congressional leadership calling for legislation like what Congressman Johnson is introducing.\n\n\u201cI am grateful that Congressman Johnson sees the national security threat that China poses,\u201d said Governor Kristi Noem. \u201cProtecting South Dakota from nations that hate America has been a priority of mine as Governor, and I am glad that he is doing the same in Congress.\u201d\n\nThe PRC Accountability and Divestment Act of 2023 is cosponsored by U.S. Representatives John Moolenaar (R-MI), Rob Wittman (R-VA), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Carlos Gim\u00e9nez (R-FL).\n\nThe PRC Accountability and Divestment Act of 2023 allows states to make the decisions to divest taxpayer funds from China. Specifically, this bill:\n\nProvides State and local governments with the authority to divest assets from and prohibit investments within the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC);\n\nProvides State and local governments with a safe harbor for changes of investment policies related to the PRC; and,\n\nStates a fiduciary of an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) plan may divest plan assets from the PRC.\n\nCongress has previously passed similar legislation supporting state and local actions to divest from states that are a threat to the United States or committing human rights atrocities. In 2010, Congress passed the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act. In 2007, Congress passed the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:01:09Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://dustyjohnson.house.gov/media/press-releases/johnson-leads-bill-block-state-investments-communist-china"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8910461328923702, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}