{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://fry.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=311", "Congressman Russell Fry (SC-07) Introduces the Chinese Spy Balloon Assessment Act", "2023-12-06", "2023", "2023-12", "Republican", "House", "SC", "Russell Fry", "F000478", "fry.house.gov", "fry", "https://fry.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 Today, Congressman Russell Fry (SC-07) introduced the Chinese Spy Balloon Assessment Act. This legislation would require the Secretary of Defense to submit a report on the intelligence collection capabilities of the Chinese surveillance balloon and its impacts on U.S. national security.\n\nOn January 28, 2023, a high-altitude surveillance balloon controlled by the People\u2019s Republic of China entered United States airspace and traveled across the country before being shot down off the coast of Congressman Fry\u2019s district, in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, on February 4, 2023. The American people deserve to know the truth behind the device that perpetrated China\u2019s blatant attempt at espionage.\n\nThe Chinese Spy Balloon Assessment Act would require the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to Congress on the national security impacts of the Chinese surveillance balloon, including:\n\na description of the balloon\u2019s surveillance on U.S. military installations; and\n\nan analysis of the technology and materials recovered from the surveillance balloon.\n\n\u201cThe Biden administration sat on their hands and let this spy balloon freely fly across the country before shooting it down off the coast of my hometown of Surfside Beach \u2014 putting our country\u2019s national security at risk and projecting weakness on the world stage,\u201d said Congressman Russell Fry. \u201cAlmost a year later, we still don\u2019t know the consequences of this administration\u2019s lack of action. This legislation will provide Congress and the American people with answers on the effects this spy balloon had on our country\u2019s national security.\u201d\n\n\u201cAccountability matters,\u201d said Lt. General (Ret.) Keith Kellogg Former National Security Advisor to Vice President Mike Pence, Co-Chair of the Center for American Security at the America First Policy Institute. \u201cUnfortunately, this Administration has not held up to that standard and has left the American people confused, angry, and concerned regarding our national security at home and abroad. Our Nation\u2019s security today faces more global threats from various enemies than it has faced in several decades, and they need to be addressed promptly and decisively. Congressman Fry rightly holds the Secretary of Defense accountable for providing a report detailing the failures and after-action steps regarding the massive intelligence failure surrounding the \u201cChina Spy Balloon\u201d debacle earlier this year. Congress should swiftly move this bill forward. South Carolinians and families across America deserve answers.\u201d\n\n\"The people of South Carolina and all Americans deserve full transparency from the Biden Administration regarding the events surrounding the Chinese spy balloon,\" said Governor Henry McMaster. \"I applaud Congressman Fry's efforts to hold the Biden Administration accountable and ensure the American people are informed about the implications and intelligence gathered by the Chinese government within U.S. airspace.\"\n\nThis bill is cosponsored by Reps. Biggs (R-AZ), Donalds (R-FL), Duncan (R-SC), Hageman (R-WY), Higgins (R-LA), Hinson (R-IA), Langworthy (R-NY), Moylan (R-GU), Norman (R-SC), Rose (R-TN), Timmons (R-SC), Weber (R-TX), Webster (R-FL), Wilson (R-SC).\n\nCongressman Fry serves on both the House Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight Committee and is also the Republican freshman class president. To stay up to date with Congressman Fry and his work for the Seventh District, follow his official Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages and visit his website at fry.house.gov.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "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://fry.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=311"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.039579976350069, "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"}