{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A398EEB6-5854-48C6-A9F3-142931CF925F", "Senate Passes Sasse, Van Hollen Bill to Punish Foreign Companies, Individuals for IP Theft", "2020-12-20", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "NE", "Ben Sasse", "S001197", "www.sasse.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the bipartisanProtecting American Intellectual Property Act, legislation authored by U.S. Senators Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) to mandate strong economic penalties on firms and individuals involved in stealing American intellectual property. The Senators' bill requires sanctions on individuals and firms found to engage in, benefit from, or enable the significant and serial theft of U.S. intellectual property.\r\nThis is a big step forward. Senator Van Hollen and I have worked hard to get this passed in the Senate  and we urge the House to act quickly and take up this bipartisan legislation. We can't afford more delay. China's thieves and hackers have been robbing American companies of our intellectual property, and it's time we get serious about using our economic tools  like sanctions  to fight back,said Senator Sasse.\nForeign companies are working overtime to steal U.S. technology, damaging our economy and our national security in the process. The need to fight back could not be more urgent  especially after the series of cyberattacks we have witnessed aimed at the COVID-19 vaccine. The U.S. cannot sit idly by as these companies  and the governments enabling them  cheat their way to success,said Senator Van Hollen.This bill draws a line in the sand  outlining clear consequences these bad actors will face if they steal American innovation and technology. I was proud to work with Senator Sasse on this bipartisan effort, I'm glad to see the Senate act to hold these foreign entities accountable and protect American jobs. I urge the House to take up this bill immediately.\nBackground\nThe Protecting American Intellectual Property Act requires a report to Congress every six months identifying:\r\n \r\nAny individual or firm that has engaged in, benefitted from, or materially assisted the significant theft of U.S. trade secrets, if that theft constitutes a major threat to the national security, foreign policy, economic health or financial stability of the United States; and,\n\r\nThe chief executive officers and board members of the reported firms and whether those individuals have benefitted from the significant theft of U.S. trade secrets.\r\n \r\nSubsequently, the bill requires:  \r\n \r\nFor any firm identified in the report to Congress, the President must impose either property blocking sanctions or prohibit U.S. exports to that firm\r\nFor any individual identified in the report to Congress, the President must impose property blocking sanctions and must prohibit the individual's entry into the United States.\r\n \r\nThe economic penalties imposed terminate if the President certifies to Congress that the individual or firm is no longer engaged in the sanctionable behavior. The legislation also includes a national interest waiver.The text of the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act is availablehere.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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": ["http://www.sasse.senate.gov//public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A398EEB6-5854-48C6-A9F3-142931CF925F"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3522729277610779, "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"}