Senate Says No to Allowing Federal Funds to Benefit China

The amendment prevents appropriations from being used to provide “any financial benefit” to Chinese entities.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) delivers remarks during the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on March 21, 2022. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Bipartisan members of the U.S. Senate agreed on Oct. 31 that federal funding for military construction and the departments of Veterans Affairs (VA), Transportation, Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Development should not benefit China.

In a 61-36 vote, members approved an amendment to the Senate’s spending package for those agencies that would prohibit the use of appropriated funds to provide “grants, funding, or any financial benefit” to China-based entities or their subsidiaries.