The House Select Committee on China is creating a working group to address China’s role as the world’s leading supplier of precursor chemicals for fentanyl, committee Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., said in a statement June 20. Reps. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., and Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., will lead the new group. A report the committee released in April said that Congress should approve tougher sanctions and import restrictions to stem the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. (see 2404160039). Many of the new measures recommended in the report would be aimed at China.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., announced June 20 that they are introducing a bill to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The House of Representatives last week approved a proposal that would require the administration to report to Congress on how proceeds from illicit Iranian oil exports are funding Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Tehran’s terrorist proxies.

Senate Banking Committee ranking member Tim Scott, R-S.C., asked the Treasury Department last week to tell him when it plans to provide lawmakers with an overdue report on Iran sanctions.

House Foreign Affairs Committee member Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., during a hearing on competition with China in the Western Hemisphere, argued that the shortages experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic show that businesses should move supply chains to the Western Hemisphere.

Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., introduced a bill June 11 aimed at preventing foreign terrorists from acquiring unmanned aerial vehicles, which are increasingly used to attack U.S. troops.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., a member of the House Select Committee on China, has introduced a bill that would prevent Chinese Communist Party agents or businesses from buying real estate next to U.S. federal land, the panel announced June 12. Committee Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., is among the co-sponsors of the No American Land for Communist China Act, which is intended to protect sensitive national security sites from spying. The bill was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., introduced a bill June 11 that would require the Defense and State departments to monitor China’s efforts to build or buy “strategic foreign ports.” The bill was referred to the House Armed Services, Financial Services and Foreign Affairs committees. Additional information was not immediately available.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced a bill last week that would prohibit the Bureau of Industry and Security from using federal funds to finalize, implement or enforce a new interim final rule restricting firearms exports.

Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., has been appointed to fill a vacancy on the House Select Committee on China, the panel announced last week. Cline, a former prosecutor, said he favors “tough policies that tactically confront the [Chinese Communist Party] at home and abroad and safeguard our nation’s interests.” Former Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Mich., who used to chair the committee, created an opening on the panel by leaving Congress in April (see 2403250066).