The House Republicans, with the help of Democrats, passed 28 bills to combat the Chinese Communist Party last week. However the Democratic-run Senate will not act on the top priorities.

The House measures aim to counter China’s influence on U.S. agricultural land and intellectual property as well as the electric vehicle market.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (a Louisiana Republican) said, “We are still the world’s last superpower.” House Republicans will do so because the White House chose not to stand up against China and defend American interests.

Republicans were trying to contrast themselves with Democrats. They highlighted five bills which received bipartisan support, but not a majority. Senate will not take up these bills.

The Washington Times quoted Maine Democrat Jared Golden as saying, “I’m more or less on board with their message, but doubt they’ll achieve any real policymaking.”

The White House expressed reservations on four bills, and opposed them on the other. The House Republicans are now facing even more obstacles, with just two weeks left before the November election and five before the end of the current Congress.

Sen. Tim Kaine (Democrat from Virginia and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee) said he expected Senate Majority leader Charles E. Schumer (Democrat from New York) to focus on funding before the October 1 deadline for the shutdown.

No shutdown is the top priority. “I think that’s what everyone is going to focus on,” Kaine said in The Times.

Mr. Schumer announced that a messaging vote would be held on a measure, which Republicans had blocked in June. The measure codified the right to fertility treatment such as in vitro fertilisation and required coverage for federal and private health insurance plans.

The bill that received the least resistance from the White House was the one that would prevent the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from funding institutions of higher education with suspicious dealings in China. The bill passed with a vote of 249-161, and three dozen Democrats joined all Republicans to support it.

The White House stated that it “supports” the “intent” of the bill, but believes “there may [be] more appropriate ways to achieve it”. The White House did not provide alternatives, but stated that it would work closely with Congress to improve the bill.

The bill that would provide oversight for agricultural land purchased by foreign enemies such as China, received the most bipartisan of the five. The bill passed 269-149, with 55 Democrats voting in favor despite White House objections.

The bill would require the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review and possibly block Chinese and foreigners from purchasing farmland, if they present a national-security risk.

The White House has said that the legislation is not necessary because the two main requirements of the bill are already included in the CFIUS processes and have been codified by the appropriations process.

Rep. Dan Newhouse is a Washington Republican and the sponsor of the bill. He said that he wants to codify the requirements permanently, beyond the budget process.

He said that either the White House misunderstands this, or they are just against the idea. “I think the rationale is incorrect.”

The bill establishing the CCP Initiative in the Justice Department was passed 237 to 180. The bill would combat threats to intellectual property, academic and research institutions, and punish those who steal trade secret and engage in espionage.

23 Democrats supported the bill despite a strong White House objection. The bill would create an entity similar in nature to the China Initiative that the Justice Department disbanded by 2022.

The administration stated that the way the bill groups targeted threats could “give rise to incorrect public perceptions” that DOJ uses a different standard when investigating and prosecuting criminal conduct involving the Chinese or American citizens of Chinese descent.

The bill that would prevent electric vehicles using battery materials from China from being eligible for federal tax credits was passed by a narrower 217-192 margin.

Seven Democrats have joined Republicans to criticize the clean vehicle tax credit their party passed in the Inflation Reduction Act last Congress. The law already contains strict eligibility requirements. According to the White House, the Republican bill would add “unclear” and “unworkable” restrictions.

The administration claimed that the measure would “disrupt the market and threaten the more than 175 billion dollars in investments made so far” as well as increase prices for consumers.

The bill that received the least support from Democrats was the one with the least direct relation to China. Only four Democrats voted with Republicans to pass a bill 219-199 that would require two-thirds approval of the Senate to implement any World Health Organization agreement relating to pandemic prevention or preparedness.

The White House claimed that the bill would limit the authority of the president and any administration to protect the U.S. against public emergencies like COVID-19.

Under a process called suspension of rules, the House approved 23 China-related bills that were less controversial. To pass this process, two thirds of the House must support it. Voice vote was used to pass all but three.

Bills that were passed by the House without opposition included measures to tighten export controls, impose sanctions on China and limit its influence over U.S. telecom infrastructure. The Senate can pass legislation unanimously if no senator objects.

The three other bills that were passed by the fast track process received majority support from both sides and are likely to be acted upon in the Senate.

The measure that requires the president to remove privileges from Hong Kong’s economic and trading offices in the U.S., if they no longer operate with a high level of autonomy from China, passed 413-3.

The bill, which would allow appropriators up to $325,000,000 annually until fiscal 2027 to be put into a fund to combat “the malign influences of the Chinese Communist Party, the Government of People’s Republic of China, and entities acting on behalf of them globally,” passed with a vote of 351-36.

The second measure, passed 306 to 81, prohibits federal funds from being sent to biotechnology firms owned, operated, or controlled by China. The measure specifically targets five companies that have extensive links to the Chinese Communist Party. This includes BGI and its subsidiaries, the largest genetic data collector in the world.