#Tom Cotton introduces move to block China-owned companies from receiving stimulus funds

WASHINGTON  — GOP Sen. Tom Cotton on Tuesday introduced an amendment to the Republican HEALS act banning any Chinese-owned entity from receiving stimulus cash.

The measure would also require the Secretary of the Treasury to claw back CARES Act funds provided to Chinese firms earlier this year amid reports they scored millions of dollars of PPP funding.

“China unleashed this plague on the world and they must be held accountable — not given a cash bonus by the American government,” Cotton said in a statement.

“My amendment would ensure all coronavirus relief funds stay right here in the United States where they’re needed the most,” he continued.

According to a New York Times report published Sunday, up to $419 million of PPP funding went to more than 125 companies that Chinese entities own or are invested in.

At least 32 Chinese companies pocketed loans worth more than $1 million.

The generous gift from the US government comes as the Chinese Communist government faces intense scrutiny over its disastrous handling of the pandemic, which originated in Wuhan in late 2019, including allegations it tried to cover-up and destroy evidence of the earliest cases.