Chairman Moolenaar, Bipartisan Lawmakers Unveil Bill to Stop AI Chip Smuggling to China

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), along with Reps. Rick Crawford (R-AR), Bill Foster (D-IL), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Darin LaHood (R-IL), and Ted Lieu (D-CA), today introduced the Chip Security Act, a bipartisan effort to stop advanced U.S. AI chips from falling into the hands of adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The bill responds to mounting evidence—including the Select Committee’s DeepSeek report—that U.S. chips were potentially funneled into China through shell companies, where they’re used to advance the CCP’s military, surveillance apparatus, and AI dominance.

"For too long, the Chinese Communist Party has exploited weaknesses in our export control enforcement system—using shell companies and smuggling networks to divert sensitive U.S. technology that helps fuel its military advancement and extend its surveillance capabilities to further its repression," said Chairman Moolenaar. "That puts our national security and our leadership in artificial intelligence at risk. This bipartisan bill closes those gaps with real safeguards to keep our most advanced chips out of the wrong hands. I’m proud to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and we’re committed to getting this legislation across the finish line and signed into law.”

The Chip Security Act would:

• Require Location Verification for Advanced AI Chips: The Department of Commerce must work to ensure America’s most advanced AI chips are not diverted to unauthorized regions and end up in the hands of our adversaries—especially those fueling military aggression or targeting the U.S. economy and service members.
• Enforce Mandatory Reporting: Chipmaker companies must report and share credible information about potential diversion of sensitive technology to restricted actors.
• Study Additional Safeguards: Requires the Department of Commerce to study additional methods that could stop U.S. chips from being stolen, misused, or ending up in the wrong hands.

The bill is a direct response to bipartisan concerns raised by the House Select Committee on China and reinforces the need for enforceable safeguards to prevent the CCP from accelerating its AI capabilities with American technology.

A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR). A copy of that legislation is available here.

How This Bill Protects and Helps Americans:

1. Protects American Troops: By stopping U.S. chips from powering adversaries like China's AI-enabled weapons and surveillance tech, the bill helps prevent those same tools from being used against U.S. service members in future conflicts.
2. Safeguards American Jobs and Innovation: When adversaries like China get their hands on advanced U.S. chips to supercharge its AI systems, it threatens our tech leadership—and the industries and jobs that come with it. This bill helps keep America's edge in innovation, protecting high-paying jobs in fields like semiconductors, software, and manufacturing.
3. Blocks Tools of Oppression from Being Built with U.S. Tech: Chinese firms are using smuggled U.S. chips to build surveillance systems used to track and silence their own citizens. This bill ensures American technology isn’t used to power authoritarian crackdowns abroad—preserving our values and global credibility.

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