Members of Congress Push to Sever D.C. Partnerships with Enemy Regimes
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI), alongside Reps. Comer, Foxx, Stefanik, Dunn, Bilirakis, and Moran, introduced the District of Columbia Sister City Integrity Act, a bill aimed at safeguarding America’s capital from undue foreign influence by prohibiting the D.C. government from entering or maintaining into Sister City relationships with jurisdictions located in foreign adversary countries.
"In Washington D.C., our citizens enjoy freedom of speech, petition, and assembly. In Beijing, under the CCP’s rule, the Chinese people have no such rights," Chairman Moolenaar said. "Among all countries with which Washington, D.C. has sister city partnerships, China is uniquely marked by worsening human rights conditions, making this relationship particularly troubling."
This bill comes on the heels of the letter Chairman Moolenaar sent to Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser urging her to end the city's sister city relationship with Beijing, a move aimed at rejecting CCP propaganda and standing unequivocally with the Chinese people.
Under the bill, D.C. would be required to terminate existing Sister City relationships with any jurisdiction in a “foreign adversary country” as defined under U.S. law (10 U.S.C. § 4872). The city would have up to 180 days from enactment to unwind these relationships and would be barred from using federal funds for international outreach unless in full compliance.
As America’s seat of government and a hub for diplomatic activity, Washington, D.C. holds unique strategic significance. This bill reinforces the importance of protecting that status from influence operations by adversarial states.
###