Senate to Take Up TikTok Divestiture, Iran Sanctions

The Senate on April 23 plans to begin considering a House-passed bill that would ban TikTok in the U.S. unless China’s ByteDance divests the popular social media application (see 2404180020).

The legislation, the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act, would also sanction Iranian oil, Hamas and traffickers of Captagon and fentanyl. It also would authorize seizing frozen Russian central bank assets in the U.S. to help rebuild Ukraine. The Senate is expected to combine the bill with three other House-passed bills that would send aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News April 21 that the four-bill package, also known as the national security supplemental, has “a lot of support” in the Senate and is “quite likely to pass” in the upper chamber. Cruz said he’s disappointed by the lack of measures to secure the U.S. southern border but is a “fan” of the Israeli military aid and TikTok provisions. “I have deep, deep concerns about TikTok [being] controlled by the Chinese Communist government,” Cruz said.

A key unknown is whether Senate opponents of the TikTok proposal will mount a major effort to try to derail it. While proponents of the divestiture requirement say the Chinese government can use the app to spread anti-U.S. propaganda and gain access to U.S. users' personal information, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said last month that the measure is unconstitutional because it would violate the First Amendment’s freedom of speech protection and the Fifth Amendment’s due process protection (see 2403150042). Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, also has raised concerns, saying the legislation would give too much power to the executive branch.

Another unknown is Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, who, in addition to opposing Ukraine aid, has criticized the Russian asset seizure proposal, saying it could weaken the Western financial system and make it difficult for the U.S. to sell bonds to finance its national debt (see 2404170050).

The House passed the TikTok, sanctions and Russian assets bill April 20 by a 360-58 vote. During its deliberations, the House approved an amendment by Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, that would require a report to Congress on Iran-related sanctions exemptions. The report also would have to provide information on all U.S.-blocked Iranian assets worth more than $5 million. Nunn said the amendment would give lawmakers information they need to conduct oversight and draft legislation.

The House also agreed to an amendment by Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., to require the Defense Department’s annual China Military Power report to provide an assessment of the country's development of critical and emerging technologies. The assessment also would have to identify key Chinese entities involved in each technology sector. Supporters said the amendment would help steer U.S. investment away from companies that are advancing China’s military capabilities.