Lawmakers in Washington want to force the federal government to move faster when it comes to cutting off Chinese officials from American markets. Senator Rick Scott and Representative Elise Stefanik introduced a new piece of legislation on Thursday called the CCP Sanctions Shot Clock Act, aiming to put a strict one-year deadline on financial penalties.
The bill tackles a major gap in how the U.S. handles foreign security threats. Right now, under the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, the president has to hand over a report every two years naming Chinese individuals or companies that pose a risk. If these entities have ties to China’s military-industrial complex, they are supposed to land on the Treasury Department’s Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List. Being on that list means American citizens and companies are totally banned from buying or investing in their publicly traded stocks.
The problem, according to the bill’s sponsors, is that the list hasn’t actually been updated since 2021. The new legislation fixes that by giving the Treasury Secretary exactly one year to officially update the list and publish the revisions in the Federal Register after the president’s report comes out.
The Epoch Times first reported the story, noting that the mandate targets entities already flagged on several specific U.S. government watchlists. These include the Department of Commerce’s Entity List and Military End-User List, the FCC’s Covered List, and the State Department’s Uyghur Forced Labor Act Entity List.
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The lawmakers behind the bill argue that the current delays are a major vulnerability.
“No one working on behalf of the CCP’s military interests should be doing business in this country, full stop,” Senator Scott said. “Communist China is our enemy and we need to wake up and start acting like it. Once someone is identified as a threat to our security and our way of life, we shouldn’t wait around to hit them with sanctions. That’s what this legislation fixes, and that’s I am glad to be partnering with Rep. Stefanik on this effort to hold Communist China accountable.”
Representative Stefanik echoed those concerns, pointing out that Congress previously demanded reports on these companies but saw little follow-through.
“I’m proud to champion several efforts with Senator Scott (R-FL) to decouple the U.S. economy from Chinese companies that threaten our national security,” Stefanik said. “This common-sense legislation ensures the Treasury Department can no longer delay action against entities tied to Communist China’s malign influence and military buildup. Last year Congress asked the administration to report on Chinese companies that qualify for expanded sanctions, the CCP Sanctions Shot Clock Act will guarantee that these companies are sanctioned with the urgency America needs to respond.”
The bill, officially designated as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, has been read twice in the Senate and referred to committee for its next steps.
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