GOP Rep Jack Bergman Introduces Bill To Crack Down On Foreign State Media Operating On Capitol Hill

Rep. Jack Bergman, R-MI), introduced new legislation Wednesday that would make it mandatory for states to sponsor elections Media All organizations operating on Capitol Hill are required to comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act as well as other applicable U.S laws.

Bergman is a former Marine Corps Lieutenant General and serves as Chairman of the House Armed Services Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee. He wrote the following legislation Letter Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R – CA), last month targeted Qatar’s Al Jazeera Media Network, (AJMN)

Bergman and two other Republican legislators called for the “immediate suspension of press credentials for the Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN), and for that suspension to remain in place until the State of Qatar and its propaganda arm agree to adhere to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and other U.S. laws.”

The letter pointed out, for example, that Al Jazeera employs 136 people with press credentials and The New York Times has only 82.

“Credentialed members of the House and Senate galleries enjoy unparalleled access to the U.S. Capitol, as well as to Senators, Members of Congress, and staffers,” Notification of the note. “While this access is necessary for the media to provide accurate reporting to the American public, it is also the kind of access coveted by foreign powers seeking sensitive information from inside Congress.”

Bergman’s requirements for compliance with FARA are in addition to Bergman’s. Legislation also:

Limit of ten press credentials per qualifying foreign state sponsored media outlet and affiliates. FBI background checks required for all applicants to the House Press Gallery via a qualifying foreign government-sponsored media outlet.

Bergman’s bill highlights several foreign adversaries that have well-documented histories of spying on Americans — such as Russia, Qatar, and China — and that own powerful state-controlled propaganda organizations that have virtually unlimited access to U.S. lawmakers, making espionage easier.

“Troublingly, state-sponsored media outlets are not subjected to background checks prior to acquiring credentials, even if the outlet is owned or controlled by a state that is known to have conducted espionage operations targeting U.S. government officials or other Americans,” Bergman made the statement in a statement. “Over the past decade, the People’s Republic of China, Russia, and the State of Qatar have aggressively deployed their espionage forces against United States Government agencies and government officials, as well as targeting thousands of United States businesses and Americans perceived to be opponents or dissidents of their regimes.”

Bergman’s office found numerous instances of Russia, China and Qatar spying upon Americans on U.S. soil. This highlights the importance of the legislation.

“Unless and until state-sponsored media outlets respect our laws by registering under FARA, we cannot allow their employees almost unfettered access to the halls of Congress—especially if the FBI has never conducted background checks on those given ‘all-access passes’ for Capitol Hill,” Bergman stated. “If foreign state-sponsored media outlets from countries such as China, Qatar and Russia will not respect FARA and our laws protecting Americans from surveillance, the possibility is all too real that foreign intelligence services could use their propaganda arms to hide intelligence operatives in plain sight in the U.S. Capitol.”

“It is difficult to see how anyone could stand in opposition to legislation that merely requires foreign state-sponsored media outlets to comply with U.S. law in order to receive Congressional press credentials,” He concluded.