for. (15) The Chinese government imposed travel bans on its own people but told other nations, including neighboring ones, that similar restrictions were unnecessary. (16) There have been more than 200,000 deaths from COVID–19 in the United States and approximately 980,000 deaths, globally. (17) The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Christopher Wray recently described the greatest long-term threat to our Nation’s information and intellectual property, and to our economic vitality, is the counterintelligence and economic espionage threat from China. . (18) Director Wray unequivocally identified the source of this economic espionage, malignant foreign influence, and menacing threat: when I speak of the threat from China, I mean the Government of China and the Chinese Communist Party. . (19) According to the updated 2017 report issued by the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property, the PRC is responsible for coordinating a massive campaign in intellectual property theft, stealing anywhere between $250,000,000,000 and $600,000,000,000 annually from the United States. (20) The IP Commission’s estimate does not include the full cost of patent infringement—an area sorely in need of greater research . (21) The United States Trade Representative has confirmed the findings of the 2017 IP Commission’s report. (22) The IP Commission found that forced technology transfer accounts for anywhere from $180,000,000,000 to $540,000,000,000 per year in lost value for the United States economy