Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
Latest action · Dec 18, 2020 Became Public Law No: 116-222.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 28, 2019
- Passed SenateMay 20, 2020
- Passed HouseDec 2, 2020
- To the PresidentDec 8, 2020
- Became lawDec 18, 2020Public Law 116-222
Summary
Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
This bill requires certain issuers of securities to establish that they are not owned or controlled by a foreign government. Specifically, an issuer must make this certification if the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is unable to audit specified reports because the issuer has retained a foreign public accounting firm not subject to inspection by the board. Furthermore, if the board is unable to inspect the issuer's public accounting firm for three consecutive years, the issuer's securities are banned from trade on a national exchange or through other methods.
Foreign issuers of securities that use such a firm to prepare an audit report must disclose for each non-inspection year
- the percentage of shares owned by governmental entities where the issuer is incorporated,
- whether these governmental entities have a controlling financial interest,
- information related to any board members who are officials of the Chinese Communist Party, and
- whether the articles of incorporation of the issuer contain any charter of the Chinese Communist Party.
Cosponsors 4
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 28, 2019 to May 20, 2020; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Original | Mar 28, 2019 |
| R-ND | Kevin Cramer | May 18, 2020 | |
| R-FL | Rick Scott | May 19, 2020 | |
| R-AR | Tom Cotton | May 20, 2020 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee | Referred Mar 28, 2019Hearings Jun 4, 2019Hearings Dec 10, 2019Discharged May 20, 2020 |
Actions 18
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 18, 2020Signed by President.
- Dec 18, 2020Became Public Law No: 116-222.
- Dec 8, 2020Presented to President.
- Dec 2, 2020Mr. Clay moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- Dec 2, 2020Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H6031-6035)
- Dec 2, 2020DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 945.
- Dec 2, 2020Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H6031-6032)
- Dec 2, 2020Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- May 22, 2020Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- May 22, 2020Received in the House.
- May 22, 2020Held at the desk.
- May 20, 2020Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.
- May 20, 2020Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S2519-2520)
- May 20, 2020Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR S2520)
- Dec 10, 2019Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 116-272.
- Jun 4, 2019Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 116-41.
- Mar 28, 2019Introduced in Senate
- Mar 28, 2019Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
In the Congressional Record 2
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H6031–H6035, H6041Text printed H6031 | Andy Barr R-KY, Anthony Gonzalez R-OH, Brad Sherman D-CA, Wm. Lacy Clay D-MO | Dec 2, 2020 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S2519–S2521Text printed S2520Amendments S2520, S2557 | Ben Sasse R-NE, Chris Van Hollen D-MD (amendment), John Kennedy R-LA (amendment), Kevin Cramer R-ND (amendment), Marco Rubio R-FL (amendment), Robert Menendez D-NJ (amendment), Tom Cotton R-AR (amendment) | May 20, 2020 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
CRS reports 8
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
About this bill 1
Products that name it in their title: its number, its law number or one of its short titles.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| IN11507 | Capital Markets and the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act—S. 945 and H.R. 7000 Archived | Insight | Sep 18, 2020 |
Also cite it 7
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| IF11953 | Evergrande Group and China’s Debt Challenges | Resource | May 12, 2026 |
| R48647 | Private Sector: Accounting and Auditing Regulatory Structure | Report | Aug 26, 2025 |
| IF11803 | U.S. Capital Markets and China: Issues for Congress | Resource | Dec 19, 2024 |
| IF10701 | Introduction to Financial Services: Accounting and Auditing Regulatory Structure, U.S. and International | Resource | Jan 5, 2023 |
| IF12212 | U.S.-China Auditing Agreement and Issues for Congress | Resource | Sep 13, 2022 |
Amendments 1
Amendments offered to this bill.
| Amendment | Description | Offered by | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| SA 1589 | In the nature of a substitute. | John Kennedy R-LA | Amendment SA 1589 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent. |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 4629 | America LEADS Act | Related bill | Sep 17, 2020 |
| HR 7000 | Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act | Identical bill | May 22, 2020 |
Titles 5
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to require certain issuers to disclose to the Securities and Exchange Commission information regarding foreign jurisdictions that prevent the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board from performing inspections under that Act, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Passed House
- Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
- Short Title(s) as Passed Senate
- Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
- Short Titles from ENR (Enrolled) bill text
- Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector.
Text 3
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- —Enrolled Bill
- May 20, 2020Engrossed in Senate
- Mar 28, 2019Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
