Measure aimed at China and other 'adversary nations' advances

By Fred Knapp , Senior Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media

May 9, 2025, 2 p.m. ·

Nebraska Capitol (Photo by Fred Knapp, Nebraska Public Media News)

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A bill aimed at countering the activities of China and other “adversarial nations” is advancing in the Nebraska Legislature.

Sen. Eliot Bostar introduced the bill for Gov. Jim Pillen. It would require people engaging in political activities for, consulting, raising or spending money, or representing those deemed “adversary nations” to register with the Nebraska Attorney General and describe their activities, or face fines up to $50,000. The nations covered include China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and the Maduro regime in Venezuela.

The bill would also require businesses operating in Nebraska to attest, in the biannual reports they file with the state, that they are in compliance with LB644, which sponsors call the "Foreign Adversary and Terrorist Agent Registration Act."

Debating Thursday evening, Bostar quoted a report on the People’s Republic of China by the federal National Counterintelligence and Security Center to explain why he thinks the state should act.

“The PRC has stepped up its efforts to cultivate US state and local leaders, in a strategy some have described as ‘Using the local to surround the central.’ For the PRC and Chinese Communist Party, targeting state and local entities can be an effective way to pursue agendas that might be more challenging at the national level,” he said.

The bill drew pushback from Sen. Terrell McKinney, who tried to kill it.

“Isn't this like the job of the federal government? Do you think we might or maybe just overstepping in a sense of this?” he asked.

Other senators objected to the bill coming at a time when the federal government is cracking down on immigrants. Among them was Sen. George Dungan.

“There's been a broad effort made in the last few months that has certainly raised my red flags about -- call it like it is: xenophobia -- as it pertains to any number of folks coming from any number of different countries,” he said.

Sen. John Cavanaugh expressed concern that the bill would inch the state toward the very kind of system people dislike in the countries it targets.

“We are opposed to these countries because of their authoritarian nature, because of the way that they treat their citizens, or the people who have left their diaspora, where they reach out and try to get them in our country. And my problem with the bill, as written, is that I think that some of the things it calls for people to do tread into the territory of what we have a problem with,” he said.

Sen. Danielle Conrad worried about the power the bill gives the attorney general.

“We need to make sure that we are not deputizing the attorney general or local law enforcement to weaponize a measure that's brought forward in the interest of national security. We should not weaponize law enforcement to police dissent – peaceful dissent,” she said.

And Sen. Megan Hunt mocked the effort.

“I can't help but feel like we are indulging in a fantasy a little bit, that we're James Bond, that we're taking a brave stand against enemy forces, that there's a need for us to do something like this. But we're not, and I think that that is an impulse that might be better satisfied by playing a video game or reading a book, instead of passing a McCarthyist Red Scare law,” she said.

Supporting the bill, Sen. Kathleen Kauth lashed back at the critics.

“Why on earth do the progressives on this floor want to make it easier for foreign adversaries to take advantage of us, to take advantage of our systems, to take advantage of our good will? All we're saying is, ‘Hey, when we have these groups coming to Nebraska, which we do, we want to make sure that we are protecting ourselves,’” she said.

Sen. Dan Lonowski defended the bill as directed, not against individuals, but against hostile governments.

“I've been to about 20 different governments in this world, and at least a third of them would like to see us be eradicated from the Earth -- or at least our government,” he said.

And Sen. Tony Sorrentino said that when foreigners spend time in China, they have to register with the local police.

“Now I'm not suggesting for a minute that Nebraska adopt a Chinese-style government. That's not what I'm talking about at all. But I am saying that this type of legislation is being considered in other states, is worthy of being considered, and I think it's valuable,” he said.

One part of the bill says that if anyone associated with a college or university violates it, they must be expelled and barred from campus. Conrad said that violates the state constitution and a Nebraska Supreme Court decision about the role of the Legislature.

“We don't get to micromanage policy at the university. We don't get to set curriculum. We don't get to tell them how to go about the governance of that institution, because it is established as an independent authority,” she said.

Dungan proposed an amendment to delete that section of the bill. But Bostar opposed the change.

“I'm opposed; the principle being that we know, and it's well established, that our higher educational institutions are a favored vector of espionage activities. I understand the concerns with constitutional provisions, and I am absolutely welcome to keep looking at that,” he said.

Senators defeated Dungan’s amendment on a vote of 30-9. They then gave the bill first-round approval on a vote of 30-2.