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H.R. 7000 116th Congress House

Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act

Official title: To amend the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to require certain issuers to disclose to the Securities and Exchange Commission information regarding foreign jurisdic… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: 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.

Introduced: May 22, 2020 Introduced by: Brad Sherman Democratic · California See on congress.gov
Finance and Financial Sector Accounting and auditingAdministrative law and regulatory proceduresAsiaChina
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Corporate finance and managementForeign and international corporationsGovernment information and archivesSecuritiesSecurities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
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This bill died when the 116th Congress ended
It never became law before the 116th Congress (2019–2020) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
May 22, 2020
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
May 22, 2020
Introduced in House
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 Latest action May 22, 2020

Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

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.
 Related & companion bills 2
  • S 945 Identical bill Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
  • S 4629 America LEADS Act
 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Cosponsors 2
All 2 Democratic 1
D
Foster, Bill
Illinois · Sep 22, 2020
Gonzalez, Anthony
· Aug 25, 2020
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 7000: Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-7000/
MLA
"H.R. 7000: Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-7000/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 7000, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-7000/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 7000: Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-7000/)
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