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S 945 116th Congress Senate Finance and Financial Sector Accounting and auditing Administrative law and regulatory procedures Asia China Corporate finance and management Foreign and international corporations Government information and archives Securities Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act

Introduced: March 28, 2019 Introduced by: Kennedy, John Republican · Louisiana See on congress.gov
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 Everywhere this bill has been 20 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Dec 18, 2020
Became Public Law No: 116-222.
Dec 18, 2020
Signed by President.
Dec 8, 2020
Presented to President.
Dec 2, 2020
Passed/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, 2020
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 945.
Dec 2, 2020
Mr. Clay moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
Dec 2, 2020
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H6031-6035)
Dec 2, 2020
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Dec 2, 2020
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H6031-6032)
May 22, 2020
Held at the desk.
May 22, 2020
Received in the House.
May 22, 2020
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
May 20, 2020
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs discharged by Unanimous Consent.
May 20, 2020
Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR S2520)
May 20, 2020
Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent. (consideration: CR S2519-2520)
May 20, 2020
Passed/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, 2019
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 116-272.
Jun 4, 2019
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 116-41.
Mar 28, 2019
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Mar 28, 2019
Introduced in Senate
 Amendments to this bill 1

Amendments propose changes to this bill. Members vote on amendments separately before the final bill vote. An agreed amendment becomes part of the bill; a failed amendment does not.

1 agreed to

AmendmentSponsorPurposeStatusLatest action
SAMDT 1,589 Kennedy, John In the nature of a substitute. Agreed to May 20, 2020
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 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.
What's happening now December 18, 2020

Became Public Law No: 116-222.

 Related & companion bills 2
  • S 4629 Related bill America LEADS Act
  • HR 7000 Identical bill Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
 Bill text 4 versions

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Cosponsors 4
All 4 Democratic 1 Republican 3
R
Cotton, Tom
Arkansas · May 20, 2020
 R
Scott, Rick
Florida · May 19, 2020
 R
Cramer, Kevin
North Dakota · May 18, 2020
 D
Van Hollen, Chris
Maryland · Mar 28, 2019
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 945: Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-945/
MLA
"S. 945: Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-945/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 945, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-945/.
Markdown link
[S. 945: Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-945/)
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