Green originally introduced the SCREEN Act over a year ago, on February 28, 2022, during the second session of the 117th Congress as H.R. 6855. Around the same time, the combat veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq issued a scathing op-ed calling on the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to end Hollywood using the U.S. military for censorship by the Chinese.
“Since I introduced the SCREEN Act in the 117th Congress,” said Green, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, in a press release. “The Communist Chinese Party (CCP) escalated attempts to censor free speech in the United States. The CCP will not make our film industry an arm of its propaganda machine.”
“Music City would never think of letting the CCP dictate what to put in our music,” Green contrasted to The Tennessee Star about the capital of his home state, “and Hollywood shouldn’t let the CCP influence its films. I introduced the SCREEN Act to protect the freedom of expression in the arts.”
Green’s proposed legislation would prohibit the provision of technical support or funding by the federal government to a U.S. company if the film is co-produced by a Chinese entity subject to conditions related to content compelled by a CCP official.
“Many high budget films rely on help from the U.S. government for filming and technical assistance,” said Green.
With the passage of Green’s legislation, such assistance will no longer be available if U.S. studios “kowtow” to Beijing.
“American studios shouldn’t be creating CCP propaganda and if they choose to do so, they shouldn’t be receiving help from the U.S. government to do it. It’s intolerable to think that Hollywood would use their films to be dictated by a foreign regime. My SCREEN Act counters the CCP’s blatant attack on our values by demanding transparency and accountability,” Green said.
In addition to the prohibition on federal funding, Green’s SCREEN Act would require film companies receiving production assistance from the Department of State to report to Congress previous films that were substantially edited by the CCP and bans the federal government from assisting these studios if they have edited a film for the CCP.
Before receiving technical assistance or access to assets from the Department of State, Hollywood studios would have to provide written agreements pledging not to censor their own films at the request of the CCP.