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S. 1791Senate118th Congress (2023-2025)In Committee

China Defense Spending Transparency Act

Sponsored by Mitt RomneySen. Mitt Romney (R-UT)
Introduced June 1, 2023

AI-Generated Summary

Updated January 20, 2026 at 8:21 AM UTC

The China Defense Spending Transparency Act requires the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency to produce a public, comparative analysis of the People’s Republic of China’s defense budget and that of the United States. The study must be completed within 180 days of the law’s enactment and posted online. It aims to give the American public and Congress a clearer picture of Chinese defense spending, independent of official Chinese statements.

Key Provisions

  • The DIA Director must finish and submit an unclassified comparative study of China and U.S. defense budgets to the designated Senate and House committees within 180 days.
  • The study’s methodology cannot rely on official Chinese government or Communist Party pronouncements, must account for China’s military‑civil fusion, and should use the building‑block method or a similar approach.
  • It must break down spending into categories such as R&D, weapons procurement, operations and maintenance, personnel pay and benefits, and military pensions, adjusting for purchasing‑power parity and omitted spending.
  • The analysis may consider the impact of state‑owned enterprises, differing acquisition policies, and any other relevant factors, but excludes veterans’ benefits other than military pensions.
  • The final report will be made publicly available on the DIA website and may include a classified annex.

Legislative Activity

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SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Select Committee on Intelligence.

Intelligence (Select) Committee

June 1, 2023

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

June 1, 2023

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Select Committee on Intelligence.

Intelligence (Select) Committee

June 1, 2023

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued June 1, 2023

II

118th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1791

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

June 1, 2023

Mr. Romney (for himself, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Sullivan, and Mr. King) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Select Committee on Intelligence

A BILL

To require the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency to conduct a comparative study on the defense budgets of the People's Republic of China and the United States, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the China Defense Spending Transparency Act.

2.

Comparative study on defense budget transparency of the People’s Republic of China and the United States

(a)

Study required

(1)

Defense intelligence agency study

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency shall complete and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a public comparative study on the defense budgets of the People’s Republic of China and the United States.

(2)

Methodology

The study required by paragraph (1) shall employ a robust methodology that—

(A)

does not depend on the official pronouncements of the Government of the People’s Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party;

(B)

takes into account the military-civil fusion present in the People's Republic of China; and

(C)

employs the building block method of analysis or a similar method of analysis.

(3)

Goal

The goal of the study required by paragraph (1) shall be to provide the people of the United States with an accurate comparison of the defense spending of the People’s Republic of China and the United States.

(4)

Public availability

The Director shall make the study required by paragraph (1) available to the public on the internet website of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

(b)

Elements

The study required by this section shall do the following:

(1)

Determine the amounts invested by each subject country across functional categories for spending, including—

(A)

defense-related research and development;

(B)

weapons procurement from domestic and foreign sources;

(C)

operations and maintenance;

(D)

pay and benefits; and

(E)

military pensions.

(2)

Consider the effects of purchasing power parity and market exchange rates, particularly on nontraded goods.

(3)

Estimate the magnitude of omitted spending from official defense budget information and account for such spending in the comparison.

(4)

Exclude spending related to veterans’ benefits, other than military pensions provided to veterans.

(c)

Considerations

The study required by this section may take into consideration the following:

(1)

The effects of State-owned enterprises on the defense expenditures of the People’s Republic of China.

(2)

The role of differing acquisition policies and structures with respect to the defense expenditures of each subject country.

(3)

Any other matter relevant to evaluating the resources dedicated to the defense spending or the various military-related outlays of the People’s Republic of China.

(d)

Form

The study required by this section shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex.

(e)

Appropriate committees of Congress defined

In this section, the term appropriate committees of Congress means—

(1)

the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate; and

(2)

the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives.