Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced a bill to strengthen the U.S.’s strategic partnerships with Pacific Island nations and help counter aggression from the Chinese government in the region. The Boosting Long-term U.S. Engagement (BLUE) in the Pacific Act would allow the United States to establish stronger long-term diplomatic, security, and economic partnerships with Pacific Island nations.
“As the Chinese government becomes increasingly aggressive in the Indo-Pacific region, we need to ensure America is defending our national interests and supporting our allies and partners,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “This legislation will help us do that, and I’ll continue working in the Senate to protect our nation’s security.”
The Indo-Pacific region is strategically important for the United States’ national security, enabling military operations to support American allies and partners in the region. The Nevada National Guard partners with both the Republic of Fiji and the Kingdom of Tonga through the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program, which pairs state National Guard components with partner nations to further security cooperation around the globe.
Full text of the legislation is available here.
Senator Cortez Masto has been a leader in the Senate working to boost American competitiveness and counter the Chinese government’s efforts to influence technology, research, and labor standards. She worked to pass the CHIPS and Science Act to support the U.S. semiconductor manufacturing industry and combat competition from the Chinese and other foreign governments. Her bipartisan legislation to help ensure the Chinese government isn’t exerting undue influence on international technology standards-setting was signed into law last year, and she has also passed bipartisan legislation to combat the rise of manipulated videos, known as deepfakes.
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