Rep. Brit McKenzie (R–Rogers) is voicing sharp criticism after the Arkansas Senate repeatedly failed to pass House Bill 1662, a measure that would have banned lobbying on behalf of foreign adversaries, including China and Russia.
McKenzie, who led the bill alongside Sen. Blake Johnson at the request of Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office, said he was “gobsmacked” that a conservative legislature couldn’t pass what he called a commonsense proposal.
“No one in the state of Arkansas represents Beijing,” McKenzie said, “but yet we had several senators that decided to cast their vote in alignment with Beijing this year.”
The bill had passed the House with broad support and was a key piece of the governor’s “Protecting the Natural State” agenda aimed at curbing foreign influence, particularly from the Chinese Communist Party. Despite backing from Senate leadership and multiple revival attempts, the bill ultimately failed.
McKenzie pointed to “personalities and politics” as reasons for its demise and suggested outside pressure played a role. “Lobbyists were very influential in making sure that this bill was killed,” he said.
With primary season approaching, McKenzie warned that the vote may carry political consequences. “I would hope that we could all have agreed that the People’s Republic of China and the CCP didn’t have the same opportunity to lobby us as legislators,” he said. “They’re going to have to answer that most likely in this upcoming cycle.”
🚨 Here are the votes for HB1662 by Rep. B. McKenzie: Prohibiting Lobbying for China & Russia
Senate Vote 1
Senate Vote 2
Senate Vote 3
House Vote
ICYMI: brit mckenzie
