TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Senate's Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday (June 8) passed a bill that requires major government agencies to prepare for and respond to a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attack on Taiwan.

The committee passed seven bills and resolutions without any objections. They included a bill put forth by Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Gary Peters on March 30 titled the Taiwan Protection and National Resilience Act.

The bill requires the heads of several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Commerce, and the Department of State to propose comprehensive sanction strategies and to assist the U.S. and its allies in formulating policies to respond to any coercive actions by Beijing. This includes an invasion that "infringes upon the territorial sovereignty of Taiwan by preventing access to international waterways, airspace, or telecommunications networks."

The bill also requires agency heads to provide a report to Congress on tools that could be used to counter the CCP, such as the denial of goods and services from the U.S. Also, a reduction in reliance on goods traded with Beijing that makes the U.S. strategically vulnerable.

After the meeting, Rubio issued a press release saying: “It’s in our national and regional security interests to firmly support Taiwan, a valued ally of the United States."

He added that "Congress must continue to closely monitor the CCP’s hostile acts against our democratic ally and remain firm in our strategy to deter any aggression against Taiwan.”

The bill will be sent to the Senate for consideration and the Senate and House of Representatives must agree on a version of the bill before it can be submitted to U.S. President Joe Biden to be signed into law.