Congressman Krishnamoorthi Introduces The GRAY ZONE Act

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08) introduced the Gathering and Reporting Assessments Yielding Zero Overlooked Nefarious Efforts (GRAY ZONE) Act to require the Director of National Intelligence to produce a National Intelligence Estimate that assesses different aspects of gray zone activities. Countries, such as China and Russia, and non-state actors are increasingly using "gray zone activities" – actions that fall between ordinary statecraft and open warfare, such as disinformation campaigns or terrorist financing – to challenge and undermine the United States.

"In the 21^st century, international conflict no longer necessarily involves the use of bullets or bombs but increasingly operates in the ‘gray zone' between peace and war, as we have seen in Russia's ongoing disinformation operations and Iran's longstanding support for Hezbollah," Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said. "While the U.S. Intelligence Community must be prepared to confront any acts of provocation from our foreign adversaries, our national security strategies and responses are different for these types of gray zone activities. My GRAY ZONE Act will provide our intelligence and national security communities with the assessments necessary to protect our nation from all forms of foreign aggression."

The report that the GRAY ZONE Act would require from the Director of National Intelligence would include the following:

• How foreign adversaries use gray zone activities to advance interests, including great power competition;
• What responses from the United States or our partners and allies escalate and de-escalate conflict;
• Opportunities to reduce or deter harmful actions against the United States;
• Opportunities to strengthen the resilience of our partners and allies;
• The extent to which our adversaries exercise control over proxies or parastate actors;
• The extent to which gray zone activities affect the U.S. private sector.