Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Senate Finance Committee, and Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-chair of the Senate Quad Caucus, introduced the Quad Economic Security Act to strengthen cooperation among the four members of the Quad – Australia, India, Japan, and the United States – in securing strategic supply chains, safeguarding critical infrastructure, and countering economic coercion.
“The Quad is crucial to promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Bennet. “Amid growing threats to economic security, our four democracies must take action to tackle shared challenges together.”
“Partnerships like the Quad are our greatest strength in protecting a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said Ricketts. “As Secretary Rubio recently said, it is time to take the Quad beyond ideas and concepts and turn it into a vehicle for action. As the co-chair of the Senate Quad Caucus, I am proud to support the Quad Economic Security Act. This bill aims to further enhance our coordination with our Quad partners on key economic issues. That includes securing critical infrastructure, bolstering supply chain resiliency, and combatting economic coercion. This bill will better prepare us to counter Communist China’s illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive actions.”
The Quad Economic Security Act directs the Secretaries of State and Commerce to open negotiations with the other Quad countries to establish an Economic Security Working Group within the Quad.
The bill directs the Secretaries to seek to ensure that the Working Group:
- serves as a forum to coordinate efforts to secure critical infrastructure and bolster supply chain resiliency;
- holds crisis simulation exercises to better prepare for economic coercion and supply chain disruptions; and
- serves as a collective emergency response mechanism in the case of economic coercion and supply chain disruptions.
The bill also directs the Secretaries to encourage the Working Group to engage other regional partners to bolster shared economic security, such as by cooperating on capacity-building with regard to securing port infrastructure and undersea cables.
The Quad evolved from the “Tsunami Core Group,” which the four countries formed after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami to coordinate the emergency response and humanitarian assistance. The first Trump administration revived the Quad; the Biden administration upgraded the Quad to the leaders’ level and expanded the group’s work. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s first meeting after taking office was with the Quad foreign ministers, with whom he met again earlier this month.
Bennet is a leading advocate for strengthening strategic cooperation with allies and partners around the world to advance U.S. national security, including through the Quad.
In June 2025, Bennet and Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) introduced the Quad Space Act to strengthen Quad space cooperation to address shared challenges – such as China’s reckless behavior in space – by better ensuring safe and secure space missions, tracking objects and activities in space, and fostering shared innovation.
Amid China’s escalating aggressive and coercive tactics, Bennet recently introduced bipartisan legislation to bolster Taiwan’s self-defense and strengthen the AUKUS partnership between Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Additionally, as part of last year’s National Defense Authorization Act, Bennet secured passage of the Coordinating AUKUS Engagement with Japan Act, which requires the Department of Defense and State Department to determine how Japan can contribute to AUKUS.
Bennet and U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) lead the bicameral and bipartisan Americas Act, which is the only major strategic economic plan to counter China’s geopolitical and economic influence in the Western Hemisphere. Bennet also played a leading role in securing the April 2024 passage of the national security supplemental aid package, which included critical funds to support partners such as Ukraine and Taiwan and allies like the Philippines.
The text of the bill is available HERE.