CFO Jimmy's Patronis' Seal

Press Release


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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…. Tallahassee Democrat: “Communist influence? Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis on guard against Chinese government”

6/17/2020
Tallahassee Democrat
June 16, 2020
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As President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign zeroes in on China, the Republican keeper of Florida’s purse strings is surveying companies doing business with the state to see how many are run by the Chinese government.
 
Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said he might need to garnish payments to those companies, as punishment for communist China’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
 
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The department “is attempting to identify state vendors who are owned or controlled by the Communist Party of China,” Patronis wrote in his notice to state contractors. It asked companies to verify that at least half of their ownership and control is held by American interests.

“As the Department of Financial Services (DFS) issues payments to these vendors for their services to other state agencies, we think it’s a prudent step to see if some of these businesses may be controlled or owned by the Chinese government,” Patronis wrote.

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“This will provide us information, should Florida need to withhold payments to these businesses as federal leaders sort out potential financial impacts against the Communist Party of China,” he said.
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