Senators on Capitol Hill on April 21 announced the reintroduction of a bipartisan bill that would impose harsh penalties on companies and individuals found guilty of stealing U.S. intellectual property, with the lawmakers singling out China for its “routine” theft of U.S. trade secrets. Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) reintroduced the bipartisan Protecting American Intellectual Property Act (pdf), which would require sanctions for people and firms that “engage in, benefit from, or enable the significant and serial theft of U.S. intellectual property.” The legislation was passed unanimously by the Senate in December 2020, but ended up not referred for any floor action when passed back to the House in the waning days of the 116th Congress, which adjourned on Jan. 3. “We have to do more to protect American intellectual property from hackers and cheaters. Stealing our IP is routine for China’s thieves—getting serious about combating their …