Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC) blasted vitamin store GNC for its ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
Harrigan introduced the Military Installation Retail Security Act, which would remove the physical storefronts of companies owned by China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea from U.S. military bases. The legislation also calls for a review of all retail stores on military bases to determine if there are foreign ties.
GNC entered Harrigan’s crosshairs when CCP-run Harbin Pharmaceuticals purchased it in 2020. At the time, GNC had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and Harbin was already its largest shareholder, with a 40% stake. Storefronts are franchises typically owned by locals.
“Right now, a company owned by the Chinese Communist Party is operating over 80 stores on American military bases,” Harrigan said of GNC in a press release. “These stores are in a position to collect personal data from our troops, operate with almost no oversight, and answer directly to a hostile foreign government. That’s not just reckless, it’s a national security threat. My bill closes the loopholes and kicks these companies off our bases for good.”
On Sunday, Harrigan posted a video on social media showing the four GNC storefronts at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The base is home to 53,700 troops, who make up nearly 10% of the U.S. Army. Including families and civilian employees, the population tops 260,000.
“Maybe that’s so the Chinese Communist Party can better serve our most elite special operators,” Harrigan said sarcastically in the video. “If I have anything to say about this, and I do, they’re not going to be here for long.”
Despite members of Congress raising a red flag about Harbin’s acquisition, Judge Karen Owens of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, approved the deal. One of the critics at the time was then-Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.
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The Washington Examiner reached out to GNC and Fort Bragg for comment.
GNC originated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and maintains its headquarters there. There are roughly 6,000 storefronts worldwide, with a majority in the U.S.