Republicans Outline Goals of the House Select Committee on China

House Republicans on Tuesday outlined the goals of the House Select Committee on China after successfully passing a resolution to form the committee.

The resolution passed in the House in a 365-65 vote, with Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) chairing the committee. House Republicans outlined the goals of the committee, which include investigating the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “producing the components of deadly fentanyl, deceptive trade practices, buying U.S. farmland, intellectual property theft,” as well as the “spread of propaganda” and “supply chain dominance”:

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) spoke about the threat of China, arguing in favor of the committee this week, identifying falling behind the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as “one of the greatest worries about the future.”

“The fact of the matter is, the danger posed by our dependence on China is dire. We spent decades passing policies that welcomed China into the global system. In return, China has exported oppression, aggression, and anti-Americanism,” McCarthy told his fellow lawmakers, observing that China’s military and economic strength is growing.

While McCarthy said this trend began prior to the Biden administration, he said the current administration “has clearly made it worse.”

“The policies have weakened our economy and made us more vulnerable to the threats of the CCP, but here’s the good news. There is bipartisan consensus that the era of trusting Communist China is over,” he continued, explaining that the birth of the idea occurred during a bipartisan Congressional Delegation to Normandy, celebrating the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

He stated:

You wondered what could have been done for that day never to take place. It dawned on me at that moment in time, there was an opportunity, instead of American government not speaking with one voice, these different messages we’ve been providing, could we have a bipartisan committee that could look at all aspects–  from economics, where we fell into COVID, not knowing whether we could have our medical supplies because China controlled so much. We learned of the farmland they are buying today. The stealing of our intellectual property. But we weaken ourselves when we fight which way to do it. Wouldn’t it be better if we all came together? For nine months we worked on that. We did get an agreement that we were going to start a bipartisan task force. We even had Washington Post come and interview the members that were going to be on it but unfortunately, the night before, then the majority party pulled back.

McCarthy made clear that it is not a partisan committee but will focus on key concerns regarding China.

“How do we bring our jobs back from China to America? How do we secure our intellectual property? How do we make sure our farmland is protected? All of that will be brought up within this committee. The threat is too great for us to bicker with ourselves,” he continued:

If you want to end our dependence on China, this committee will investigate it. You want to protect our national security, this committee will work on it. If you want to stop the theft of intellectual property and bring supply chains back to America, this committee will work to make it happen. Worried about Chinese propaganda in our schools and lobbying efforts in Washington, this committee will shine a bright light on it. Outrage that the CCP is buying American farmland, this committee will work to stop it. But they’ll stop it with one voice. It’s not one party saying it. It’s America united determining our own future. We want to stop trillions of American dollars from financing communist genocide and military modernization. The committee will work to prevent it.

“We want the very best ideas. Doesn’t matter where they come from, and at the end of the day, we don’t need a majority and minority report. We just need one philosophy with one principle and America will be stronger for the future to come,” the Speaker added.

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