Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, the Chinese Communist Party's aggression and malign conduct grows more severe each day. The CCP's malfeasance allowed the COVID-19 outbreak to become a global pandemic, causing untold economic destruction. They conduct militarized territorial aggression against most countries that border China. The CCP is pioneering a new form of colonialism, degrading the sovereignty of developing nations through debt and corruption, extracting resources and military outposts. They have orchestrated the largest transfer of wealth in human history through state-directed economic espionage against the United States and other advanced economies. And the CCP is responsible for the gravest human rights atrocities occurring in the 21st century. The evidence is manifest that the malign influence of the CCP is the greatest United States foreign policy challenge of this generation. It affects every one of our states and districts, a fact that was underscored this week by the closure of China's Houston consulate in response to multiple instances of economic espionage. We must sustain U.S. resources to counter this threat, so I am grateful that my amendment has been included in a bipartisan en bloc package for H.R. 7608, the Fiscal Year 2021 State, Foreign Operations, Agriculture, Rural Development, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act. My amendment will partially restore the prior fiscal year's funding levels for the Countering Chinese Influence Fund, helping to ensure that appropriate resources are available to address this generational challenge. I'm glad that the House will address our leading foreign policy priority on a bipartisan basis, and thank my colleagues for supporting this measure to sustain U.S. resources to counter the malign influence of the CCP.

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