Condemning the Chinese Communist Party's Use of A High-Altitude Surveillance Balloon Over United States Territory As A Brazen Violation of United States Sovereignty

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 104, condemning the CCP's use of a high-altitude surveillance balloon over the United States territory as a brazen violation of U.S. sovereignty, that was authored by my friend and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul.

Last week, the entire world witnessed a clear and unacceptable breach of U.S. sovereignty. I stand here today to strongly denounce the presence of the PRC balloon in the United States airspace.

It is now up to Beijing to demonstrate, not just to the United States but to the world, that it is serious about respecting international rules and law, and that it is genuine about stabilizing relations with the United States.

Secretary Blinken was on his way to Beijing to engage in diplomacy but, and I believe, correctly, canceled his trip. It was the PRC's irresponsible behavior that once again hindered U.S. efforts at dialogue and de-escalation because once we crossed that line, it will not be good for any nation; and that is why diplomacy is always important.

The PRC also needs to come clean and stop pretending that this was a civilian airship gathering weather information that accidentally veered into the U.S. airspace. We all know, and now with the debris that we are picking up after the responsible shooting down of the balloon in the Atlantic Ocean, we all know that the PRC--it was a PRC surveillance balloon, full stop, and Beijing needs to own up to it.

I thank the Biden administration for the transparency that we learned that this was not the first time that the PRC balloon has transited over U.S. airspace. In fact, this has happened at least three times during the Trump administration and once before during this administration.

We also learned that last week's incident was part of a larger PRC global surveillance operation that has infringed on the sovereignty and threatened the security of nations across five continents.

We read this morning, in various public forums, like The New York Times and The Washington Post, that we have gained knowledge by shooting this balloon down in the Atlantic Ocean. As we dig it up, we will find more information and be able to share it with our allies so that we can collectively make sure that the violation of sovereignty does not continue by the PRC.

Over the weekend when this incident happened, I was talking to a number of members of my staff and they were telling me they were in the SCIF being informed by the administration of things that were going on. It is that kind of transparency and information that must continue, and I thank them for that.

Finally, let me just say that I thank the Biden administration for bringing that balloon down. I don't believe that China thought we would take it down. We did. We benefited from it. We have learned from it. We are examining it. We are working with our allies to make sure that our sovereignty is not invaded by the PRC.
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Mr. MEEKS. Jackson Lee).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member and thank the managers of this bill for their work.

This was no weather balloon. This was a spy balloon.

Let me be very clear: Members of both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, are standing before the American people and recognizing that this resolution of the Chinese Communist Party's actions are appropriate, and we should, as Americans, denounce their actions.

Let me be very clear as well: I want to congratulate United States military intelligence officials and others who effectively took the Commander in Chief's order that occurred on February 1 to shoot it down, and they handled themselves with the greatest amount of appropriateness to ensure that the American people were safe, to contain the threat, and to do their job.

It serves no purpose to suggest that the Commander in Chief, President Joe Biden, failed the American people or did anything wrong.

Interestingly enough, in the midst of the spy balloon, over 70 percent of the American people believe that Joe Biden took to the podium in the State of the Union and gave them enough comfort that the State of the Union is well, our souls are strong, and the American people are strong.

Yes, as a member of the Homeland Security Committee, I am keenly aware and concerned about this Nation's national security, keenly aware of the timeframe in which this spy balloon came into our eyesight.

With that in mind, even as it traversed the United States, I can assure you, in spite of the chronicling of the facts here, that General Austin, the Department of Defense, and others that were responsible for our safety, pursuant to the direction of the Commander in Chief, followed this spy balloon and were able to handle it appropriately in the course of shooting it down.

Finally, let me say: It is important that we use this as a condemnation of the Chinese Communist Party. Let us not use this to intimidate Chinese Americans or to be able to create atmospheres of hate. I denounce that, and I denounce SB 147 in the State of Texas that wants to stop Chinese Americans from buying property. That is not the American way.

What is the American way is to stand as Democrats and Republicans and others and Members of Congress to take our full responsibility, alongside the executive, to ensure your national security. We have done that.

We have the facts, we know the traversing, and I can assure you that the Chinese Americans have not engaged themselves in this activity and should not be condemned.

The Chinese Communist Party is aware of the strength of the people of the United States and their defense.

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Mr. MEEKS.

Mr. Speaker, let me say that the Biden administration--we just had a classified hearing so the questions could be asked. They have been transparent. If there are any questions that need to be asked--as I said earlier, my staff and other staff were informed and briefed.

The fact of the matter is the Biden administration has declassified a lot of the information, and that is why we read it in The New York Times today and in The Washington Post yesterday. The American people know what is going on.

There is no secrecy in what took place. We know that there was a decision, as indicated in the Times today, that we would get more information by bringing it down in the Atlantic Ocean and obtaining the balloon, looking at it, learning from it, having more of a benefit than China did with what its civilian balloon was attempting to do. We know that.

If there is any question that any Member of Congress has about what took place or transpired, one, you can first just go to The New York Times or The Washington Post; two, yesterday, Secretary of State Blinken held a press conference; or you could have gone to the classified hearing this morning where all the decisionmakers were present to ask any question that you wanted to. There has been complete transparency by the Biden administration.

Mr. Speaker, I conclude by saying there is one thing that we all agree upon, that the United States' sovereignty was crossed by the PRC. There is one thing that we can agree upon, that the PRC are the ones that violated it and sent a civilian balloon not only here to the United States but, as we have learned, over five continents.

We have to work collectively together to isolate the PRC and its dictatorship for the harm and spying that it is doing across this globe.

Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 104 is an opportunity for this body to denounce the People's Republic of China's repeated infringement of U.S. sovereignty. The events of the past week and our response to it, including this resolution, reveal the PRC's irresponsible actions to the world and demonstrate that the United States will always act to defend our sovereignty and work with our allies.

Indeed, this balloon traveled over Canada and, as we said, over five continents. There are conversations that our allies are having collectively to make sure that sovereignty is preserved.

Through its measured and effective action that safeguarded civilian life and prevented escalation, the Biden administration showcased to the world once again that the United States is the responsible power. By swiftly sharing information about the PRC's global surveillance efforts, we have strengthened the confidence and trust that our allies and partners have in us.

In short, the PRC came out on the bottom and America came out on top.

With the confidence that we will continue to do so in our competition with the PRC, I hope that all of my colleagues join me in condemning the PRC's violation of our sovereignty and support this resolution.

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