Sanctioning Tyrannical and Oppressive People Within the Chinese Communist Party Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. MOYLAN. 3334.
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Mr. MOYLAN. Madam Chairwoman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Chairwoman, I rise in support of H.R. 3334, the STOP CCP Act, which was introduced by my colleague from Michigan, Congresswoman McClain, and ordered favorably reported by the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The Chinese Communist Party is responsible for some of the world's worst human rights violations and threats to international security.
In Xinjiang, CCP-led genocide seeks to erase the history and culture of Uyghur Muslims, who live in constant fear.
While Hong Kong was once known for its vibrant civil society and the rule of law, today it is under the iron fist of Beijing and many brave democracy advocates sit in jail.
Our close friends in Taiwan live under constant military pressure, with incursions into their air defense identification zone. An oppressive PRC Coast Guard keeps pushing closer and closer to Taiwan's shores.
The Tibetan people have and continue to suffer from decades of brutal repression designed to undermine their identity and culture. I am glad that we have the opportunity today to support an amendment to shine a spotlight on the abuse they endure.
All of these egregious abuses and urgent threats are being directed and implemented by leaders of the Chinese Communist Party. The party's Central Committee, which this bill targets, is like the board of directors of the CCP. As key party decisionmakers, the Central Committee directs CCP abuse and aggression, which threatens our friends and partners in the Indo-Pacific. Therefore, it is critical to use targeted sanctions to hold these top party leaders accountable.
Sadly, the weakness of the Biden-Harris administration's foreign policy has invited aggression around the world--in Ukraine and in the Middle East. We hope it will not invite aggression toward Taiwan.
In the face of chaos, I am sorry that the Biden-Harris administration and some of my friends on the other side of the aisle feel that we cannot afford to put action to our words with these modest sanctions.
The administration opposes this bill, claiming that it needs to maintain flexibility to avoid ``veering into conflict.'' Sadly, I fear that our adversaries have grown to depend on the Biden-Harris administration's flexibility. Just last night, the PRC launched an ICBM near my district of Guam, which landed just below Hawaii. Clearly, we need to draw our line in the sand now.
This bill is not an act of war. It includes exceptions for U.N., intelligence, law enforcement, and national security purposes. It even gives the President the ability to waive sanctions if the President deems it necessary.
We are only ensuring that the CCP officials most responsible for the party's crimes, crimes that include genocide, do not routinely get to enjoy the benefits of the U.S. financial system or travel to our great country.
We must stand up for our founding values and security interests. The defense of liberty and human rights is not escalation. Our partners and allies feel safest when America leads rather than hesitating while our adversaries are on the march.
This bill is a strong display of U.S. foreign policy and the values that guide it. I urge Members to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. MOYLAN. Madam Chairwoman, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. McClain), the author of this bill.
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Mr. MOYLAN. Madam Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Madam Chair, I thank Congresswoman McClain for introducing this bill and Chairman McCaul for moving it through committee and to the floor.
We are in a global competition with the Chinese Communist Party. If we do not stand up to those attacking the freedoms we stand for, then we undermine the principles that define us. Allowing the CCP's crimes to go unchallenged disheartens their victims, weakens our global standing, and emboldens authoritarian regimes around the world.
Imposing basic sanctions on CCP's Central Committee members is a measured response to the genocide, abuse, and threats they continue to direct.
Madam Chair, I ask support for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. MOYLAN. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.
The motion was agreed to.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Ogles) having assumed the chair, Mr. LaTurner, Acting Chair of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported that that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3334) to provide for the imposition of sanctions on members of the National Communist Party Congress of the People's Republic of China, and for other purposes, had come to no resolution thereon.
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