Voting Resources
ICYMI: Reps. McCaul, DeLauro Op-Ed on Protecting Critical Technologies from the CCP
This week, U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) penned an op-ed in The Washington Times on their work to safeguard critical technologies from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) by screening certain outbound investments.
U.S. Companies Should Not Continue to Fuel China’s Strength
The Washington Times
By Congressman Michael McCaul and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro
February 8, 2022
Recent commentary often focuses on America’s economic and national security, as well as Western norms, ideals and institutions, which are under attack by the Chinese Communist Party. While there is no question that this is true, it doesn’t tell the whole story. In too many areas, we have simply failed to properly assess the threat and protect U.S. interests. No one should question America’s strength and capabilities. But new tools and approaches are needed; the toolbox is outdated, and many of the tools have been unused.
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Our work, with other colleagues, is fostered by the National Critical Capabilities Defense Act, a screening process for outbound investments and the offshoring of critical capacities and supply chains to ensure that the United States can quickly detect and address supply chain vulnerabilities and prevent the continued offshoring of critical production capacity and intellectual property to foreign adversaries like the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation.
The act offers a long-term solution, but the Biden administration has the ability to stop the bleeding now by taking immediate action through an executive order providing for outbound investment screening to safeguard our national security and supply chain resiliency. A down payment on that executive order was included in the recently passed funding bill with $10 million each to the departments of Treasury and Commerce to detail their efforts on outbound investment, identify the resources needed for full implementation and to get action underway. We cannot wait.
Last year, Congress passed the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, providing $52 billion to bolster domestic production of semiconductor chips while reducing our reliance on foreign manufacturing. And while the legislation was equipped with broad guardrails to help ensure that recipients do not build certain facilities in China and other countries of concern, many in industry fought hard against such provisions. Those same entities railed against the Critical Capabilities Defense Act and outbound investment restrictions. America needs provisions that will screen what our companies and, where necessary, are offshoring critical capabilities, limit such efforts.
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The administration has the opportunity to act — and every day we wait, America becomes more dependent on China. That is a recipe for disaster — our bipartisan, bicameral coalition in Congress will support actions taken by the Administration and work to provide other tools that are needed. This is a critical area for bipartisan cooperation.
