WASHINGTON, D.C. – Speaker Pelosi and her Washington Democrat counterparts this week advanced a partisan bill that, if enacted, would put China in the driver’s seat for the global economy at the expense of hardworking Americans. Rep. Jason Smith offered an amendment to the bill to highlight President Biden’s lack of strategy or vision on how to fight China’s unfair trade practices, but Speaker Pelosi wouldn’t even allow the amendment to be debated – let alone voted on.
“Once again, Speaker Pelosi is protecting President Biden from any oversight or criticism instead of helping American workers who are being harmed by China’s anti-competitive practices,” said Rep. Jason Smith. “This administration has failed since Day One to advance any sort of comprehensive plan to fight China’s growing influence around the world, which is particularly egregious when considering the significant progress the Trump administration made in countering the communist regime. My amendment would have shown the strong congressional concern about the lack of an effective China strategy, but instead Speaker Pelosi is choosing politics over people. China is doubling down on its plan to expand its influence across the world and put working class families out of business, and we must take seriously the threat we currently face.”
This week, Washington Democrats are considering a nearly 3,000-page bill that will spend hundreds of billions of dollars on programs including a UN slush fund, climate change officers within the foreign service, and a Coral Reef Task Force. In fact, the legislation mentions coral reefs more than it mentions China.
The bill, which has been referred to as the America CONCEDES Act, blocks American resources to enforce our sanctions laws or increase our military strength, including omitting provisions on export controls, security assistance to allies facing Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aggression, and failing to curtail CCP military modernizations and weapons development.
“This bill is yet another attempt by Washington Democrats to reward their friends and allies, particularly large multinational corporations, while doing nothing to stand up to the Chinese Communist Party,” said Rep. Jason Smith. “It’s shameful, and it’s unacceptable. In the same week that they Olympics begin in China, when the spotlight will be on their abysmal record of human rights, Washington Democrats are running up the white flag and conceding America’s leadership position in the world. I couldn’t be more strongly opposed to this bill.”