I am going to begin by stating something that shouldn’t be controversial but unfortunately seems to be. China is not our friend.
The Chinese Communist Party is actively attempting to supplant the United States as the driving force in Science and Technology research. To achieve this the CCP has targeted American basic research at our universities, they have embarked on a systemic campaign to steal American IP, and they orchestrate cyberattacks which threaten to cripple American businesses and infrastructure.
In June of 2021, the House Science Committee passed multiple bi-partisan measures to invest in American innovation, to counter Chinese cyberattacks, and to improve Intellectual Property security throughout the research enterprise. Unfortunately, for nearly a year Democratic leadership wasted time and delayed conferencing the House and Senate passed bills. To make matters worse, when the House finally acted, the Speaker chose to poison the good work the Science Committee did by including unrelated, and frankly, harmful provisions that actually diminish our competitiveness with China. Funneling money into a UN Climate slush Fund and “sense of Congress” provisions will not protect us from the generational threat that China poses to this country.
This conference is an opportunity for us to fix the mistakes of the COMPETES Act and restore the intent of the Science Committee. It is my hope that, together, we can create a final product that will invest in American basic research, enhance our STEM education and workforce, and ensure that our armed forces are the most advanced and prepared fighting force on the planet. The way we do that is through cementing the United States as a leader in AI, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, and other transformative technologies that will drive growth over the next generation. Failure to do so means ceding American leadership across the globe.