Endless Frontier Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today the Senate will wrap up consideration of a broad bipartisan effort to update our approach to competition with China. This bill has accelerated an important conversation on a topic we all know deserves our full attention. From critical supply chains to intellectual property, to counterespionage, it touches on key issues that will help determine our strategic footing for decades.

That is why an overwhelming majority of us, myself included, voted to proceed to the measure here on the floor, not because the bill was already perfect. In fact, as the ranking member of the Commerce Committee noted when it was reported out, the legislation was ``not ready for prime time.''

Rather, we took it up precisely because it deserved robust debate and amendment. So I was glad that several of our colleagues were allowed to offer substantial revisions here on the floor. In particular, I am glad the Democratic leader thought better of blocking Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Crapo from including their bipartisan provision on combating illicit trade practices.

But I was disappointed that he proceeded with an effort to end this important debate without allowing the Senate to consider a number of other outstanding Republican amendments.

There is no practical reason our consideration of this important issue should have to compete for sufficient space on the Democrats' dance card.

We are talking about making America more competitive with its biggest and fastest growing rival. If any issue demands thorough, exhaustive debate, it is this one.

Unfortunately, the final bill we will be voting on today will remain incomplete. It includes several smart, targeted measures but leaves many more on the table. And so it will advance as an imperfect approach to an extremely consequential challenge.

One thing this legislation did demonstrate extremely well, however, was that the rules of the Senate don't stand in the way of bipartisan legislating.

Needless to say, final passage of this legislation cannot be the Senate's final word--final word on our competition with China. It certainly won't be mine. As I have warned repeatedly, soft power is only as strong as the hard power underpinning it.

The Chinese Communist Party doesn't hesitate in investing the proceeds of its predatory trade practices and influence campaigns directly into modernizing its hard power arsenal.

Over the past two decades, defense spending in Beijing has increased astronomically. Meanwhile, the Biden administration's proposal for defense spending puts forward such a meager--meager--year-on-year increase, it fails to keep pace with inflation, let alone with our rivals.

The White House request would degrade our ability to project power quickly out in the Western Pacific. It would cannibalize Pacific Deterrence Initiative funds intended to build infrastructure and enhance interoperability with our partners in the region just to cover shortfalls elsewhere in the budget. And it would cut procurement of critical munitions that are already in short supply.

The administration is playing a dangerous shell game, and the political consequences aren't lost on either side of the Pacific.

The perception that the United States might be any less than fully committed to prevailing in great power competition has left China emboldened and our friends in the region quite worried.

Here at home, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs sounded the alarm, warning that great power peace was ``fraying at the edge.''

Preserving that peace will require more than the action we will take today. It will require this administration to get serious about funding our national defense. It will require major investment in the sorts of cutting-edge capabilities that deter those who intend harm on America and our allies.

So in the coming weeks, we will see whether Democrats' talk about rebuilding alliances has any substance to it. In the annual Defense authorization and the appropriations process, the Senate will embrace this essential debate about restoring America's hard power head-on. This is a pivotal moment, not a time for half measures on America's national security. January 6

Mr. President, now on another matter, today, the Homeland Security and Rules Committees released the conclusions of their monthslong investigation into the circumstances of the unprecedented breach of security here at the Capitol on January 6.

I am grateful to our colleagues on both committees whose hard work made this invaluable report possible.

My assessment of the terrible events of the 6th has been consistent from the beginning. I have condemned the perpetrators, as well as those who enabled and encouraged them, and I have given full-throated support to our colleagues' bipartisan inquiry, along with the work of Federal investigators and prosecutors, to ensure that every criminal participant faces justice.

The Rules and Homeland Security report identifies a number of serious shortcomings in Capitol security that were exposed and exploited on the 6th. It directs our attention to the most glaring gaps that could leave the complex vulnerable to future incidents.

Through the efforts of the Capitol Police, the Senate Sergeant At Arms, and other institutional partners, the Senate's work to close these gaps is already well underway. The committee's inquiry into January 6 is ongoing, and the nationwide search for a new Chief of the Capitol Police is making progress. Our colleagues' latest findings should guide the entire institution's ongoing security reviews.

Today's report is one of the many reasons I am confident in the ability of existing investigations to uncover all actionable facts about the events of January 6. I will continue to support these efforts over any that seek to politicize the process, and I would urge my colleagues to do the same.

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