Congressman Keller Statement on Passage of the America COMPETES Act

Today, Congressman Fred Keller (PA-12) released the following statement after voting against the America COMPETES Act:

"Congress has a responsibility to confront the rising threat our nation faces from the Chinese Community Party. The CCP's long record of human rights abuses, well-documented efforts to undermine our learning institutions, persistent theft of American intellectual property, and its role in covering up the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic underscore a moral imperative for this body to hold China accountable.

"The so-called America COMPETES Act fails to meaningfully address any of these actions. Instead, Speaker Pelosi's bill would line the CCP's pockets and give China even more opportunities to steal our intellectual property. The partisan legislation is a total gift to China, letting the CCP completely off the hook for its COVID-19 cover-up and inviting even more malicious Chinese influence into the United States.

"Moreover, this bill would cost $250 billion, with no mechanism in place to offset its colossal price tag. Last summer, I co-sponsored the Countering Communist China Act, which would effectively address these issues at a fraction of this bill's cost. Unfortunately, Washington Democrats' refusal to work across the aisle means the American people will end up footing the bill for this giveaway to Communist China."

Background:

The 2,900-page bill contains several provisions which will harm America's economic competitiveness by:

Creating a new visa carveout program, allowing an unlimited number of Chinese Communist Party members to carry out their anti-democratic activities in the United States. (p. 1689)

Directing the United States and China to collaborate on "parallel initiatives' on research and development, enabling the CCP to continue stealing American intellectual property. (p. 1340)

Making China eligible for international funding from the World Bank Group. (p. 1480)

Failing to ban federal funding for colleges and universities that host Confucius Institutes, an arm of the Chinese Communist Party actively seeking to undermine education centers. (p. 1967)

Urging the United States to abide by the Paris Climate Agreement, crippling our economic output while failing to regulate China's far more rampant pollution. (p. 1323)

The America COMPETES Act also includes costly provisions that have nothing to do with China, such as:

Sending $8 billion of American tax dollars to the United Nations Green Climate Fund. (p. 1392)

Establishing a $6 million oceanic research program and a "Coral Reef Task Force'. (p. 1645)

Providing $5 million to the National Science Foundation to hire a Chief Diversity Officer. (p. 328)

Allocating $2 million in new, annual foreign aid spending to combat climate change. (p. 1375)

Directing the U.S. Armed Forces to train soldiers on combating climate change events. (p. 1396)

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