CNN Newsroom: Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) Discusses About His Take On Downing Of Flying Objects
Interview
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Well, I think the sooner that we get the information on the balloons and the sooner we declassify it everything that can be declassified on it the better off we as the American citizens and the American public will be. So if they're benign, we need to make sure that the American citizens know that and if they're not benign like the Chinese spy balloon, then we need to make sure the American citizens understand what China is continuing to do to our country.
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Oh, no, no, no, I'm not here to blame the current administration or previous administrations. I mean, this is a very serious issue that the United States is facing. The first balloon, the Chinese balloon, the spy balloon, if you will, is a very serious issue and a threat to the United States of America. It is a continuing effort by China to defeat the United States and all aspects, whether it be military or economically.
And so if the other balloons were benign, then as soon as we know that for sure, we need to release that to the American citizens and we need to go back and focus on the one that was not benign, and talk - and remind the American citizens that whether it be TikTok or fentanyl or the weapon systems that China's developing, they don't call them the bear strike, they call them eagle strike and you can guess who the eagle is, that's all of us as Americans, especially those of us who are serving our country and so China is our enemy.
And I'll tell you, Bianna, it's going to take all of Americans working together to defeat the threat of China and make sure that we don't go to war with them. I was a little taken aback this week with the fact that less than two weeks, China literally flew a flat - a spy balloon over the United States of America and then Ford Motor Company, Bill Ford announces that Ford is going to get a team with China to develop batteries.
And that's the kind of thing that we can't have as Americans. We can't have corporate America going to the other side to develop their technology and build their vehicles.
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Look, I mean, the purpose of the legislation that was passed, and I'm a Republican, I didn't vote for the legislation, and this is the problem with not taking legislation through the actual committee process where you get to talk about the potential changes that need to be made to it. But I don't think that my colleagues that I served with on the House Armed Services Committee intended for Chinese technology to be eligible for U.S. tax credits or for Ford to partner with the Chinese Communist Party to be eligible for tax credits.
So I think it would be wise for industry, that is moving ahead with the Chinese Communist Party to understand that legislation can be passed and actually changes the way that tax code is written. And I'll tell you, as someone who's on the Armed Services Committee, the idea that we would allow Chinese battery technology on our military installations, that's just not in the best interests of the U.S. citizens.
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Sure.
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Yes. I actually - I agree with Mike on this and I think most of the members of the Intelligence Committee are going to be on the same page in working with the administration to make sure that we're able to gather all the intelligence that we can off of the balloons or whatever other device it may be, and then make sure that we're protecting the American citizens while at the same time gathering all of the intelligence.
And then I do think that you'll see an effort from, I think both parties, to declassify more information faster on these issues so that the American citizens have the facts.
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Thank you.
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