Washington, DC—February 4, 2022....Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) today voted against H.R. 4521, which should be entitled the “America CONCEDES Act.” The legislation—which was crafted behind closed doors and with no bipartisan input—fails to make America more competitive and address ongoing threats posed by the CCP. The nearly 3,000-page bill allows taxpayer dollars to flow to Chairman Xi and does nothing to hold Beijing accountable for their espionage, predatory trade practices, human rights abuses, and suppression of transparency and information at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congressman Womack said, “This bill is ironically reminiscent of the Chinese Communist Party itself. Developed behind closed doors, with no public hearings, transparency, or debate—it props up Chairman Xi at the expense of U.S. enterprise. We can’t surrender America’s standing to a communist regime—and a toothless proposal that references ‘coral reefs’ more than ‘China’ will do little to boost our competitiveness and counter Beijing’s many abuses. There is no question the CCP is intent on controlling the future. Arkansas even saw a professor arrested in recent years for his alleged connection to the Chinese government. As their agents employ all tools to subvert our institutions and steal proprietary information, this legislation fails to confront that serious threat.”

Aspects of the House Democrat bill include:

• Adding fuel to inflation fire: Costs $325 billion, and there’s no offset to pay for the bill, so much of it will be added to our national debt.
• Puts welfare expansion ahead of closing the trade gap with China: Renews and significantly expands the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program without including new Trade Promotion Authority and holding small businesses across the country hostage by including radical climate and union-boss-favored labor requirements.
• Wasting taxpayer dollars on issues completely unrelated to China: Examples include $8 billion for the UN Green Climate Fund, funding for studies on coral reefs, and placing suffocating regulation on U.S. fisheries.
• Inviting more malign CCP actors into the country: Creates a new class of visa that would be even less secure than the existing visa programs already riddled with fraud. Shockingly, an unlimited number of members of the Chinese Communist Party are eligible to take advantage of the new visa program to carry out their malign activity here in the States.
• Tying U.S. hands behind our back: The bill urges the U.S. to abide by the dangerous and short-sighted Paris Climate Agreement which would cripple our economic output and does almost nothing to stop China’s much more rampant pollution.
• Distracting our military from focusing on China: The bill would direct the U.S. Armed Forces to train to combat climate change events.
• Letting China off the hook for their role in the pandemic: The only mention of the investigation into COVID origins is a meaningless requirement that mandates Biden give a report to Congress. No independent investigation, no sanctions, no punishment.
• Padding China’s coffers: China will be eligible for financial assistance from the World Banks Group and Asian Development Banks if assistance will contribute to “fighting climate change.”
• Turning a blind eye to Confucius Institutes: The bill fails to ban federal funding for colleges and universities that host Confucius Institutes, a tool of the Chinese Communist Party to steal our intellectual property and censor our campuses.
• Allowing China to continue their propaganda: The bill does not call for moving the International Olympic Games outside of China, instead opting for a weak slap on the wrist, a.k.a. a “diplomatic boycott.”
• Covering up genocide: Tries to appease Chairman Xi by omitting the word “genocide” from provisions on human rights in Xinjiang. The bill also softens language condemning the Chinese Communist Party and their authoritarian manner of governing.

Womack is dedicated to confronting and countering the malign activities of the CCP. He has consistently supported legislation to ensure America’s defense edge, reduce our reliance on Chinese supply chains, require assessment of CCP ties to COVID-19 origins, tackle China’s predatory behavior, address inequities that have disadvantaged American producers, and implement other deterrence efforts. He also led the American Telecommunications Security Act, bipartisan legislation prohibiting the use of American Rescue Plan Act funds to purchase telecommunications equipment manufactured by the Chinese firms Huawei and ZTE, and Taiwan Peace and Stability Act, which seeks to support our ally as China tries to stifle Taiwan’s sovereignty and position on the world stage. He will continue to advocate for policies that protect American interests, not far-left priorities that embolden the corrupt Chinese government.

Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) has represented Arkansas’s Third Congressional District since 2011. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

womack.house.gov

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