The House is considering the America COMPETES Act, which seeks to provide $52 billion to increase U.S. semiconductor chip production and $45 billion for a program to make supply chains more resilient, among other provisions. It is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s version of the Innovation and Competition Act, a Senate China competitiveness bill that passed with bipartisan support in June 2021.
House Republicans, who were reportedly blocked from the negotiations on the 2,900-page bill, are voting against it. A memo from the Republican Study Committee dubbed the bill the “America CONCEDES Act.” Among Republicans’ objections is that new carve-outs to visa programs do not limit the number of Chinese nationals who can utilize that program. It also does not ban federal funding for universities that host Confucius Institutes. Members of Congress have long hoped for the Chinese language and culture centers to facilitate Chinese espionage and influence operations.
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Speaking on the House floor on Wednesday, McCarthy declared Confucius Institutes are “essentially CCP propaganda centers.” He then referenced Swalwell being targeted by a Chinese spy, without naming him.
“Could you imagine, would they go as far and as deep to even meet somebody and spy on them when they’re in the city council? Would they develop a friendship through a college, like we see here, Confucius — maybe help if the city councilperson wanted to run for Congress?” McCarthy demanded.
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He took a swipe at Democratic House leadership for keeping Swalwell on the House Intelligence Committee even after knowing he was targeted by a spy.
“Could it go this far, that this person that got elected to Congress, maybe just in their second term, to get on one of the most influential committees, the intel committee? Could they go that far?” McCarthy went on. “But if leadership was warned about it, instantly, that member probably wouldn’t be on a committee where they could hear the most secret — that members here don’t get to know. Surely that person would not still be on that committee.”
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McCarthy then touted his pledge to kick Swalwell off the House Intelligence Committee if Republicans take back the House and he becomes speaker. “What if that member even wanted to run for president after that? That would be shocking to me,” McCarthy said. “Maybe that person could become a subcommittee chair on the intel committee. That couldn’t happen in America. I just know with new leadership it won’t be allowed.”
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