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| Rep. Raja Raja Krishnamoorthi will play a key role in new House committee. |
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill, will head the Democrats on the new committee. He'll be joined by Democratic Representatives Ro Khanna of Silicon Valley and Andy Kim of New Jersey.
Rep. Michelle Steel, a Korean American Republican representing parts of Orange County, California, is the only other Asian American on the committee with the responsibility investigating and developing policy to address the United States’ economic, technological, and security competition with the Chinese Communist Party.
One of the first items on the committee is the Chinese balloon flying across the United States. Although the Chinese say it is a weather balloon gone off course, US intelligence and military authorities claim that it has the capabilities of spying on "sensitive" facilities in the US.
In a show of bipartisanship, Select Committee on the CCP Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) today released the following statement regarding the suspected Chinese spy balloon flying over the United States.
“The Chinese Communist Party should not have on-demand access to American airspace. Not only is this a violation of American sovereignty, coming only days before Secretary Blinken’s trip to the PRC, but it also makes clear that the CCP’s recent diplomatic overtures do not represent a substantive change in policy. Indeed, this incident demonstrates that the CCP threat is not confined to distant shores—it is here at home and we must act to counter this threat.”
One of the reasons CAPAC urged Jeffries to appoint CAPAC members on the committee is the concern that anti-Chinese rhetoric from the committee could fan the flames of racism plaguing AANHPI communities since the Donald Trump regime.
“We cannot forget that rhetoric used around economic competition with Asian countries has resulted in the verbal and physical harassment and even murder of Asian Americans here at home," cautioned Rp. Judy Chu, CAPAC chair. "Since March 2020 and former President Trump’s sustained references to the coronavirus as the ‘China virus,’ over 11,500 hate crimes and incidents against Asian Americans have been reported."
"I know that our CAPAC Members will stand ready to call out xenophobic anti-China rhetoric that we know exacerbates anti-Asian hate and violence against our communities. I know that our CAPAC Members will stand ready to call out xenophobic anti-China rhetoric that we know exacerbates anti-Asian hate and violence against our communities."
Krishnamoorthi, who is also a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, is the lead Democrat on the Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act), which protects Americans by blocking and prohibiting all transactions from any social media company in, or under the influence of, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and several other foreign adversaries.
In the 117th Congress, the Indian American congressmember led bipartisan legislation that was signed into law, called the Gathering and Reporting Assessments Yielding Zero Overlooked Nefarious Efforts (Gray Zone) Act, which requires the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to produce a National Intelligence Estimate on different aspects of gray zone activities - actions that fall between ordinary statecraft and open warfare - that the PRC employs. Congressman Krishnamoorthi was also the lead Democrat on the bipartisan Transparency for Malign Chinese Investments in Global Port Infrastructure Act, which requires the DNI to study and report to Congress information related to Chinese global investments in port infrastructure.
"At a time when anti-Asian hate and violence are on the rise, it’s essential that this committee focuses its vital work on protecting all Americans from the threat posed by the CCP, while avoiding dangerous rhetoric that fuels the types of xenophobia that have endangered members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community,” added Krishnamoorthi.
"I know that our CAPAC Members will stand ready to call out xenophobic anti-China rhetoric that we know exacerbates anti-Asian hate and violence against our communities. I know that our CAPAC Members will stand ready to call out xenophobic anti-China rhetoric that we know exacerbates anti-Asian hate and violence against our communities."
Krishnamoorthi, who is also a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, is the lead Democrat on the Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act), which protects Americans by blocking and prohibiting all transactions from any social media company in, or under the influence of, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and several other foreign adversaries.
In the 117th Congress, the Indian American congressmember led bipartisan legislation that was signed into law, called the Gathering and Reporting Assessments Yielding Zero Overlooked Nefarious Efforts (Gray Zone) Act, which requires the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to produce a National Intelligence Estimate on different aspects of gray zone activities - actions that fall between ordinary statecraft and open warfare - that the PRC employs. Congressman Krishnamoorthi was also the lead Democrat on the bipartisan Transparency for Malign Chinese Investments in Global Port Infrastructure Act, which requires the DNI to study and report to Congress information related to Chinese global investments in port infrastructure.
"At a time when anti-Asian hate and violence are on the rise, it’s essential that this committee focuses its vital work on protecting all Americans from the threat posed by the CCP, while avoiding dangerous rhetoric that fuels the types of xenophobia that have endangered members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community,” added Krishnamoorthi.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.
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