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USICA-COMPETES Conference Final Letter
USICA-COMPETES Conference Final Letter
We write to call additional attention to the threat the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) poses to the
American people and our way of life. Elites in politics, business, and academia prioritized economic
integration with the CCP at the expense of American sovereignty and jobs. Closer economic integration
enriched corporations and the managerial class but came at the expense of American workers. The
Clinton Administration promised that allowing China into the World Trade Organization would be
mutually beneficial. However, it decimated American manufacturing and was responsible for the loss of
3.4 million U.S. jobs. 1
President Trump wisely realized that the status quo with China was unsustainable and acted accordingly.
The Trump Administration exposed the prevalence of China’s espionage and intellectual property theft
from our government, our companies, research institutions, inventors and innovators. The United States
increased tariffs on Chinese goods to gain leverage for negotiating a more equitable trade deal. Congress,
however, has failed to pass any meaningful legislation that adequately responds to the China challenge.
As you know, the House and Senate are currently in conference to reconcile the House-passed America
Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strengthen
(COMPETES) Act of 2022 and the Senate-passed United States Innovation and Competition (USICA)
Act. Both bills had numerous poison provisions that weaken our national security and harm innovation.
The bill in its current form should not become law and all provisions harmful to the U.S. should be struck,
including the following:
• Any immigration provisions that provide amnesty, allow for mass refugee resettlement, or
otherwise expand the number of green cards for foreigners in the United States;
1
https://www.epi.org/publication/the-china-toll-deepens-growth-in-the-bilateral-trade-deficit-between-2001-
and-2017-cost-3-4-million-u-s-jobs-with-losses-in-every-state-and-congressional-district/
• Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity (SOGI) language;
Any bill that is serious about combating China cannot cede American sovereignty to the United Nations.
Despite being the largest donor country to the UN, the United States has gotten very little to show for our
heavy investment. The UN repeatedly wastes American taxpayer money, provides a pass for the most
oppressive regimes, and has proved time and time again to be ineffective in solving problems.
Additionally, the UN has routinely been shown to collaborate with the CCP, most notably when the
World Health Organization (WHO) repeated CCP propaganda about COVID-19.
Just as egregious, immigration provisions under consideration make the American homeland less safe.
Additionally, flooding the labor market with foreign workers will further drive down wages for
Americans, who have already seen their wages decline dramatically because of historic inflation caused
by the Biden Administration’s reckless spending.
The legislation further should not have any Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity language. As Ryan
Anderson stated, “SOGI laws ban disagreement on LGBT issues by enforcing a sexual orthodoxy. He
further states “Where enacted SOGI laws are frequently used as swords to persecute people with
unpopular beliefs, rather than as shields to protect people from unjust discrimination.”2 Taking a divisive
social issue and inserting it into national security legislation shows a clear lack of seriousness. Any
additional woke language must be removed.
The legislation should not have any language that promotes the Green New Deal. Our constituents are
already facing record-high gas prices.3 The Biden Administration is exacerbating the crisis by refusing to
take the shackles off American energy producers. Moreover, the Generalized System of Preferences
should not be expanded to include partisan environmental factors. The Generalized System of Preferences
must continue to be based on helping American small businesses and allied, developing countries. There
also should not be any money sent to the Green Climate Fund that has repeatedly given funds it receives
to the Chinese Communist Party. Additionally, wasting money on unreliable renewable energy sources is
counterproductive as it benefits China due to its dominance in critical minerals.
Serious legislation would expose and crackdown on Chinese influence operations in the United States.
Specifically, there must be a provision that reduces funding for American universities if they decide to
take money from organizations that are affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party. In recent years,
many of our universities have become drunk on CCP cash. A few have even acted in ways that
jeopardize our national security. 4 Additionally, we must follow the Trump Administration’s lead and
place additional sanctions on members of the United Front Work Department, which is responsible for
spreading propaganda and attempting to silence and bully those critical of the CCP.
2
https://www.heritage.org/sites/default/files/2018-11/IB4925.pdf
3
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gas-prices-national-record-high-gallon-may-2022/
4
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/china/american-universities-are-soft-target-china-s-spies-say-u-n1104291
There must not be any slush funds created that enrich the allies or family of the Biden Administration. We
have already seen the Biden Administration use the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act, and the most recent Ukraine supplemental package to create slush funds that benefit their
friends. Using taxpayer money to enrich political allies of the Biden Administration is an egregious
affront to basic decency and common sense. Appropriating money to this Administration without proper
safeguards in place is unacceptable.
There needs to be a comprehensive strategy to work with allies and partner nations to resist the Chinese
Communist Party’s global influence. The Trump Administration worked closely to deepen relations with
India, Australia, and Japan to serve as a check on Chinese power in the Indo-Pacific region.5 Regrettably,
the Biden Administration has sought to distance our country from India. There also needs to be more
efforts to counter China’s Belt and Road initiative, particularly in the Western Hemisphere.
With each passing day, the Biden Administration weakens our standing in the world and makes it more
difficult for our country to compete with China. Congress must get serious about combating China now.
We believe that both bills are half-hearted measures to deal with the CCP threat in name only. We would
like to consider measures that will truly recalibrate the U.S. relationship with China, as President Trump
earnestly sought to do with his visionary and bold policies. However, at the minimum, we would ask that
you do not agree to the aforementioned provisions, which will only serve to harm Americans.
Sincerely,
W. Gregory Steube
Member of Congress
5
https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/Interview/Pompeo-aims-to-institutionalize-Quad-ties-to-counter-China