China

Floor Speech

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Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, I spoke recently about how the President's ``skinny'' budget is disappointing, dangerous, and a disservice to our men and women in uniform. China actively seeks to outpace the U.S. military, and in some cases, they are succeeding. This isn't a 5- or 10-year problem; the threat is right now, today.

Unfortunately, the military is not the only area facing active challenges by China. Today, I am going to discuss a few at-risk areas that are critical to the stability of our Nation.

It is no secret that the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, wants to replace the United States as the world's top power. The American people need to be aware of how the Chinese Communist Party is coming after us, not just with missiles and military might but with plans to subdue the American spirit.

The repressive CCP uses economic espionage to advance its agenda to weaken our arsenal of democracy. A significant part of what has made the United States a global powerhouse is the strength and resilience of our private sector companies. Whether it is in the technology, healthcare, or energy sector, American innovation is unrivaled. It is what has made us the greatest economy in the history of the world.

China's leaders know this, but rather than go head-to-head in honest competition, they have settled for stealing our intellectual property. Chinese businesses, at the instruction of their government, lure American companies in. They offer cheap labor. They promise an ``exchange of ideas,'' but they really want to steal our valuable intellectual property.

As President Trump's Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, said, China's strategy is to ``rob, replicate and replace.'' China robs American companies of their intellectual property, they replicate our technology, and then China replaces U.S. firms in the global marketplace.

This theft isn't exclusive to just one industry. They will go after whatever they can to get their hands on it--wind turbines, airplane designs, underwater drones, chemicals, or artificial intelligence technology. According to the Department of Justice, between 2011 and 2018, more than 90 percent of the Department's foreign economic espionage cases involved China.

By stealing this critical knowledge, the Chinese have given themselves a leg up on other nations. They are using it to expand their military and economic power. Their goal is to surpass the U.S. economy and gain monopoly control over every major industry. We cannot allow that to succeed.

Even more alarming is what China is doing from within our own universities. The American people may not be familiar with Confucius Institutes, but they should be. Confucius Institutes currently operate at 55 American colleges and universities. While they claim to harmlessly promote Chinese language and culture, they actually serve as a beachhead for the Chinese Government within America's research institutions. Often, just the presence of a Confucius Institute on campus will enable Chinese officials to stifle any criticism of the Chinese Government at that university. The institutes also allow the Chinese Government to harvest valuable data from research being conducted at our country's world-class institutions. Who knows what else they could be up to.

I was very proud to cosponsor Senator Blackburn's Transparency for Confucius Institutes Act, which would provide needed transparency to these dangerous organizations. I was also glad to see Alabama A&M, a public land-grant and historically Black university, make the decision to close their Confucius Institute just last month.

Congress has made clear that American institutions of higher education that host Confucius Institutes could lose their Federal funding.

I hope any remaining colleges and universities with these CCP satellite organizations follow Alabama A&M's leadership.

The United States and the entire Western World have given China valuable concessions for decades. We gave China a seat at the table thinking they would change, but they have played their hand ruthlessly. The hope was that by facilitating economic growth through open markets and giving them leadership roles in the international institutions, China's Communist regime would finally embrace democracy, human rights, and free market values. It is past time we recognize that despite all its good intentions, this strategy has failed and miserably.

The Chinese Communist Party has continually spied on its citizens, violently suppressed dissent, and systematically persecuted religious and ethnic minorities to the point of genocide.

President Trump stood up to China. He was the first U.S. President to do so in decades. And he made great strides, but he didn't have enough time in office to finish the job. I sincerely hope President Biden will continue to build on the Trump administration's momentum in pushing back against China's aggressive rise.

The United States must address the challenges posed by China. I have shared a lot of concerns today, but I am not one to offer criticism without a commonsense solution. Here is one commonsense step Congress can take immediately.

The TSP, or Thrift Savings Plan, is the 401(k)-style investment plan that over 6 million Federal and government employees, both military and civilian, use for their retirement plan. The plan manages more than $700 billion in assets.

Back in 2017, the Board that governs the TSP decided to invest billions in companies with direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party. They wanted to send government employee dollars--the retirement savings of our military and civilian public servants--to Chinese companies, including mine and everybody's here in Congress. These companies are tied to a government that openly committed genocide against its own people. Well, with me, that dog doesn't hunt.

Thankfully, President Trump put a stop to that plan before it was implemented, but now with President Biden in the White House, the Board could decide to push through this decision. We need congressional action to make President Trump's decision with the thrift savings plan permanent. I bet if you ask the folks who work in these buildings or who served the United States overseas if they want their retirement savings going to Chinese companies, you would hear a loud no.

I will be offering a solution on this tomorrow to protect our national security and safeguard the retirements of those who have served our country with honor and distinction.

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