Hearing Wrap Up: House Oversight Committee Warns of CCP’s Infiltration of U.S. Industries and Federal Agencies
Federal agencies must develop comprehensive plan to counter CCP
WASHINGTON—The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing today titled, “Defending America from the Chinese Communist Party’s Political Warfare, Part III.” During the hearing, experts detailed how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has successfully waged an influence and infiltration campaign targeting critical U.S. industries, while the federal government has failed to develop a comprehensive strategy to protect the American people and combat the CCP’s dangerous tactics. Members emphasized that the Oversight Committee has gathered evidence showing the CCP’s targeting and infiltration of key federal agencies. The Committee remains committed to ensuring the federal government takes every necessary action to protect Americans from the CCP’s political and economic warfare.
Key Takeaways:
The House Oversight Committee’s investigation has found the Biden-Harris Administration has no government-wide strategy to combat CCP warfare. The House Oversight Committee conducted oversight of 25 sectors of the federal government, consulted with experts from government, military, and private sector, and held briefings with 23 federal agencies.
Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.): “The CCP’s ultimate goal is to weaken and destroy its ‘main enemy,’ which the Party has identified as America. The Committee has conducted oversight of 25 sectors of the federal government to understand if a ‘whole-of-government’ approach to the CCP threat is sufficient or even in existence. Consulting with experts from the U.S. government, military, and private sector—and holding briefings with 23 federal agencies—the Committee has found that the CCP is waging a “war without weapons” against America. And the Biden-Harris Administration has no government-wide strategy to combat CCP warfare.”
Experts testified about the serious threat posed by the CCP and provided comprehensive recommendations the federal government can adopt to counter CCP political warfare and protect Americans from China’s ongoing influence operation.
The Hon. Joseph Cella, Former United States Ambassador and Co-Founder and Director of the citizen-led Michigan China Economic Security and Review Group: “My testimony today focuses on failures on the federal government to both understand the depth and breadth of this threat and to effectively counter it. I witnessed firsthand the CCP’s impactful use of political and economic warfare across the Indo- Pacific. Through this, China has effectively bypassed our historic defensive barriers… In order for our common defense in this Cold War with China, I am offering initial recommendations for federal agencies to consider.
- Read Amb. Cella’s testimony and recommendations to combat CCP political warfare here.
Dr. Bradley Thayer, Founding Member on the Committee on Present Danger China: “The CCP has waged political warfare against the United States government since it seized power in China in 1949 and has done so very successfully. The result has had a devastating impact on the national security of the United States of America. The CCP effectively misled our Executive Branch to ignore the People’s Republic of China as a rising existential threat. The U.S. Government and the American people are not prepared intellectually, ideologically, organizationally, nor militarily. I will provide eight recommendations that the House Oversight and Accountability Committee can employ to assist the federal government.
- Read Dr. Thayer’s testimony and recommendations to combat CCP political warfare here.
Mr. Robert Atkinson, President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation: “I commend the Committee for your important efforts to better understand what U.S. government agencies are doing to understand and respond to the techno-economic challenge China presents. For agencies to respond effectively, policymakers need to understand the nature of the threat accurately and fully. Agencies and departments will need to be pressured to prioritize winning the techno-economic war with China, just as containing and ultimately winning against the Soviets was a top priority for many federal agencies in the first Cold War.”
- Read Mr. Atkinson’s testimony and recommendations to combat CCP political warfare here.
The House Oversight Committee will continue to expose CCP political warfare and work to ensure the federal government formulates a plan to combat CCP threats to protect all Americans.
Chairman James Comer: “America’s adversary is the Chinese Communist Party—not the Chinese people, who are victims themselves of the regime. In the face of the cold war the CCP is waging, federal agencies should fulfill their responsibilities to the American people. Federal officials should use their platforms and authorities to equip America to strengthen their communities and create the new technologies that will secure a strong future for the nation. A government-wide strategy is decades overdue. The American people deserve better from their government—and I hope that federal officials will listen to the constructive recommendations today.”
Member Highlights:
Chairman Comer asked witnesses if federal agencies are even aware of the legitimate threat the CCP poses and what solutions federal agencies can adopt to secure Americans from CCP political warfare.
Chairman Comer: “Is the average government agency aware of the threat the CCP poses? Does anyone have confidence that they are aware? We aren’t even talking about if they have a plan right now to combat CCP infiltration.”
Dr. Thayer:“Not sufficiently.”
Mr. Atkinson: “Overall I do not believe they are.”
Amb. Cella: “Woefully not commensurate with the current threat.”
Chairman Comer: “If you could convince federal agencies to do one thing to protect Americans from CCP political warfare what would it be?”
Dr. Thayer:“Work with Congress to formulate a strategy.”
Mr. Atkinson: “Each agency needs to develop an internal plan and strategy to counter the CCP.”
Amb. Cella: “Agencies need to develop a top to bottom assessment and plug gaping holes that exist.”
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) discussed the deliberate methods employed by the CCP to infiltrate U.S. economic institutions and financial systems.
Rep. Foxx: “We see repeated instances that the United States fails to comprehend the threat posed by the CCP and allows China to exploit our institutions. How is it that the federal government has failed to counter CCP political warfare? People are smart enough to understand the China threat. This Committee and others have uncovered the CCP’s hyper aggressive political warfare, including efforts to weaken America through economic warfare. Based on your experience Ambassador, what is China’s goal here?
Amb. Cella: “I will share my experience here while serving in Michigan and refer to my testimony. I witnessed malign influence through a subnational incursion and influence operation by a PRC-based and CCP-tied lithium-ion battery manufacturer, Gotion, in rural Green Charter Township, Michigan. Roughly 70 miles from Gotion’s proposed lithium-ion facility is the secure U.S. military installation, Camp Grayling, which is the hub of the National All-Domain Warfighting Center, which trains our troops and those of our allies, including Taiwan, in strategic and tactical battle operations. U.S. national security and intelligence agencies convened a group of bi-partisan state and local elected officials and business executives across the country to warn them of China’s political warfare. Despite these warnings, all supporting the Gotion project brazenly defied them.”
Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) stated that while our State Department is focused on social re-engineering and lecturing the world, the CCP is gaining influence through financial investments in foreign roads and bridges.
Rep. Cloud: “The CCP is engaged in trade warfare, biological warfare, biochemical warfare. China is even taking advantage of what is happening at the border and causing us to use resources. We need to recognize the moment, and I haven’t felt that our own State Department has recognized this… When we talk to China we hear about roads and bridges and when we talk to our State Department, we get a lecture. It is social re-engineering.
Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) pressed for information on China targeting and purchasing U.S. farmland.
Rep. Grothman: “We have a lot of farmland in Wisconsin. We know China is seeking to acquire farmland. How big of a threat is this?”
Dr. Thayer: “This is a very serious threat. We need the food and agricultural products that are produced on that land. Often times the land is not used or used for nefarious purposes. By taking that farmland, if you think like the CCP, is that you are taking those assets from the United States. They are also sending a message that they are getting more powerful.”
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) broke down the CCP’s efforts to infiltrate U.S. academic institutions and how critical academic studies funded by taxpayers have fallen into the hands of the CCP.
Rep. Higgins: “The CCP has a presence within our university structure across the country. Our university culture is designed to include a freedom of expression. I support that. But it still carries a risk to the public when it relates to the CCP. Are you familiar with a report that identified over 8,000 publications that covered emerging AI, nuclear and high energy physics, and emerging modern weaponry of the 21st century that were funded by DOD through our universities? More than 2,000 of these DOD funded papers had authors who were directly affiliated with China’s defense research. What dangers does this present to the entire world? We are willingly funding the advancement of CCP weapons through our own university systems.”
Mr. Atkinson: “It is outrageous. Any public or private university that receives Chinese money should also be ineligible to receive federal funding. These is no way we should allow CCP companies to fund our research.”
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) highlighted federal departments and agencies are currently vulnerable to CCP influence and need a plan to counter CCP political warfare.
Rep. Sessions: “What are we doing to counter the CCP threat? Do we just let this continue to go on? I think this is an issue we can find common ground on. We have a problem, and the federal government needs to get itself together to protect the American people.”
Amb. Cella: “We need to operate with eyes wide open. There has been complacency. We need to be informed about this threat. The fact we don’t have our footing or plan is outrageous.”
Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) emphasized that Michigan lawmakers recently green-lit $800 million in taxpayer dollars for the construction of a CCP-tied battery plant project near an important U.S. intelligence operation and military training facility.
Rep. McClain: “The CCP is clearly not our friend. Lawmakers from my state in Michigan have approved nearly $800 million in taxpayer dollars to incentivize the construction of the Gotion plant. Gotion Inc. is a subsidiary company of Gotion high tech which is a state-owned company of the CCP. Lawmakers are using taxpayer dollars to pay the CCP to implant thousands of Chinese workers and billions worth of Chinese technology strategically close to an intelligence program and military facility. Coincidence? I think not. Anyone looking can see this is a troubling pattern.”
Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.) noted that the Trump Administration implemented strong and effective resistance to the CCP, but the Biden-Harris Administration shifted away from these strategies.
Rep. Langworthy: “How did the Biden-Harris Administration shift away from President Trump’s strategy of strong and effective resistance to the CCP threat?”
Dr. Thayer: “The Biden-Harris Administration moved away in terms of political signaling to allies that engagement was returning. As a result, the CCP recognized that they could increase hyper aggressive activities. Messaging is essential. Trump signaled China was a threat… the Biden-Harris Administration has regrettably and sadly backed away from it. We have seen under this Administration a return of hyper aggression by China.”
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