U.S. Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla) recently noted that the Countering Communist China Act will hold China accountable and require significantly less funding than the Democrat-proposed bills related to China.
In June 2021, the Senate passed a $250 billion China-related legislative package by a 68-32 vote, CNBC reported. The legislation would direct funding toward scientific research and provide subsidies for semiconductor chip manufacturers with the goal of bolstering the United States' competitiveness with China. Tens of billions of dollars would go toward overhauling the National Science Foundation and creating a Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships.
"Passing this bill— now called the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act—is the moment when the Senate lays the foundation for another century of American leadership," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said, according to CNBC. "Around the globe authoritarian governments believe that squabbling democracies like ours can’t unite around national priorities. Well, let me tell you something: I believe that they are wrong. I believe that this legislation will enable the United States to out-innovate, outproduce, and outcompete the world in the industries of the future."
Steube believes the bill didn't strongly address what he says is a Chinese threat to national security. Instead he presented the GOP-backed Countering Communist China Act, which he says would better address national security concerns and cost less.
"The bottom line is that we have a president and a Democratic majority who refuse to confront China," Steube told State Newswire. "China is the number one threat to our national security. Yet Democrats introduced legislation that does little to nothing to hold China accountable for unleashing COVID-19 on the world, stealing our intellectual property, and committing human rights violations.
"I’m an original co-sponsor of the most serious and comprehensive package in Congress that will hold China accountable for their atrocities," he added. "While Democratic bills burden American taxpayers with $245 billion in new spending and require little changes from China, the conservative solution is tough on China. It spends $1 billion, or less than half a percent of the cost of the Senate’s so-called 'China package.' More than 50 of my colleagues are cosponsoring the Countering Communist China Act, led by Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), and under a Republican majority come January, we will absolutely work to get this bill passed."
Steube is a co-sponsor of the Countering Communist China Act, which recognizes China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as the United States' top national security threat and aims to counter China's malign influence and theft of intellectual property. One provision of the legislation requires the declassification of information related to the origin of COVID-19, determine whether China's role constitutes use of a biological weapon and seek reimbursement from China for the funds the U.S. government used to mitigate the pandemic.
Another portion of the legislation will invest in supply chain security, especially as it relates to medical and pharmaceutical items and national security. The legislation also aims to protect American universities, laboratories and research institutions from CCP influence and theft, restricting foreign funding of educational institutions and limiting partnerships with the People's Republic of China.
The Countering Communist China Act also places prohibitions on undermining the U.S. policy regarding Taiwan, and seeks to negotiate a free trade agreement with Taiwan. The legislation would address the genocide in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and impose sanctions on individuals participating in human rights abuses.
Banks, the Republican study committee chairman, sponsored the legislation and has been joined by 33 original co-sponsors, according to the Ripon Advance. The legislation has been referred to 14 difference House committees for consideration.
Steube has represented Florida's 17th District since 2019.
