WASHINGTON D.C. -- Today, the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party's Fentanyl and Critical Minerals Policy Working Groups held their inaugural meetings.
The Fentanyl Working Group, led by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), heard from Mr. Ray Donovan, former Chief of Operations of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and Mr. Bill Evanina, former Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. In a roundtable-style event, experts and members built on the Select Committee's April report on the CCP's role in the fentanyl crisis to discuss current gaps in the US response and future strategies.
Rep. Newhouse stated, "We are all in agreement that too many Americans have died for us to waste time on political theater. On this issue, there are no Republicans or Democrats. We must face this particularly disturbing aspect of the CCP threat together as Americans."
Rep. Auchincloss added, "We have all joined this working group because we have seen the devastating effects of fentanyl in our districts. Children watching from the backseat as their parents overdose & die in the front seat. Grandparents trying to rescue their children from addiction while raising their grandchildren. First responders overwhelmed & demoralized. On behalf of the hundred thousand Americans poisoned to death every year – and their families – we are resolved to take action by interdicting the supply of fentanyl directly at its source: the Chinese mainland."
The Critical Minerals Policy Working Group, led by Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) and Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), discussed with critical minerals experts about battery materials and rare earth magnets' importance in national security and advanced technologies, highlighting dependencies on foreign production chains, particularly from China.
Rep. Wittman remarked, "For decades, PRC policies have aimed to concentrate rare earth elements (REE) and critical mineral supply chains in China... It is clear the PRC is eager to leverage the choke points it developed in this critical sector to harm the national security of the United States."
Rep. Castor emphasized, "The U.S. is far too reliant on the People’s Republic of China and other foreign sources for critical materials... Therefore, the U.S. must act swiftly to diversify its critical minerals supply—and do so through bipartisan collaboration to ensure that progress is durable."
