Republicans introduce China Task Force Act in House

U.S. Reps. Andy Barr (R-KY), Michael McCaul (R-TX) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) introduced the China Task Force Act, which includes bills and recommendations laid out by the House China Task Force (CTF) to combat economic, military, political and technological threats from China.

Over 137 bills and recommendations have been made by the CTF, with more than one-third already passed the House or the Senate.

“The CTF provides a roadmap for confronting the CCP in a way that positions America to prevail in what will likely be a multi-generational struggle similar to the strategic battle fought with the Soviet Union during the Cold War,” Barr said. “The threat the CCP poses to our country and the free world is not a Republican or Democrat problem, but an American challenge.”

Barr, who is on the CTF, introduced three bills that are included in the CTF Act, including the NIST COVID-19 Cyber-Security Act (H.R. 7998), the Countering China Through American Export and Competitiveness Act (H.R. 8163), and the National Security Through America’s Resources and Permitting Reform Act of 2020 (H.R. 8198).

“The malign behavior of the CCP poses a generational threat that demands urgent action,” McCaul, chairman of the CTF, said. “We can no longer stand back as the CCP ramps up their military aggression, weaponizes the supply chain, and brazenly attacks the democratic values that underpin American society and global prosperity. For more than forty years, we have tried to bring them into the family of nations as a responsible partner, and only recently have we begun to change course and take on the CCP’s hostile ideology and actions.”