Republican Patrick McHenry puts China before US military lives
Tom Rogan
Video Embed
This summer, the Senate passed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would require companies in the United States that intend to invest in the high-tech sectors of adversarial nations to provide the Treasury Department with prior notification.
China is the key focus.
GOP SENATORS LOOK TO CRACK DOWN ON FOREIGN ESPIONAGE WITH TOUGHER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
Sponsored by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Bob Casey (D-PA), the amendment won 96-1 Senate approval and deserves passage in the final Senate-House 2024 NDAA consensus bill. The amendment targets investments in “advanced semiconductors and microelectronics, artificial intelligence, quantum information science and technology, hypersonics, satellite-based communications, and networked laser scanning systems with dual-use applications.”
Sounds like a no-brainer?
Unfortunately not. The House Financial Services Committee chairman is blocking the amendment. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) said the legislation would “strengthen rather than weaken the objectives of Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party” and that U.S. investment in China provides for beneficial U.S. influence on Beijing. McHenry’s claims have as much relationship to reality as the claim that Chinese DF-27 hypersonic missiles are good for the health of Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.
Interestingly, Politico’s Olivia Beavers reported on Tuesday that McHenry won’t run for reelection in 2024. Perhaps he’s looking for a more lucrative career from his friends in the big investment houses? Friends is certainly the right word. After all, McHenry’s top campaign and leadership PAC contributors are saturated by the financial investment industry. And if McHenry defeats this amendment, he’ll certainly have earned his payday. Investment houses such as BlackRock have proven they care far more about making big bucks in China than they do about ensuring Chinese leader Xi Jinping cannot kill American service personnel (many in the U.S. semiconductor industry share this stance).
The problem is clear: American investments in China’s high-tech sector inevitably support the People’s Liberation Army. This is not a hypothetical concern. The Chinese Communist Party retains tightly enforced control over any corporation operating on its soil. This is a basic point of Chinese law as much as the U.S. legal requirement for businesses to file tax returns — hence, for example, why the Cornyn-Casey amendment focuses on issues such as hypersonic and semiconductor technology that are key to developing anti-ship ballistic missiles and their targeting support (hello, U.S. aircraft carriers / Anderson Air Force Base / Okinawa) and quantum computing (hello, encryption and kill-chain targeting).
Most U.S. intelligence and military analysts believe a U.S. war with China is likely to occur before this decade is out. That McHenry would seek to defeat these investments is patently unpatriotic. Cornyn has requested that House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) overrule McHenry and ensure the amendment carries into the final NDAA. The speaker must do so.