09/13/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/13/2024 15:27
Washington, D.C. - House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul issued the below statement following the release of the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) report highlighting the substantial investments China is making through the world's largest infrastructure finance program, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Earlier this year, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed Chairman McCaul's DFC Modernization and Reauthorization Act of 2024.
"This report reiterates what I have been warning about for years - China's Belt and Road Initiative is outpacing U.S. efforts to build strong economic ties with other nations. Congress must pass my bipartisan bill, the DFC Modernization and Reauthorization Act, as quickly as possible and get it to the president's desk for signature. Without a reauthorization, our nation risks falling even further behind in the great power competition for global influence. We know that countries would prefer to work with the United States over the debt-trap diplomacy offered by China - we just need the tools in place to make them the offer."
BACKGROUND
Chairman McCaul commissioned this GAO report as part of the fiscal year 2023 NDAA to assess the damaging effects of BRI projects on host countries and U.S. interests. Some key takeaways from the report are:
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