Vote Explainer — CCP and National Security

Transparency is vital to democracy. Below please find explainers for key votes I took in the 118th Congress.

Last week, the House voted on a number of bills related to countering the economic, technological, and national security threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party. While many of these bills were bipartisan and noncontroversial, some were harmful.

The CCP poses a serious and credible threat to the United States and the free world. The intelligence paints a very clear picture of the ways in which they seek to undermine American security and our international order. But taken together, this package of bills represents how Republicans are turning our relationship with China into an overtly political issue.

It is imperative that America has a smart, strategic, and coherent China strategy. The alternative is a devastating war between the world's two biggest militaries. Doing so requires a careful and intentional approach to the relationship with China, not scattershot tough-on-China messaging legislation.

I cast a "no" vote on the following bills:

• H.R. 1398 - Protect America's Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act: I voted against this bill because it would have restarted a Trump-era initiative that failed to convict anyone of espionage, but did ruin the lives and professional careers of numerous Asian-American scientists with allegations that were ultimately never proven.

• H.R. 1425 - No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval: The pandemic agreement aims to close the gaps in our ability to cooperate globally to address health emergencies, which we saw clearly during COVID. This bill would have made it harder for the U.S. to join this important agreement, so I voted no.

• H.R. 1516 - DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern: While there are absolutely areas of STEM research where the US should not be working with Chinese academic institutions tied to the military, not all research collaboration is bad. As this bill would have restricted all of it, I voted no. In plenty of research areas, collaboration benefits everyone.

• H.R. 9456 - Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act: I support the goal of the bill, but I voted no because it will discriminate against U.S. legal permanent residents based on their country of origin, regardless of any national security threat, in their ability to buy land. That is unfair and un-American.