Representative Mike Gallagher said China may be the only issue lawmakers can agree on right now, as Congress remains deadlocked on a way out of defaulting on $31 trillion in debt.
Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, guided policy recommendations to combat the greatest threat to the United States, which is Chinese aggression – at the physical, technological and intellectual levels.
On Wednesday, its bipartisan select committee adopted two reports on a voice vote – one dealing with how to strengthen Taiwan’s security in the face of a growing Chinese threat, and another on the CCP’s ongoing genocide of Uyghur Muslims. .
Rep. Andy Kim, DN.J., was the only lawmaker to vote “no” on the committee.
“Amid a broader impasse in Congress, the select committee was able to pass two reports with two sets of bipartisan but very strong recommendations,” Gallagher said on a press call.
Rep. Gallagher, R-Wis., told DailyMail.com there’s an “AI race” with China
Chinese President Xi Jinping bolsters the country’s AI capabilities
He referenced ongoing talks between the Biden administration and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who are still a long way from reaching a deal to avoid default.
Talks will continue at the White House on Wednesday, but both sides are hanging on to a big figure on spending cuts.
McCarthy told reporters “I don’t think there will be a default” and both sides made “progress” today.
Gallagher said the “Ten for Taiwan” plan is not a “complete list of everything we need to do,” but it outlines key areas the 118th Congress can accomplish.
He says if it goes ahead, it would “significantly strengthen” deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, including establishing a stockpile of weapons to protect the island.
As part of the 10 recommendations, the United States would expand communication channels with the Taiwanese military and disperse American troops in the Indo-Pacific region.
The plan was constructed in such a way that the recommendations would be “tailored” to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), he added.
“So I’m cautiously optimistic that we can get a lot of that into the NDAA,” Gallagher said, noting that several select committee members also sit on the Armed Services Committee.
Regarding the set of recommendations on the genocide, Gallagher described them as “doable” during this Congress.
The committee voted to sanction CCP officials responsible for the genocide and ensure that US companies are not complicit in exploiting loopholes.
The president told reporters it was important that the United States or American companies not “inadvertently fund” the genocide.
It will also “change the behavior” of big players in the private sector who “too often turn a blind eye” to atrocities, he added.
The two recommendations passed are a legislative action plan, Gallagher said. He doesn’t intend for them to “sit on a shelf somewhere and gather dust.”
“I’m here to get things done.”
“I’m glad Congress has started to exercise an oversight function on this and educated itself on AI,” Gallagher said.
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers led by Gallagher traveled to London last week to meet with key British leaders to find ways for the two nations to work together to effectively counter China’s growing aggression on several fronts.
A select committee aide said UK lawmakers and leaders recognize the trip was designed to find the best ways to work together to counter China’s aggression since they are ‘all in this together. “.
“The CCP’s aggression is global,” a committee aide told DailyMail.com. “It extends to all facets, including economic, military and cyber coercion.”
In overseas meetings, AUKUS – a trilateral security pact between Australia, the UK and the US – came up in almost every discussion.
Lawmakers have been debating how to properly implement AUKUS, which means reform of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), according to a source familiar with the meetings.
Additionally, the leaders hoped that AUKUS could be a springboard for increased military and technological cooperation.
The source added that a key idea that emerged from the weekend was that the US-British “special relationship” – now expanded with the AUKUS platform – could be a new kind of “flexible diplomacy” model.
