The Select: A Weekly Committee Recap (Week of 12/9)

Welcome to The Select, a weekly newsletter on the work of the Congressional Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party led by Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI).

See below for this week's updates. 

Critical Mineral Policy Working Group Unveils Bipartisan Legislation, Policy Report

On Wednesday, Chairman Moolenaar and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) joined Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) and Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), co-chairs of the Committee’s Critical Mineral Policy Working Group, to introduce new bipartisan legislation that helps address the United States’ dependence on the CCP for critical minerals and jumpstart American industry and workforce alongside our allies and partners.

Spearheaded by Rep. Wittman and Rep. Castor, the working group spent months evaluating the United States’ deep reliance on the CCP for critical minerals and developing solutions. Now, members are introducing three new bipartisan bills and a bipartisan working group policy report, Creating Resilient Critical Mineral Supply Chains. Members of the Critical Mineral Policy Working Group are: Rep. Wittman, Rep. Castor, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), and Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA).

Click HERE for a copy of The Creating Resilient Critical Mineral Supply Chains Report

Click HERE for bill text of The Earth Sciences and Cooperation Enhancement Act of 2024

Click HERE for bill text of the amendment to the Export Reform Control Act of 2018

Click HERE for bill text of the Critical Minerals Workforce Enhancement Act

Moolenaar, Sen. Cotton: China abused its U.S. trade relationship. Trump can fix it.

On Monday, Chairman Moolenaar and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) published an op-ed in Fox News, detailing why it's important to repeal permanent normal trade relations with China. 

Read lawmakers' op-ed HERE.

Moolenaar, Krishnamoorthi Write to CEOs of TikTok, Apple & Google Following DC Circuit Court Decision 

Today, Chairman Moolenaar and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi wrote to CEOs of TikTok, Apple, and Google following the DC Circuit Court’s 3-0 opinion that upheld the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

In the letter to TikTok CEO Shou Chew, the lawmakers write, “The Court held that ‘[t]he First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States. Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.[,]’ and rejected all of TikTok’s constitutional claims… Congress has acted decisively to defend the national security of the United States and protect TikTok’s American users from the Chinese Communist Party. We urge TikTok to immediately execute a qualified divestiture.”

Read a copy of the letter to TikTok CEO Shou Chew HERE.

Read a copy of the letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook HERE.

Read a copy of the letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai HERE.

Moolenaar on House NDAA Passage

On Wednesday, Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) released the following statement after voting in support of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. 

“This legislation is a significant commitment to our brave men and women in uniform and refocuses military leadership on its mission to defend the American people and deter military aggression posed by our foremost adversary, the Chinese Communist Party. The bill, the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act provides junior enlisted servicemembers with a 14.5% raise, takes action to remove Chinese-made drones from our skies, and protects American fundamental research from CCP cooptation, all while cutting $31 billion in inefficient programs, saving valuable taxpayer money. I’m proud to support this bill, and I look forward to seeing additional important national security legislation, like the BIOSECURE Act and outbound investment restrictions, on the House floor in the coming weeks.”

Moolenaar, Colleagues Condemn STA Extension

Today, Chairman Moolenaar, alongside fellow lawmakers, today sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemning the Biden Administration's announcement of a five-year extension of the U.S.-People’s Republic of China (PRC) Science and Technology Agreement (STA).

Following repeated congressional requests to suspend the STA or impose guardrails for the protection of human rights and US intellectual property, the lawmakers write, "a renewal of the STA in the final days of the administration is a clear attempt to tie the hands of the incoming administration and deny them the opportunity to either leave the agreement or negotiate a better deal for the American people... We urge you to immediately suspend efforts to renew the U.S.-PRC STA prior to January 20, 2025. If the Biden Administration is confident their new agreement with the PRC will adequately protect U.S. national security, then they should have no problem making the case for renewal to the incoming administration."

Click HERE to view the letter