WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and 22 House progressives issued the following statement on their no vote on H.Res. 11, Republicans’ resolution to create a Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party:

“There is no doubt that China presents significant policy challenges to the United States, and effective competition with China is an important consideration for our future. The Biden Administration and the Democratic Party understand this. The Biden Administration worked with the 117th Congress to revive domestic American semiconductor manufacturing, take additional major steps to reshore manufacturing in the U.S., and provide substantial additional funding for the defense of Taiwan.

“Unfortunately, we are concerned about the direction of this committee given past statements and actions by Republicans. In the hands of President Trump and Congressional Republicans, reckless and prejudiced rhetoric and policy contributed to a rise in anti-Asian sentiment across the country and a 339 percent increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in 2021. One in six Asian American adults reported experiencing a hate crime or hate incident that same year.

“This also should not be a committee about winning a ‘new Cold War’ as the Chair-Designate of the Committee has previously stated. America can and must work towards our economic and strategic competitiveness goals without ‘a new Cold War’ and without the repression, discrimination, hate, fear, degeneration of our political institutions, and violations of civil rights that such a ‘Cold War’ may entail.

“We are deeply concerned about the direction of this Select Committee and we urge the Chair-Designate and our Leadership to ensure that strong Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) and pro-diplomacy voices are clearly reflected in the membership when it is constituted.”

The members signing on to this statement include Representatives Becca Balint (VT-AL), Troy Carter (LA-02), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Judy Chu (CA-27), Diana DeGette (CO-01),  Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson (GA-04) Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Grace Meng (NY-06),  Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Mark Takano (CA-39), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), and Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07).

###