On the recordFebruary 2, 2022
I would like to thank my esteemed colleague from Minnesota for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the rule and the underlying legislation, the so-called America COMPETES Act. I have worked tirelessly with my colleagues to produce thoughtful, bipartisan STEM bills that could have been considered through a committee conference tomorrow. Instead of working on a comprehensive and bipartisan strategy to counter the CCP, Speaker Pelosi released a bill that was written behind closed doors less than a week ago that is nearly 3,000 pages and mentions, as you have heard over and over from my colleagues, the words ``coral reefs'' more than the word ``China.'' The bill also puts $8 billion in a U.N. climate slush fund that we have zero oversight over and that China has already taken $100 million from. The CCP's goal is to become the world's top economic superpower by the year 2025 and has made clear that their goal is to surpass the United States in science and technology. The reality is that they are winning. They are outspending us on research and development. They are producing more STEM graduates than us. And by 2025, they will graduate twice as many STEM Ph.D.s as we do. The way to ensure future United States leadership and counter China is by working together, not by ramming partisan bills through Congress. The CCP is watching us. Speaker Pelosi's concedes act plays right into our adversaries' hands. Madam Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote.
