Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I thank Congressman Mike Gallagher for his military service and now service in Congress. I am grateful to speak in support of Congressman Mike Gallagher's amendment that would require the executive branch to create a strategy to address the abuse of visa programs used to enter the United States to conduct political activity and establish groups in support of the Chinese Communist Party. Organizations like the Confucius Institute and the Thousand Talents program are clear examples as to why Congressman Gallagher makes perfect sense, and it is critical to our national security. Confucius Institutes are currently active in 103 college campuses, despite Li Changchun, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, calling the institutes ``an important part of China's overseas propaganda setup.'' Additionally, FBI Director Christopher Wray described the Confucius Institutes operating in the United States as exploiting the very open research and development environment we have, which we all revere, but they are taking advantage of it. Unfortunately, my amendment, cosponsored by Congressman Gallagher and Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, dealing with organizations like the Confucius Institutes was not ruled in order. It is critical that the whole-of-government China strategy include vulnerabilities within our academic community, and for this reason, I urge everyone to support Congressman Gallagher's amendment.”