By Hank Russell
A bill co-sponsored by U.S. Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) that he said would counter any threats from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and defend American interests passed the House and is on the way to the Senate.
The SHIELD Against CCP Act, which he co-led with Dale Strong (R-Alabama), passed overwhelmingly by a 409-4 vote. This legislation would establish and authorize a dedicated Department of Homeland Security working group to identify, evaluate and counter threats to our nation’s security posed by the CCP.
Noting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation called the CCP a “broad and unrelenting threat,” Suozzi said the Act will crack down on “predatory economic and trade practices,” “identity theft,” “strengthening border security, “improving cybersecurity” and “fighting transnational repression and criminal organizations.”
Suozzi, who co-chairs the Congressional Uyghur Caucus and was a member of the Congressional Executive Commission on China, spoke on the House floor on how the CCP not only targets religious minorities in China, but Americans as well. He mentioned how he successfully petitioned for his constituent, Kai Li, to be released from a Chinese prison after almost 10 years.
“[He] was finally released to the U.S. after nearly a decade of wrongful imprisonment in China,” Suozzi said. “If we are to honor the years Mr. Li spent in Chinese detention, we must remain clear-eyed about the CCP threat and redouble our efforts to counter it.”
Suozzi also pointed out the CCP’s brutal tactics it uses, including mass detention, torture, forced sterilization and forced labor, which he said should be a wake-up call to the other House members.
“Let me be clear: the United States cannot waiver in the face of this unrelenting strategic adversary,” he said.