[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 63 (Monday, April 17, 2023)] [House] [Pages H1735-H1738] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-17
Chamber: HOUSE
Mr. MAST: I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I have a feeling that while there is going to be agreement, myself and the comments of my colleague over there might be slightly different, but I rise in support of H.R. 1151, the Upholding Sovereignty of Airspace or USA Act. It is an important piece of legislation because of what has happened to the United States of America and to Americans. In early February, I think everybody watched this on the news for days on end. Our Nation found itself in what we thought was an impossible situation. Looking up into the sky, Americans saw a strange object floating overhead. Some wondered if it was a bird or a plane. Some wondered if it was a UFO from some distant planet. It was none of those things. It was a high-tech balloon sent by the Chinese Communist Party to spy on the United States of America and all of our people. It floated slowly across North America in the full width of the continental United States from Alaska to the South Carolina coast. In States across the country, Americans saw the balloon, but what was more concerning was what the balloon saw. It conducted surveillance, it conducted reconnaissance, and it came away with intelligence on the United States of America that we did not want China to have. Now, while the Biden administration sat on its hands, this balloon, minute after minute after minute, gained valuable information on some of our most sensitive military sites. We now know that the United States had been tracking the balloon since at least January 28, that being the day that it entered U.S. airspace, but very likely before that. The administration hasn't disclosed exactly what date it began tracking the balloon. Yet, the Biden administration didn't act. They didn't shoot it down, that is to say, until 7 days later, until it had crossed the entire breadth of the United States of America. Mr. Speaker, China is determined to topple the United States of America. Xi Jinping will stop at nothing to achieve that goal. We have known this for years, but in February, we saw the proof with our own eyes. This is not an abstract concern. We can literally watch it invade the American homeland. Congress needs to step up and send a clear message to the Chinese Communist Party. It will not be allowed to violate our sovereignty, to use American technology for its own military purposes, or to spy on American citizens. This shouldn't be an argument anywhere in the United States of America. This bipartisan legislation is an important step in sending that message and denying the CCP those abilities. This bill does three important things. It sanctions Chinese Communist Party officials who were involved in the spy balloon program. It requires the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to confront the People's Republic of China's global surveillance activities. It requires the Commerce Department to consider export controls for U.S. technologies that are being used by the People's Liberation Army for intelligence and reconnaissance purposes. Under no circumstances should Americans know that the Chinese Communist Party is spying on them across the breadth of our country and know that their government is not doing anything to respond to that. It degrades the trust that Americans have in their government, in their safety, in their defense institutions, in their intelligence agencies. That can't be what America knows about its government. This has been bipartisan legislation. I thank the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Meeks, for introducing the bill.  Along with Chairman   Michael McCaul, I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill and in curbing the CCP's malign influence in the United States. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.  House of Representatives,  Committee on Armed Services,  Washington, DC, April 17, 2023. Hon. Michael T. McCaul, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman McCaul: It has come to our attention that H.R. 1151, the ``Upholding Sovereignty of Airspace Act,'' was substantially modified following its consideration in your Committee to include language within the jurisdiction of the House Armed Services Committee. In the spirit of comity and expeditious consideration of this legislation, we will not formally consider H.R. 1151. We do so with the understanding that by waiving consideration of the bill, the Committee on Armed Services does not waive any future jurisdictional claims over the subject matters contained in the bill which fall within the Armed Services Committee's Rule X jurisdiction or create any precedent for future accommodation. Please place a copy of this letter and your response acknowledging our jurisdictional interests into the Congressional Record. Thank you for the cooperative spirit in which you have worked regarding this matter and others between our respective Committees. Sincerely, Mike D. Rogers, Chairman, House Armed Services Committee. ____  House of Representatives,  Committee on Foreign Affairs,  Washington, DC, April 17, 2023. Hon. Mike Rogers, Chairman, Committee on Armed Services, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Rogers: Thank you for agreeing to forgo pursuing a sequential referral of H.R. 1151, the ``Upholding Sovereignty of Airspace Act,'' so that the measure may proceed expeditiously to the House floor. I understand there are concerns that certain reporting requirements in this text may be duplicative of preexisting reporting obligations that the Department of Defense is regularly fulfilling, and am not averse to those concerns being addressed as the bill moves forward in the legislative process. I agree that your forgoing action on this measure does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives on this measure or similar legislation in the future. I would support your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees from your committee to any House-Senate conference on this legislation. I will seek to place this letter into the Congressional Record during floor consideration. I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward to continuing to work together as this measure moves through the legislative process. Sincerely, Michael T. McCaul, Chairman. ____  House of Representatives,  Committee on the Judiciary,  Washington, DC, March 24, 2023. Hon. Michael McCaul, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman McCaul: I write regarding H.R. 1151, the ``Upholding Sovereignty of Airspace Act.'' Provisions of this bill fall within the Judiciary Committee's Rule X jurisdiction, and I appreciate that you consulted with us on those provisions. The Judiciary Committee agrees that it shall be discharged from further consideration of the bill so that it may proceed expeditiously to the House floor. The Committee takes this action with the understanding that forgoing further consideration of this measure does not in any way alter the Committee's jurisdiction or waive any future jurisdictional claim over these provisions or their subject matter. We also reserve the right to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees in the event of a conference with the Senate involving this measure or similar legislation. I ask that you please insert this letter in the Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 1151 on the House floor. I appreciate the cooperative manner in which our committees have worked on this matter, and I look forward to working collaboratively in the future on matters of shared jurisdiction. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Jim Jordan, Chairman. ____  House of Representatives,  Committee on Foreign Affairs,  Washington, DC, March 24, 2023. Hon. Jim Jordan Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Jordan: Thank you for consulting with the Foreign Affairs Committee and agreeing to be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1151, the ``Upholding Sovereignty of Airspace Act,'' so that the measure may proceed expeditiously to the House floor. I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives on this measure or similar legislation in the future. I would support your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees from your committee to any House-Senate conference on this legislation. I will seek to place our letters on this bill into the Congressional Record during floor consideration. I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward to continuing to work together as this measure moves through the legislative process. Sincerely, Michael T. McCaul, Chairman.