ROGERS, MCCAUL, TURNER ON THREAT OF CHINA
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), Lead Republican of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), Lead Republican of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), Lead Republican of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, joined Trey Gowdy on Fox News’ Sunday Night in America to discuss the threat China poses to the United States.
On the Pacing Military Threat Posed by China: ROGERS: “Well the thing that we’ve got to keep in mind is that China has global aspirations. Their Belt and Road initiative is a 50-year initiative to become both an economic and a military superpower and we’ve got to recognize that is our pacing threat. While we’ve got to be concerned about what’s happening in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The most dominant threat that we have to our national interests is China and we’ve got to be focused on that. That’s why we’re making a real pivot in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, the defense bill, towards the INDOPACOM domain. To make sure we’re prepared to take on aggression from China which has become more menacing lately with the threat on Taiwan.”
MCCAUL: “When you project weakness, you invite aggression. We know President Xi has plans for Taiwan…If we want to have deterrence against the Chinese Communist Party from invading Taiwan, we need to provide the weapon systems to Taiwan. And the problem is the defense industrial base is not prepared to get this done. I just recently met with the head of CENTCOM, the commander and the former one, [Gen.] McKenzie told me – both of them – that foreign military sales are the number one problem right now.”
TURNER: “There’s concern as to whether or not they’re [the Biden administration] going to make further announcements and restricting our nuclear weapons programs at the same time China is vastly expanding its nuclear weapons programs. As you know, China has taken advances in hypersonic weapons beyond what we’re even doing. And the administration has not come to the table and said this is how we’re going to set the bar higher and what we’re going to achieve make certain we can stay safe.”
On Securing the Supply Chain:
ROGERS: “The biggest threat is that we still haven’t gotten China out of our supply chain. We have made it a goal. We expect to have them out within the next couple of years. But I think if the pandemic taught us anything, meaning the western world, it’s that all of us have allowed ourselves lazily to become dependent on China for far too much of our lives. That’s got to be changed, and we’re making steps in that direction. But you made a great point about us being self-supportive – we’ve got to recognize that being able to feed and clothe ourselves in this country is a matter of national security and we can’t depend on other countries to be able to help us do that. Militarily or otherwise.”
On China’s Debt-trap Diplomacy:
MCCAUL: “We have to compete with China in Africa, in Latin America. And I would say we’re losing…They have a debt trap that the get them into, then they build a port or a military base, and they’re doing this all over the continent. They get them onto the digital yuan and tell them they can’t support Taiwan.”
On Failures of Biden Administration to Counter China:
TURNER: “China has identified itself as an adversary. The administration has gone out of its way actually to dismantle things that were in place to try to hold China accountable. If you look at the Department of Justice, that was the China initiative that was focusing on trying to find the various activities that China was doing both cyber and otherwise within the United States.”
Mike Rogers is a sixth generation East Alabamian. He is a conservative, a Christian, the father of three and married to his wife, Beth, for over 40 years.
Mike grew up in Calhoun County, Alabama, in the small mill village of Blue Mountain. His mother worked in the local textile mill and his father was a firefighter. Mike learned the values of family, hard work and sacrifice from his parents.
Since first elected in 2002, Mike has been known for his tireless advocacy for the people and interests of Alabama’s Third Congressional District. He currently serves as Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee (https://republicans-armedservices.house.gov/) and served as the Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security in the 116th Congress (https://republicans-homeland.house.gov/) both vital to Alabama’s interests. Nationally, he has built a reputation as a recognized leader on key national security issues. On the Armed Services Committee, he will work to ensure that our military is properly funded, focus on the threats coming from China, and better train and equip our service members and cyber personal with cyber and artificial intelligence capabilities.
Advocate for a Strong National Defense, East Alabama’s Military Installations.
Mike’s district in East Alabama is home to the Anniston Army Depot (http://www.anad.army.mil/), Fort Benning (http://www.benning.army.mil/), and Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base (http://www.maxwell.af.mil/). To help advocate for these installations, Mike served on the Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee (http://armedservices.house.gov/index.cfm/readiness) which has jurisdiction over military readiness, maintenance and logistics. The Readiness Subcommittee (https://republicans-armedservices.house.gov/subcommittees/readiness-116th-congress)oversees the largest account in the Department of Defense’s budget. Mike has worked tirelessly to ensure our warfighters have the very best equipment, including the hard work done at the Anniston Army Depot, known as the ‘Pit Crew of America’s Warfighters.’
Mike also served as a member of the Strategic Forces subcommittee (https://republicans-armedservices.house.gov/subcommittees/strategic-forces-116th-congress), a subcommittee he served as Chairman of for six years. The Subcommittee deals with missile defense and nuclear weapons issues. These are vital issues important to America’s national security and Alabama’s economy.
Mike graduated from Saks High School and earned both his undergraduate degree in Political Science and Masters of Public Administration at Jacksonville State University (http://www.jsu.edu/). Later he graduated with honors from the Birmingham School of Law (http://www.bsol.com/). He was a practicing attorney and is a small business owner in Calhoun County.