House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer launched a “whole-of-government” investigation into the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in the United States, a day after the House passed a bill to ban TikTok in the United States.
Comer (R-Ky.) on Wednesday issued a flurry of requests to nine different government agencies seeking information on steps taken to mitigate potential infiltration activities by the Chinese Communist Party in the United States. .
“The Chinese Communist Party is waging war against America by targeting, influencing, and infiltrating every economic sector and community in America without firing a single bullet.” Comer said in a statement..
Comer plans to contact additional government agencies and hold hearings on efforts within the federal government to undermine potential Chinese Communist Party influence operations in the United States, his office said. .
A day after the House of Representatives passed a bill that would require video-sharing platform TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to sell the popular social media service within the next six months or face a ban from Google and Apple’s app stores. , the Kentuckians announced the move Thursday. .
President Biden has indicated he intends to sign the bill into law, but it must first pass the Senate.
Mr. Comer is particularly keen to uncover potential Chinese Communist Party influence in U.S. critical infrastructure, education, research, energy, agriculture, business, space, and technology.
He added: “The Oversight Committee is responsible for ensuring that the federal government takes all necessary steps to protect the American people from the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing political warfare.”
“Today’s action by the committee is just the beginning, and we look forward to the full cooperation of national government agencies to thwart China’s influence efforts.”
Agencies contacted by Comer include the Department of Justice, Department of Agriculture, EPA, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Agency for Global Media, Treasury Department Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, NASA, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and National Science Foundation.
He gave authorities until March 20 to brief the Oversight Committee staff on their efforts to thwart Beijing’s potential inflation efforts and answer questions.
For example, he is seeking answers from the Justice Department about its efforts to train employees on “China issues related to the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party,” and its potential lobbying of U.S. companies about the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party.
The questions were different for each institution he contacted.
Mr. Biden has promoted managed competition with China and sought to ease a deeply strained relationship. Last November, he met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Woodside, California.
Administration officials repeatedly huddled with Chinese officials on various occasions last year in a prelude to becoming a global superpower.
