New Select China Committee Approved by House on Bipartisan Vote
January 10, 2023 House Republicans and Democrats united in a rare display of bipartisanship on January 10 to create a new Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The vote on final passage of the authorizing resolution was 365 to 65, with 146 Democrats joining all 222 Republicans in voting for the proposal. The 65 Nay votes were all cast by Democrats.
A succession of speakers from both parties extolled creation of the new panel, with Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) telling colleagues that “this select committee will examine the threats from the Chinese Communist Party with a fine-tooth comb and expose them for the American people and for the whole world to fully understand.”
Barr said the panel is needed to “develop concrete solutions for how we can better position the United States to prevail in this competition and ensure that the 21st Century is led by the United States and defined by a rules-based international order.”
Former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, who now represents Montana in the House, described what he saw while leading a U.S. delegation in China.
“I can tell you their intentions are clear—control and dominance of the South China Sea and the entire hemisphere. It should be noted that China has the largest standing Navy, greater than the United States. It has stolen U.S. technology and increased its capacity for nuclear weapons,” Zinke said.
