Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, Ranking Member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology U.S. Congressman Mike Waltz (FL-6) spoke on the House floor in opposition to the partisan America COMPETES Act.

Watch the full remarks here.

“It’s a shame that [Democrats] are framing this as a bill about competitiveness,” said Waltz. “While it may have started as just that, it’s now morphed into another attempt to impose the Democrats’ out of touch agenda on America.”

“The sad reality is that we are in desperate need of a competitiveness bill. The Chinese Communist Party is trying to overtake us and intends to overtake us as the global leader in science and technology because they know that leadership in science directly equates to a stronger economy, a more secure homeland, and greater influence in the ethical standards that underpin all of our emerging technologies.”

“So, it’s no wonder that the Chinese Communist Party is doing everything in its power to take every possible advantage in this global competition. The Chinese Communist Party is outspending us in research and development. They are graduating more STEM students and building a higher-tech workforce faster than we are. They are acquiring valuable research and intellectual property by any means necessary, absolutely including forced acquisition and theft. They are stealing their way to the top.”

“It is not an exaggeration to say countering China’s global influence must be one of our highest priorities in Congress,” said Waltz. “It is inaccurate to say this is a China bill or a competitiveness bill. I want to be crystal clear; this is not bipartisan legislation. It is not focused on the problems at hand.”

Waltz continues, “here we are on Ground Hog Day, fittingly and sadly, going through the same exercise we have done multiple times. Let’s be candid, Democrats are trying to cram through a massive bill, filled with unnecessary spending that dramatically alters what has already passed through this house, instead of focusing on the issues at hand.”

“What started as a bipartisan effort to keep the U.S. globally competitive, somehow in the last few weeks has gone through the black box of Speaker Pelosi’s office and has emerged as the Build Back Better Backup Plan filled with failed initiatives and progressive demands.”

“Instead of addressing competition and the threat from the Communist leadership in China, this bill now corrupts good, solid bipartisan work that I was personally proud of with thousands of pages of irrelevant policies,” said Waltz. “What kind of China bill mentions coral reefs more than China? There are very real consequences to this bad faith effort. As much as 85 percent of America’s long-term economic growth is due to advances in science and technology.”

“I urge my colleagues, with a heavy heart, to oppose this bill and encourage Democratic leadership to get serious about the threat from China, stay focused on that threat and go to conference with a clean, bipartisan competitiveness bill and set our country up for the continued economic success that Americans deserve.”