21st Century Peace Through Strength Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this bill, and specifically on the TikTok divestment bill. I want to say a special thank you to Greg Meeks, Mike McCaul, Mike Gallagher, Frank Pallone, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and Chair Cantwell in the Senate for working on this bill.

First of all, this bill is not a ban; it is about a divestment. It is not really about TikTok; it is about ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok and is indisputably controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. The CCP's secretary of the cell embedded in the company is the editor and chief of ByteDance. That is why we are so concerned about this particular app.

Since the bill passed with 352 votes previously, we increased the divestment period, which is the least restrictive way to deal with the CCP threat, from 6 months to upwards of a year.

Madam Chair, I strongly urge support of this bill.

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Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of this amendment, which requires the China Military Power Report, which the Department of Defense puts out each year to include a new section on the PRC's development of critical and emerging technologies. Through its Military-Civil Fusion strategy, the CCP has effectively combined its civilian and military sectors, meaning that American investment into China often finds its way into the hands of the People's Liberation Army.

We simply cannot allow this to happen. By tracking the PRC's development of critical technologies, as well as any American support for these efforts, this amendment will help prevent the power of American innovation and financing from fueling the continued growth of China's military power.

Madam Chair, I urge strong support for this amendment.

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