WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement on the announcement that he would be appointed to the conference committee to continue debate on the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA):
“For the last three years, I have worked with colleagues on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to craft comprehensive legislation to better compete with China and address the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) threats to U.S. values and interests. Last June, the Senate passed a bipartisan package to do just that. Unfortunately, Democrats in the House of Representatives sat on our legislation for months and just recently passed a competing, partisan bill that does not actually acknowledge our strategic competition with China, and instead focuses on climate priorities and its failed ‘Build Back Better’ agenda.
“The challenge presented by China is not a Republican or Democrat issue. It is an American issue. As we begin debate to reconcile these bills, I will work with my colleagues to ensure the impactful provisions from USICA are maintained, including those that would counter malign influence by the CPP in the United States. If they are not, I do not see how we will be able to get this legislation across the finish line.”
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