America and Team USA should never concede to China
Friends,
The Olympics should always be something that unite us in pride for our athletes and our nation. Growing up, I remember some of my biggest heroes were Olympians giving their all for our country.
Last Friday, the 2022 Winter Olympics began. Yet unlike previous years, these games hosted in Beijing come at a critical time in America’s relationship with China.
The COVID-19 pandemic placed a spotlight on the lengths China will go in pushing propaganda and shielding information from the world. Finding out the exact origins of the coronavirus, which has killed millions of people around the world, should be something every nation is committed to doing. Unfortunately, the Chinese Communist Party has restricted access to information relating to the virus.
Last March, our Energy and Commerce Committee launched an investigation into the origins of COVID-19. However, it has been disappointing that even Democrats in Congress have shown little interest in joining this effort.
Beyond the pandemic, I have also spoken out against China’s human rights violations with minorities and threats toward democracy like that in Hong Kong. As President Reagan said, the United States is a “shining city on a hill” that represents freedom and democracy to the world. We should be clear eyed in calling out offenses by nations like China.
Last week, House Democrats spent their time advancing a bill meant to spur competition with China called the America Competes Act. Unfortunately, it does the opposite and should be called the America CONCEDES Act.
The bill does nothing to hold China accountable over COVID-19 or human rights violations. Instead, it authorizes $8 billion in your tax dollars for a United Nations climate slush fund which has already given $100 million to China. It also gives $3 billion to a slush fund for solar panel manufacturing. Amendments to ensure this funding does not go to China or Chinese companies that control solar supply chains were blocked. In total, the bill costs $325 billion, even as reckless government spending has already driven inflation to its highest rate in 40 years.
I opposed this bill, and instead have supported legislation that would strengthen our military, sanctions, and enforcement capability to counter China. Our legislation would also modernize laws to stop Chinese theft of American technology and hold China accountable for COVID-19. These commonsense solutions are more important than ever before. Just last week, the FBI said China poses the greatest threat to our technology and economy. In fact, the FBI launches roughly two China-related counterintelligence investigations every 12 hours.
Instead of passing a toothless climate slush fund bill and supporting China’s Olympics, America should have sent a strong message that human rights and other atrocities won’t be tolerated. Yet on the eve of the Olympic games, Speaker Nancy Pelosi told U.S. athletes to, “not risk incurring the anger of the Chinese government” if you “speak out” against China. Last year, Speaker Pelosi said people “will do what they do” when it came to protests and ripping statues down in our cities. Yet she refused to stand up for U.S. Olympic athletes wanting to speak out against China.
One thing is clear - we should always have Americans’ backs over China. In Congress, I will continue working to hold China and the Chinese Communist Party accountable. And I will always back Team USA.
Until Next Week,

Richard Hudson
Member of Congress