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Harold Rogers Presses Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick About His CCP ‘Economic Warfare’ Concerns
Forbes Breaking News
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6/9/2025
During Thursday’s House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY) questioned Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about economic warfare with the CCP.
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00:00
Thanks, Secretary, for those words.
00:04
We have a full complement of members of the subcommittee with us this morning,
00:09
and for that reason we will do our questioning under the five-minute rule.
00:16
So, Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here.
00:18
I yield myself five minutes.
00:20
You touched on this somewhat already, but I wanted to ask you about the Chinese Communist Party
00:33
and their effect in this country and our bipartisan concern.
00:41
From economic warfare to technological threats,
00:46
China is seeking to obtain advantage of our nation, our people, and our companies
00:55
at all possible opportunities.
01:00
Again, summarize what we're doing to strengthen our ability to counter
01:06
China's unfair trade practices.
01:11
Protect American intellectual property and secure critical supply chains
01:16
and emerging technologies.
01:24
The Chinese Communist Party seeks to become the dominant culture of the world,
01:33
and it uses our knowledge, our innovation, and our entrepreneurial spirit against us.
01:43
It sends hundreds of thousands of students to train and learn here
01:48
in order to build up their capacity to grow.
01:52
For example, if you see their airplanes, gosh, they look just like the F-22 because they've copied
02:05
our models and our systems.
02:07
They are trying to copy our technology.
02:10
And in the race for AI supremacy, they are behind us, but they are working with the central government
02:17
out to get us, right?
02:20
To beat us so that they will have intellectual superiority over us.
02:24
There is an AI race, and BIS, our bureau, is at the heart of protecting America.
02:32
And that's why we've sought an increase in the budget, even though we're decreasing our overall budget.
02:38
We need to arm the Bureau of Industry and Security to protect us and to help us keep key industries
02:47
away from the Chinese so that they can't just copy us all the time.
02:55
The budget request for BIS does not specify any specific initiatives related to increasing oversight
03:07
of entities posing a threat to U.S. national security.
03:14
Why is that so?
03:17
I'd be happy to detail it either here or in writing.
03:22
But the idea is to add enforcement agents, agents who carry weapons, agents who go and
03:31
examine warehouses, examine those people who are exporting, examine the imports, find the
03:39
particular items, and make sure we have export controls are rigorously enforced.
03:45
So that is the specific use of the funds, is more people to protect and defend our export controls.
03:55
The policies the government make need to be rigorously enforced, and we're trying to increase the enforcement capacity
04:03
ability because we just don't have enough enforcement agents to do a great job.
04:09
Let me switch gears and ask you about the National Weather Service.
04:20
Kentucky has been the target of floods and tornadoes and everything else.
04:28
In fact, we lost 20 people two weeks ago in my hometown and adjoining area.
04:37
I'm concerned about the implications of local weather forecast offices operating at reduced staffing levels.
04:50
Take, for example, the Jackson, Kentucky office, which is currently operating with multiple vacancies and no permanent meteorologist.
05:01
What can we do about that?
05:06
What steps are being taken to ensure NOAA's local weather forecast offices have the resources,
05:15
the technology, and staffing to issue timely, accurate warnings and protect lives in high-risk communities?
05:25
All weather collection technology is in full force and effect.
05:34
Our satellites, our balloons, all sources are in full force and effect.
05:41
The National Weather Service employs 2,100 meteorologists.
05:47
Less than 130 took early retirement.
05:51
It is fake news and inappropriate to suggest a single meteorologist or hydrologist was fired.
06:00
That is preposterous and silly.
06:04
Less than 5% chose to retire.
06:08
And we, using these responsible Commerce Department,
06:13
sought and were granted the ability to hire those people the same number.
06:20
So we will have no, no reduction in force.
06:25
Our National Hurricane Center has full staff.
06:28
And I want you to understand just the last portion, what you said.
06:32
We have numerous regional offices, which are generally small.
06:39
And, you know, they usually have three or four meteorologists.
06:43
And these exist because the data is locally hardwired into old computers with hard drives and green screens.
06:55
If I showed it to you, you would be embarrassed.
06:59
The idea is to automate that, to put it on the cloud,
07:03
so that the 2,100 meteorologists we have and the hundreds of hydrologists that we have can forecast the weather from central locations
07:14
and back up each other and be more appropriate.
07:17
So I think the technological advancements we will make over the next year or two years will totally change these things.
07:25
But I want to be crystal clear.
07:27
Every single person, the National Weather Service, we are at full staff.
07:33
We have full capacity.
07:35
And we will have the best forecasting capacity that we possibly can to protect Americans.
07:43
And I will not sleep if that were not true.
07:45
That is required of you, of me, and of America, that we deliver that for American people.
07:52
And I promise you, we are.
07:56
Mr. Meng.
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