Harold Rogers Presses Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick About His CCP ‘Economic Warfare’ Concerns

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During Thursday’s House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY) questioned Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about economic warfare with the CCP.

Transcript

00:00Thanks, Secretary, for those words.

00:04We have a full complement of members of the subcommittee with us this morning,

00:09and for that reason we will do our questioning under the five-minute rule.

00:16So, Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here.

00:18I yield myself five minutes.

00:20You touched on this somewhat already, but I wanted to ask you about the Chinese Communist Party

00:33and their effect in this country and our bipartisan concern.

00:41From economic warfare to technological threats,

00:46China is seeking to obtain advantage of our nation, our people, and our companies

00:55at all possible opportunities.

01:00Again, summarize what we're doing to strengthen our ability to counter

01:06China's unfair trade practices.

01:11Protect American intellectual property and secure critical supply chains

01:16and emerging technologies.

01:24The Chinese Communist Party seeks to become the dominant culture of the world,

01:33and it uses our knowledge, our innovation, and our entrepreneurial spirit against us.

01:43It sends hundreds of thousands of students to train and learn here

01:48in order to build up their capacity to grow.

01:52For example, if you see their airplanes, gosh, they look just like the F-22 because they've copied

02:05our models and our systems.

02:07They are trying to copy our technology.

02:10And in the race for AI supremacy, they are behind us, but they are working with the central government

02:17out to get us, right?

02:20To beat us so that they will have intellectual superiority over us.

02:24There is an AI race, and BIS, our bureau, is at the heart of protecting America.

02:32And that's why we've sought an increase in the budget, even though we're decreasing our overall budget.

02:38We need to arm the Bureau of Industry and Security to protect us and to help us keep key industries

02:47away from the Chinese so that they can't just copy us all the time.

02:55The budget request for BIS does not specify any specific initiatives related to increasing oversight

03:07of entities posing a threat to U.S. national security.

03:14Why is that so?

03:17I'd be happy to detail it either here or in writing.

03:22But the idea is to add enforcement agents, agents who carry weapons, agents who go and

03:31examine warehouses, examine those people who are exporting, examine the imports, find the

03:39particular items, and make sure we have export controls are rigorously enforced.

03:45So that is the specific use of the funds, is more people to protect and defend our export controls.

03:55The policies the government make need to be rigorously enforced, and we're trying to increase the enforcement capacity

04:03ability because we just don't have enough enforcement agents to do a great job.

04:09Let me switch gears and ask you about the National Weather Service.

04:20Kentucky has been the target of floods and tornadoes and everything else.

04:28In fact, we lost 20 people two weeks ago in my hometown and adjoining area.

04:37I'm concerned about the implications of local weather forecast offices operating at reduced staffing levels.

04:50Take, for example, the Jackson, Kentucky office, which is currently operating with multiple vacancies and no permanent meteorologist.

05:01What can we do about that?

05:06What steps are being taken to ensure NOAA's local weather forecast offices have the resources,

05:15the technology, and staffing to issue timely, accurate warnings and protect lives in high-risk communities?

05:25All weather collection technology is in full force and effect.

05:34Our satellites, our balloons, all sources are in full force and effect.

05:41The National Weather Service employs 2,100 meteorologists.

05:47Less than 130 took early retirement.

05:51It is fake news and inappropriate to suggest a single meteorologist or hydrologist was fired.

06:00That is preposterous and silly.

06:04Less than 5% chose to retire.

06:08And we, using these responsible Commerce Department,

06:13sought and were granted the ability to hire those people the same number.

06:20So we will have no, no reduction in force.

06:25Our National Hurricane Center has full staff.

06:28And I want you to understand just the last portion, what you said.

06:32We have numerous regional offices, which are generally small.

06:39And, you know, they usually have three or four meteorologists.

06:43And these exist because the data is locally hardwired into old computers with hard drives and green screens.

06:55If I showed it to you, you would be embarrassed.

06:59The idea is to automate that, to put it on the cloud,

07:03so that the 2,100 meteorologists we have and the hundreds of hydrologists that we have can forecast the weather from central locations

07:14and back up each other and be more appropriate.

07:17So I think the technological advancements we will make over the next year or two years will totally change these things.

07:25But I want to be crystal clear.

07:27Every single person, the National Weather Service, we are at full staff.

07:33We have full capacity.

07:35And we will have the best forecasting capacity that we possibly can to protect Americans.

07:43And I will not sleep if that were not true.

07:45That is required of you, of me, and of America, that we deliver that for American people.

07:52And I promise you, we are.

07:56Mr. Meng.

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