Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) is advancing new efforts to prevent U.S. taxpayer money for COVID-19 tests and other medical equipment from reaching China.
“We don’t want the Biden administration sending any more money to China, for COVID tests or anything else, for that matter,” Ms. Harshbarger told “Capitol Report,” a program by The Epoch Times’ sister media outlet NTD, on Dec. 13.
The bill comes amid ongoing concerns over U.S. reliance on Chinese goods; a concern that came to a head during the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic as countries struggled for access to personal protective equipment and kits used to test for COVID-19 infections.
“When they issued in N95 masks to the members of Congress and we had to wear them on the floor, right on the side it said ‘Made in China,’ and I thought, ‘Well, this is not good,’” Ms. Harshbarger said, recounting the early days of the pandemic.
While concerns about COVID-19 have largely subsided, politicians and policymakers on both sides of the political aisle have called for new efforts to de-risk U.S.–China relations and reroute critical supply chains through more trusted allies and partner nations.
“We need to prioritize American manufacturing,” Ms. Harshbarger on Dec. 13. “And I’ve said this since I’ve been here: If we can do it here in America, we need to do it. If we can’t, we need to contract with allied countries who have our best interest at heart.”
The Republican lawmakers wrote that while the 12 contract awardees are listed as U.S. entities, many are actually foreign-owned, and “at least one is a Chinese company—and likely at the mercy of the Chinese Communist Party,” although the two Republicans didn’t identify the specified companies by name in their Nov. 7 letter.
“Even though they may say they’re American companies, if you look deep enough, you’re going to find that there are ties to China,” Ms. Harshbarger told “Capitol Report.”
Backing GOP Border Security Demands
Ms. Harshbarger said she’s heartened by an increasingly bipartisan view that U.S.–China relations carry risks and that Democrats agree with some efforts to reduce those risks by on-shoring key industries.“Some [Democrats] are absolutely, and they do agree that advanced manufacturing in America is an answer,” she said.
“You know, we have the only plant in the country that produces penicillin, and that’s in my district. That’s a model. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We can incentivize these companies to manufacture right here in our own country, and we need to do that. That’s critical.”
Other issues involving China may be more contentious, such as the number of Chinese nationals that have crossed the U.S. southern border in recent months and how lawmakers may contend with that issue.
Democratic lawmakers have been reluctant to grant those Republican border security demands and have argued that the contentious issue risks slowing aid to Ukraine at a crucial time in its war with Russia.
Ms. Harshbarger defended the Republican negotiating tactics and said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) “has to stick to his guns with that because we have a problem.”
