2nd Bill Prohibits Oil Sales, As Beijing Becomes A Target

Topline

The Republican-led House is expected to vote Wednesday on legislation that would prohibit the Biden Administration from selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Chinese-linked firms, which would be the second measure passed that targets Beijing’s economic rise—signaling U.S.-China relations will be a key priority for the new Congress.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

In a bipartisan vote, 365 to 65, with all Republicans voting in favor, the House on Tuesday established the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and China.

The 16-member committee, composed of nine Republicans and seven Democrats, will investigate and submit policy recommendations regarding China’s economic, technological and security status and its competition with the U.S.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.), a former Marine intelligence officer who will chair the committee, told Politico last month that preventing a Chinese invasion of Taiwan will be a key focus of the committee.

The second piece of legislation, set to be voted on Wednesday by the House, would prohibit the Energy Department from exporting oil from the Strategic Petroleum Preserve to China.

The Biden Administration has been releasing crude from the emergency stockpile for sale to the highest bidder on the global market, as required by law, in an effort to drive down gas prices, and at least one of those companies is a subsidiary of a firm owned by China.

Wednesday’s legislation bolsters Republican criticism of the Biden Administration for selling some oil to the Chinese-linked firm, Unipec —former President Donald Trump previously called the sale “inconceivable,” even though PetroChina also bought oil from the reserve stockpile during Trump’s first year in office, Axios reported in July.

Crucial Quote

“You have my word and my commitment. This is not a partisan committee . . .I want this committee to last beyond who’s in the majority, and never, ever be a partisan committee,” McCarthy said Tuesday about the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.

Chief Critic

A coalition of progressive lawmakers, including Reps. Grace Meng (NY), Jerry Nadler (NY) and Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), voted against the committee’s formation out of concerns that Republican-rhetoric has led to a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes in recent years, they said in a statement that also urged the committee to ensure “strong Asian American Pacific Islander and pro-diplomacy voices are clearly reflected” on the panel.

Key Background

Lawmakers have ratcheted up their strategy for dealing with China’s rise as a global tech superpower and growing concerns about threats to national security posed by Beijing. Congress included measures to limit China’s involvement in the U.S. tech sector in the fiscal year 2023 budget package passed in December, including a provision that would require U.S. companies being sold to or merging with foreign firms to alert the Federal Trade Commission of ties to foreign governments, including China. Another measure included in the budget deal would prohibit Chinese officials from visiting NASA facilities. TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese firm ByteDance, has also become a target for lawmakers who fear it could be used by the Chinese government to spy on U.S. citizens and censor content. The Biden Administration in December banned the app from government phones, and a group of bipartisan lawmakers introduced legislation last month that would take the ban a step further by fully banning TikTok in the U.S. TikTok and ByteDance in December admitted the app was used to spy on reporters covering the company, including three Forbes journalists.

What To Watch For

Gallagher told Politico the committee will focus on bipartisan legislation that can pass the Democrat-controlled Senate and gain the approval of the Biden Administration, adding that he believes he can rally Democrats to support the TikTok ban.