Regardless of who becomes House speaker, Republicans plan to pursue priorities on China
- Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, has failed to garner the required 218 votes to become House speaker
- But China remains a top priority for Republicans, as a list released last week indicates, with ‘ready-to-go’ legislation awaiting resolution of the House leadership
Even as the battle for leadership of the US House of Representatives rages on, China and its potential threat to US energy security remain among the top legislative priorities of House Republicans.
Last Friday, Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No 2 majority leader, released a list of 11 “meaningful, ‘ready-to-go’” pieces of legislation that the party would pursue at the earliest opportunity. The bills and resolutions serve as an “indication of our bold agenda to come”, he said.
One on Scalise’s list bans sales of petroleum products from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve – the country’s emergency crude oil supply – to “any entity that is under the ownership, control, or influence of the Chinese Communist Party”.
02:01
US Republican leader Kevin McCarthy loses 9th vote for House speaker
Another establishes a select committee to “investigate and submit policy recommendations on the status of the Chinese Communist Party’s economic, technological, and security progress and its competition with the United States”.
The energy bill was first introduced last year by Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, a Republican who is slated to head the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
House Republicans also pledged during the last Congress to create the select committee on China, a long-time priority of House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California.
Had the House speakership been decided on the first day of the new Congress on Tuesday, as is traditionally the case, both measures would have likely gone up for a vote this week.