I always appreciate hearing from my neighbors and constituents on the challenges facing our district and our country. I want to invite you to join me for my next Zoom town hall event today at 12:15pm CST. You can RSVP for my town hall here. I look forward to seeing you there.

Last week, as Ranking Member of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), I joined Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and my colleagues Congressmen Seth Moulton (D-MA), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), and John Moolenaar (R-MI) for a bipartisan congressional delegation to Taiwan to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, security in the Indo-Pacific region and other areas of joint interest and cooperation. As the only member of the delegation from Illinois, I also spoke with Taiwanese officials on the importance of continuing trade partnerships and investments between our state and Taiwan, which has rapidly become one of Illinois’ largest and most important trading partners.

Since 2009, Illinois exports to Taiwan have increased by 7 percent, exceeding $880 million in 2022. Taiwan is also the number two importer of Illinois corn and number three importer of Illinois soybeans. Last year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker bolstered this trade partnership by securing a commitment from Taiwan to purchase $2.6 billion of Illinois-grown corn and soybeans over the next two years. These deals are critical to the success of our state, our country, and our partnerships in Taiwan, and I made that clear during my conversations with Taiwanese officials.

While in Taiwan, I met with President-elect Lai Ching-te, whose election in January in the face of CCP interference and misinformation provided a strong example for democracies facing similar disruptions across the world. In our conversations, President-elect Lai and other high-ranking officials, I stressed the need to pass the supplemental aid package, which includes aid for not only our allies in Ukraine but also for Taiwan. Nothing would embolden leaders like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin more than America abandoning our allies on a global stage, which is exactly what will happen if the House does not follow the Senate’s example and pass this critical military and humanitarian aid package. My bipartisan trip to Taiwan was to show our allies and adversaries alike that the majority of Democrats and Republicans support our democratic partners around the world, and now, we must follow through on that promise in Congress.