My First Hearing as Ranking Member of the Select Committee on the CCP and Other Updates

Dear Neighbors,

I hope this message finds you well. As always, if you have questions or concerns, please contact my office by calling (847) 413-1959, emailing me at [email protected], or sending a message through my website at https://krishnamoorthi.house.gov/contact/email. For more frequent updates, I encourage you to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Join Me for My Town Hall in St. Charles on March 14^th

As spring approaches, I invite you to join me at my next town hall at St. Charles North High School in St. Charles on Tuesday, March 14^th at 6:00pm. It’s always a top priority of mine to meet with my constituents and hear what’s on their minds, and I hope you will join me then. You can sign up for the town hall here. I look forward to seeing you there.

A Commemoration Of Job Training Funding I Secured For Elgin Community College

On March 16, I’ll also be joining Elgin Community College (ECC) for an event celebrating the $936,000 in federal funding I secured for the school to launch its new Mechatronics/Automation Certificate program. The new initiative will train, reskill, and upskill students while supporting our local businesses and economy. Through collaboration with industry partners and local school districts, ECC will help prepare college-age and adult students in our area with the skills they need for family-sustaining careers through the latest education in in-demand technical skills. The commemoration of the grant will begin at 8:45am on Thursday, March 16 and you can RSVP here.

The First Hearing of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party

On Tuesday night, the Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held its first hearing, titled “The Threat of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to America.” As Ranking Member of the Select Committee, it was an honor to join Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and my other colleagues on the Select Committee to begin our bipartisan work in addressing the economic, security, and technological challenges that the CCP poses to our country, while forcefully countering anti-Asian stereotyping or rhetoric which potentially endangers Chinese or Asian Americans.

Congressman Krishnamoorthi questioning a witness at Tuesday’s hearing of the Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, for which he serves as Ranking Member. Click on the image to watch the Congressman’s opening statement

To begin our committee’s work, we heard from H.R. McMaster, former U.S. National Security Advisor and retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General; Matthew Pottinger; former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor; Tong Yi, a Chinese human rights advocate; and Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing. I’m grateful to all our witnesses for their participation and raising awareness of the myriad challenges posed by the CCP to our national security, that of other democracies, including Taiwan, and to our workers. As I noted during my discussion with Mr. Paul, and displayed during the hearing with the chart included below, there’s a clear relationship between our growing trade deficit with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the loss of American manufacturing jobs since we began trading with the PRC in 1973, and particularly since Congress reduced restrictions on the PRC and accountability for its human rights abuses in 2000.

This is not the only element of our economic relationship with the PRC or a basis for abandoning trade with one of the largest markets in the world, but it is a clear sign that what we have been doing has not been working and we need to consider new strategies for improving our supply chains, strengthening American industry, and helping American workers compete on a fair playing field. I look forward to working with my colleagues from both parties on our committee to develop the best policies for addressing those needs in the months ahead as we also tackle crucial questions of security, surveillance, and human rights for countering the challenges posed by the CCP.

During the hearing, Congressman Krishnamoorthi used the chart above to demonstrate the clear relationship between American manufacturing job losses and our growing trade deficit with the People’s Republic of China. (Click the image above to watch the Congressman question witnesses.)

**My Appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation Last Sunday**

Last Sunday, in advance of our hearing, I appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation with Chairman Gallagher to discuss our first hearing of the Select Committee on the CCP. During our interview, the Chairman and I discussed a wide range of topics and issues, including the goals for the committee, the protection of Taiwan, and the status of TikTok operating within the U.S. We also discussed the recent comments made by one of my Republican colleagues who questioned the loyalty to our country of Congresswoman Judy Chu, the first Chinese American woman ever elected to Congress. That attack was deeply offensive and potentially dangerous at a time when our country is still battling a wave of anti-Asian hate. I appreciated Chairman Gallagher echoing my sentiments in condemning these remarks by a member of his own party, and will continue to counter such anti-Asian rhetoric forcefully in the future while working together in a bipartisan manner to prepare our nation to out-compete the CCP.

Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi and Mike Gallagher join CBS’s Face the Nation to discuss the goals of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the CCP. Click the image above to watch the full interview.

My Request to Delay a Decision on the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern Rail Merger In The Wake Of The East Palestine Derailment

Last week, I, along with, Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, and Rep. Delia Ramirez, sent a letter to the Surface Transportation Board (STB), calling on it to delay its decision on the potential Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern railroad merger until a full review of the increased traffic of hazardous materials through the Chicago area is completed. As we saw with the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio in early February, these hazardous materials can be extremely dangerous, and both CP and KCS have had derailments of their own while transporting toxic chemicals and materials in recent years. This is just one more reason why we need to halt any decision on this merger until we have fully examined every potential impact that the increased rail traffic it would bring would have on our communities. You can read our letter here.

Stay Updated Through My Social Media Accounts

The best way to stay up to date on these issues beyond our newsletter is through my social media accounts, which I update multiple times each day. You can follow my Twitter here, my Facebook page here, and my Instagram here. Thank you for staying engaged in our community.

Warm Regards,

P.S. I always enjoy hearing from constituents, so feel free to comment and share my social media posts! Here are the links: Twitter here, Facebook page here, and Instagram here.