China (Cong. Rec., June 4, 2020)
Summary
The opening Senate proceedings in the Congressional Record, Volume 166, No. 104, for Thursday, June 4, 2020. The Senate met at 10 a.m., was called to order by Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, and heard a prayer by the Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black. Under Paycheck Protection Program, Mr. McConnell says the Senate passed a few targeted changes the evening before so that the program continues. Under China, he marks the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre and discusses Chinese hostility toward Australia.
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“China (Cong. Rec., June 4, 2020).”
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Congressional Record
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116 th CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
United States
of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE
Vol. 166 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2020 No. 104
Senate
The Senate met at 10 a.m. and was Mrs. HYDE-SMITH thereupon as- thank and recognize the architects of
called to order by the Honorable CINDY sumed the Chair as Acting President this historic program—the senior Sen-
HYDE-SMITH, a Senator from the State pro tempore. ators from Maine and Florida—for
of Mississippi. f helping to soften the blow of this pan-
f demic for so many American families.
RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY
PRAYER LEADER f
The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- CHINA
fered the following prayer: pore. The majority leader is recog- Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President,
Let us pray. nized. on an entirely different matter, today
Eternal God, in these difficult and f marks the 31st anniversary of the
challenging times, remind us that the Tiananmen Square massacre in Bei-
Earth belongs to You, and You have PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM
jing.
not abandoned it. Unite us with the un- Mr. MCCONNELL. Madam President, Because of China’s censorship and
derstanding that You are our Father, yesterday evening, the Senate passed a disinformation, we still do not know
and we are all members of the human few targeted changes so that Senator how many brave Chinese people were
family. We pray for all who have been COLLINS’ and Senator RUBIO’s historic killed by their own government on
impacted by the pain of this crisis sea- Paycheck Protection Program will June 4, 1989. Conservative estimates
son. Use our Senators to make the continue to protect American workers say hundreds. Others say thousands—a
weak strong, the sick healthy, and the and small businesses through this pan-
burst of violence against peaceful de-
broken whole. Lord, surround those demic.
mocracy protesters, weeks of arrests,
who have been shaken by anguish with Back in March, these Senate leaders
hand designed this plan to push unprec- roundups, and executions, and then
Your divine presence and peace. total silence.
We pray in Your loving Name. Amen. edented assistance to working families
and Main Street businesses. Once Never since have the Chinese people
f been able to freely and openly remem-
again, in April, they led the charge to
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE refill their popular and successful pro- ber the atrocity. Never outside the
gram with more money so it could help oasis of Hong Kong has a single formal
The Presiding Officer led the Pledge gathering on Chinese soil been per-
of Allegiance, as follows: even more Americans. In the weeks
since, our colleagues have continued to mitted to commemorate the victims.
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the Now even that oasis of freedom is at
United States of America, and to the Repub- track the program’s operation and rec-
lic for which it stands, one nation under God, ommend further tweaks where nec- risk. We learned this week that, under
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. essary. new pressure from Beijing, Hong Kong
In recent days, both Senator COLLINS is refusing to permit the annual can-
f
and Senator RUBIO helped to strength- dlelight vigil for the first time ever.
APPOINTMENT OF ACTING en and improve the House’s proposed This year, the Chinese Communist
PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE PPP modifications before it actually Party wants no candles lit even in
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The passed the bill and sent it over to us, Hong Kong—just more darkness.
clerk will please read a communication and I know the senior Senators from It was 31 years ago that brave Chi-
to the Senate from the President pro Maine and Florida have already identi- nese flooded that public square and
tempore (Mr. GRASSLEY). fied several more technical fixes for others across their nation in the fer-
The senior assistant legislative clerk the new legislation that, I hope, Con- vent hope that economic liberalization
read the following letter: gress will address. would also lead to a less authoritarian,
U.S. SENATE, Talk about legislation making a dif- more open society. What they got were
PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, ference. Thanks to Senator COLLINS, bodies littering the ground.
Washington, DC, June 4, 2020. Chairman RUBIO, and our other col- A shocked world sanctioned the PRC,
To the Senate: leagues who helped to make this pro- but as time passed, the world relaxed
Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, somewhat and returned to a strategy of
gram a success, the PPP has delivered
of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby
more than a half a trillion dollars in welcoming China into our global public
appoint the Honorable CINDY HYDE-SMITH, a
Senator from the State of Mississippi, to per- relief and has literally saved tens of square, bringing the PRC into inter-
form the duties of the Chair. millions of American jobs. national institutions in the hope that
CHUCK GRASSLEY, So, as we continue to stay nimble an included China would actually play
President pro tempore. and continue our efforts, I just had to by the rules. Time and again, those
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∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.
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S2702 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE June 4, 2020
hopes have been dashed. The last few fundamental problem that has come Earlier this year, the Director of the
months have been their own tidy case into focus. Decades ago, the United FBI explained that China’s criminal
study in what kind of global actor the States and the rest of the world made conspiracies against the United States
so-called People’s Republic has chosen a calculated bet that welcoming China and our companies make the CCP the
to be. into the fold would cause it to mend its ‘‘greatest long-term threat’’ to Amer-
Their response to the coronavirus ways. ica’s information security, intellectual
pandemic that started in their own It was 20 years ago that President property, and, by extension, our ‘‘eco-
country was to silence their own doc- Clinton argued for admitting China nomic vitality.’’ Once again, our allies
tors, imprison their own people, shut into the WTO because ‘‘economic inno- and partners are being victimized by
down important research, and lie to vation and political empowerment . . . the very same tactics.
the rest of the world while hoarding will inevitably go hand in hand.’’ Many One outside report found that the
supplies for themselves. The CCP’s self- smart people made that wager—in both ‘‘United States is losing between $400
ishness and failures fueled a worldwide parties—but we should never have used billion and $600 billion per year in in-
catastrophe, and, ever since, they have words like ‘‘inevitable.’’ tellectual property theft as a matter of
tried to use that catastrophe as a President Clinton also said: ‘‘China provable losses, and that figure does
smokescreen for other aggression. has been trying to crack down on the not account for second-order losses
While they thought the rest of the internet. . . . Good luck!’’ Back in the such as jobs and infrastructure.’’ Let’s
world was distracted, China has year 2000, the transcript says, that was put that in perspective. Congress has
cracked down on Hong Kong; conducted greeted with laughter. Well, no one is been working hard on the huge, his-
provocative military exercises near laughing now. toric Paycheck Protection Program. It
Taiwan; expanded its bullying into the China’s leaders have pounced on
has pushed out a half a trillion dollars
South China Sea; pressured the Phil- every inch of economic space the world
for American workers. Well, by this es-
ippines; and literally initiated physical has afforded them—and then some.
timate, China reaches into our country
fighting with India in the Himalayas. They have cheated on trade and have
and steals the equivalent of that entire
Oh, and according to press reports, stolen foreign technology. They have
program every single year.
China has also found the time to executed on long-term plans to domi-
mount online disinformation cam- nate key global industries. They have China does not play by the rules, not
paigns to hurt America and divide us weaponized foreign aid to bring devel- in Hong Kong, not in the WHO, not in
among ourselves. Bad actors linked to oping countries under their thrall. So the WTO, not in international trade.
Beijing have reportedly flooded Twit- the Chinese economy has leapt for- Year after year, on issue over issue, it
ter to exploit the death of George ward. The Chinese people enjoy greater has chosen the path of aggression. So
Floyd and increase hostility among prosperity, which they sorely need there will be consequences.
Americans. Even in official channels, after decades of Communist mis- Just this week, the U.K. is reportedly
CCP leaders mock America and imply management, but all of this money and continuing to back away from plans to
our society is no better than their tyr- innovation have not brought the people work with Huawei, and Prime Minister
anny. any more freedom. They have given Boris Johnson is impressively pre-
Now, as an aside, some Democrats CCP elites better high-tech tools with paring to offer visas so that
here in Washington seem to have swal- which to oppress their own people and Hongkongers who want to know their
lowed the Chinese propaganda and set more leverage with which to under- freedoms and liberties are secure can
out to amplify it themselves, including mine the international system. take refuge in the United Kingdom in-
from right here on the Senate floor. Rather than importing liberty into stead. In Japan, Prime Minister Abe is
Yesterday, right here in the Senate China, this economic integration seems taking major steps to strengthen
Chamber, the Democratic leader ex- to have been rather more successful at Japan and check China’s economic ag-
plicitly compared America men and exporting its authoritarian preferences gression. It is a good thing, too, be-
women in uniform to the Chinese mur- to the rest of us. Right here in the cause defending American security,
derers who committed the massacre in United States, we have seen Hollywood American interests, American pros-
Tiananmen Square. Leader SCHUMER make a gross habit of self-censoring perity, and the international system
said that, when he saw images of Amer- films to avoid offending the Chinese cannot be a go-it-alone operation.
ican men and women in uniform stand- Communist Party. We have seen the There will be steps the United States
ing near the recently defaced Lincoln NBA prioritize its profits in China and will take on our own, but just as the
Memorial and protecting the right to throw an employee under the bus who entire free world stands united today
peaceful protest, ‘‘You cannot help but spoke out for Hong Kong. The same to remember Tiananmen Square, so we
think of Tiananmen Square.’’ That is elites, institutions, and businesses that will need to stand together to prevent
what he said. feel totally free to critique our own so- the world’s public square from heading
I am sure Beijing was thrilled with ciety—and rightly so—increasingly toward a similar domination by China.
this shameful comparison. A propa- walk on eggshells around President Xi We will need to keep our friends and
ganda victory for Communist China, and his cronies. partners close. China can try to repress
gift-wrapped with the compliments of And free speech is hardly the only its own people, but the United States
the Democratic Party, delivered just in front where China poses an inter- of America will never fall silent. We
time for this bloody anniversary. national threat. A recent major report will never go dark. We will keep the
Imagine being so consumed by par- from an interagency task force found candles lit. We will protect our people
tisanship that you deliberately link that China’s deliberate economic ag- and their bright future.
the brave American men and women gression and targeting of our industrial
who stop violence, protect peaceful base is a significant national security f
protests, defend citizens’ constitu- vulnerability for the United States,
tional liberties, and defend against vio- and many other nations are awakening
RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME
lent riots to the Chinese butchers who to that same reality.
gunned down crowds of peaceful dis- Back in March, a CCP-controlled The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
senters who were begging for the same newspaper threatened to cut off phar- pore. Under the previous order, the
rights our military defends. maceutical exports to the United leadership time is reserved.
In America, the police help peaceful States and ‘‘plunge’’ Americans ‘‘into
marchers march. Over there, they gun the mighty sea of coronavirus’’ if we f
dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with SENATE
them down. If anyone is having trouble did not play more nicely with Beijing.
distinguishing these things, the prob- One month later, Chinese officials
CONCLUSION OF MORNING
lem is not with our Nation—it is with threatened a boycott of Australia be-
BUSINESS
them. cause our Australian friends wanted to
Now, these recent examples of Chi- investigate the origins of the pan- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem-
nese hostility are just symptoms of a demic. pore. Morning business is closed.
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