The Daily Signal - Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers: Time for Senate to Pass TikTok Bill

Episode Date: April 4, 2024

There is a rare bipartisan agreement in Washington D.C. around the social media app TikTok. The app’s parent company, ByteDance, is headquartered in Beijing and is subject to Chinese law that requires companies to make their users’ data available to the Chinese Communist Party.  In March, the House passed a bill in a 352-65 vote, with the help of 197 Republicans and 155 Democrats, that gives TikTok a choice: either break from ByteDance or cease to operate in the U.S. Biden says he will sign the bill if it land on his desk, so that just leaves the Senate.  “I'm hopeful that the Senate will act swiftly,” Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., says. “I believe that it is important that they do to address this immediate threat and get this on the president's desk. This legislation is our best chance to end the Chinese Communist Party's abuse of these apps that are targeting, surveilling, and manipulating Americans.”  McMorris Rodgers, who also serves as chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain where the bill stands and why TikTok poses a threat to national security interests.  The congresswoman also explains why Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is in China this week.  Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The reason that there's so much bipartisan support for the bill is because of the concern and really a national security concern, which the bill is focused on, with having TikTok, having access to 170 million American users' data. This is the Daily Signal podcast for Thursday, April 4th. I'm Virginia Allen. And that was Congresswoman Kathy McMorris-Rodgers. About three weeks ago, the House voted with bipartisan support to pass a bill that gives the social media platform TikTok a choice. The company can either divest from its Chinese Communist Party

Controlled parent company called Bite Dance or cease to operate in the U.S. The choice is theirs. Texas Congressman August Flugher joined us in March to explain why TikTok poses a national security threat to the U.S. And today, Washington State, Congresswoman Kathy McMorris Rogers, is joining us. She also serves as chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and she gives us an update on where the bill stands and what the Senate is doing to take it up. The Congresswoman also explains why Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is in China this weekend, what we should expect from those conversations that she has there. Stay tuned for our conversation after this.

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It is my pleasure to welcome back to the Daily Signal podcast today. Congresswoman Kathy McMorris Rogers, Congresswoman, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having me. Great to be with you. Well, TikTok is an issue that has, in a great way, united lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on the left and the right. and the House in March passed a bill that would require the app TikTok to break from its parent company called Bite Dance. And Bite Dance is headquartered in Beijing, and it's subject to Chinese law that requires companies to make their users' data available to the Chinese Communist Party. Now, if TikTok refuses to break with Bite Dance, then the app under this bill would be banned in the U.S. why do you think that there is so much bipartisan support for this bill?

The reason that there's so much bipartisan support for the bill is because of the concern and really a national security concern, which the bill is focused on, with having TikTok, having access to 170 million American users' data. That is a valuable tool for China to exploit and use in nefarious ways. And as you just outline TikTok, we already know, is owned by ByDance, which is beholden to the Chinese Communist Party. We know that China uses access to user data, in this case, American user data, and they've used it in the past to surveil on American journalists.

They're currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for this. We know that TikTok has been repeatedly caught in a lie that they don't answer to the Chinese Communist Party through ByteDance. But, you know, even internal recordings from TikTok employees have revealed that, you know, they said, quote, everything is seen by China. And we know that we cannot trust China to safeguard our data or uphold American values of freedom. And really right now, they are collecting unlimited amounts of data on 170 million American users. And this includes sensitive data, location data, search engine data. and this ultimately is a national security threat, and that's what the bill is focused on

when apps are controlled by a foreign adversary like China and having this unlimited access to be used in nefarious ways. Well, we've talked about on this show before that really this bill, it's offering a choice to TikTok, either divest from your parent company that's owned and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, bite dance, or you have to leave the U.S. And I was fascinated recently reading an article in Time magazine that came out on Wednesday

that was actually critical of the bill that has passed through the House. And in the article, they claim that a ban does not address the fundamental problem of China and other foreign adversaries obtaining American user data. And they go on to argue that there's lots of apps that collect user data, and then those apps go on and they sell that dating and they can sell it to folks like China, the nation of China. So is, is Time magazine correct, that a TikTok ban does not address the problem of China and other foreign adversaries obtaining American user data? What's your response to that? Well, this bill is a very targeted approach. It addresses what we believe is an immediate threat

that the Chinese Communist Party controlled TikTok or other apps that are controlled by foreign adversaries. But in this case, it's TikTok, and ultimately the Chinese Communist Party, having access to 170 million Americans user data, that this is a very real and immediate threat. So this legislation is targeted toward that current threat. It also protects against other future apps,

and current apps that would be controlled by foreign adversaries. It lays out, it identifies China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea. But this is just one step in addressing the threats that are posed by these apps. We also passed a bill out of the house just recently, along with the TikTok bill, that would prohibit data brokers from selling data personally identifiable and sensible data to these same foreign adversaries. So this is another way to protect Americans. And we're working on data privacy and security legislation also. So this is just one step, but this addresses what is a very real and immediate threat that TikTok poses to America

because it is a tool, controlled by the Communist Party of China. And it is a very destructive tool, powerful tool that's targeting America and especially America's children. Well, and President Joe Biden has said that if the bill makes it to his desk, that he will sign it. But the question right now for the American people is what is the Senate going to do since the House has already passed it? What are we hearing from the Senate? I'm having some positive conversations with senators. I was encouraged that the day that the bill passed the House and it passed with overwhelming support, it was 350. to 65, strong bipartisan support.

There's a lot of momentum. On that day, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Warner, and then Senator Marco Rubio, who is the ranking Republican, issued a statement of support. There's other senators who are looking at this legislation. The Senate also just recently received a classified briefing on the threats that are posed by apps like TikTok that are controlled by foreign adversaries. I'm hopeful that the Senate will act swiftly.

I believe that it is important that they do to address this immediate threat and get this on the president's desk. This legislation is our best chance to end the Chinese Communist Party's abuse of these apps that are targeting, surveilling, and manipulating Americans. Well, certainly all eyes are on the Senate. We've seen that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has previously said that he thinks TikTok should do. divest from its Chinese-owned parent company. So we're watching this obviously very closely, and hopefully we'll see some movement soon. I do think it's interesting. So President Joe Biden had a phone call with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, on Tuesday. And in that conversation, we know that they talked about TikTok. From a Chinese political perspective, what do they stand

to win or lose if TikTok is banned in the United States? Well, I believe that TikTok is a tool of the Chinese Communist Party. And right now, China is our greatest adversary. It poses a significant threat to the United States of America, both from a national security perspective and an economic security perspective. And when you think about their access, the access ultimately by the Chinese Communist Party to 170 million America's user data and how they can use that to surveil, to manipulate, to target Americans,

surveil on Americans. We know that they've surveilled on American journalists. It's a very real threat. Bite dance has said before that they won't divest. This legislation would say, TikTok, you have a choice. Either you can divest from bite dance. You can separate from bite dance and continue to operate in the United States of America. or if you don't, you will be banned because we believe that this is a national security threat that needs to be addressed.

Yeah. Let's talk a little bit more about that. Biden is not the only U.S. official that's talking with leaders in China this week. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is also in China this week, and she has plans to meet with some of the nation's top economic officials. and the chair as as yourself as chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, I want to ask you what you think some of the core tensions are right now between China and America when it comes to issues like commerce. Well, as chairman of energy and commerce, yes, one big issue certainly has been this issue around data and TikTok

and the unlimited collection of data by TikTok, by dance, and ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. but I'm also very concerned about how this administration, President Biden, and now Secretary Yellen, headed to China to talk about economic issues. I've been very concerned that the administration, President Biden, they're really feeding our global economic leadership and our competitive edge to our number one adversary. China, when it comes to energy, many of the policies that they are mandating now

in the United States, rush to green policies that are undermining American leadership, our energy dominance. When you have the administration and President Biden forcing Americans to buy electric vehicles when critical minerals, the mining, the processing, the manufacturing of EV, seeding dominance to China. When they are draining the administration, President Biden, drain the American's Strategic Petroleum Reserve for political purpose. That allowed China to build up its own reserves with American produced energy.

We see this administration present by crushing manufacturing in the United States right now with burdensome regulations. Again, we're seeing jobs going overseas to China. And I would plead with the administration to stop this agenda. It is only benefiting China, and it's undermining our leadership, and China is our number one adversary. So American economic strength is so important, and we have the highest environmental standards in the world. It makes no sense that we would be promoting an agenda, an energy agenda that is actually benefiting China and their goals. Hmm. Why do you think we are doing that? Why is the Biden administration continuing to allow for that focus on exporting out of China and receiving out of China so many of these solar technologies, electric car batteries? Why is that being allowed? Well, it doesn't make any sense. And the administration, though, just doesn't stop. They are continuing peddle to the metal on mandating electric vehicles.

They keep talking about made in America, but then they issue waivers because they're not, you know, issues waivers so that we're buying from China instead of producing and manufacturing here in the United States. We have China right now building car manufacturing plants in Mexico, Chinese-owned car manufacturing plants. I'm very concerned that these are going to be the electric vehicles that make their way into the United States, that we end up. buying, there are going to be the only vehicles that are able to meet these new environmental standards. And again, it's benefiting China. It makes no sense. And the administration needs to, they need to stop this reckless, rushed-to-green agenda that is actually playing into China's hand and feeding more control and economic advantage to China. Yeah. When we consider the larger dynamic between the U.S. and China as it relates to economics, we know that the Biden administration wants to avoid any form of economic war with China. But is that possible? And what would an economic war with China look like for the U.S.? I want the administration to be strengthening American leadership and making sure that our economy is strong and that we are energy independent.

We were energy independent before President Biden was elected president, and yet now we see this administration shutting down American energy left and right. And energy is foundational to our economy. It's foundational to our national security, our defense. And so when you are shutting down American energy, you are crippling our economy, but also putting us at a disadvantage from a national security perspective, from our military perspective. So the administration needs to embrace American energy,

which is really foundational to our leadership, our economic leadership, as well as our national security. Congressman, before we let you go, I want to get your thoughts on another very important issue in America's relationship with China, and that is fentanyl. On Secretary Yellen's agenda, she is talking with Chinese leaders

about U.S. concerns regarding drug trafficking. We know that the precursor chemicals to make fentanyl largely come from China, then they flow into Mexico, where the cartels then turn those chemicals into fentanyl that ultimately ends up in the United States and has tragically killed so many individuals in the U.S. What is the U.S. doing to crack down on China in regards to this?

The U.S., under President Biden, has not cracked down on this, and it is heartbreaking. We have record amounts of fentanyl coming across the southern border, making its way to every town, families that have lost loved ones. It has been devastating in the United States of America. DEA, so the Drug Enforcement Agency briefed me almost two years ago on the amount of the raw materials, chemical plants in China. They had identified 170,000 chemical plants in China

that were producing the raw materials that were making their way to China And then they also had identified the route that this, that, then manufacturing plants in Mexico that China had helped build and then working with the cartels in Mexico, the routes into America, but also other places around the world where they were bringing records amount of fentanyl across our southern border into town. Just devastating families, tearing families apart in communities as we, it's now the number of, one killer of 18 to 45-year-olds in America is fentanyl. This is an attack by China, and it's long overdue for the administration to actually take action and start cracking down on China. So I said they've identified 170,000. That's the number they've identified, chemical plants in China.

We have about 3,000 chemical plants in the United States. It is a massive amount of raw. ingredients that they are producing that are making their ways, not just here, but other places around the world. And this is long overdue. We have legislation that has passed the committee, passed the House, the Halt-Fentanol Act that would classify fentanyl analogs as illegal in the United States. So far, we can't even get that through the Senate and onto the president's desk, or get

the administration to support. the Halt-Fentanyl Act. But the administration is absolutely allowing this to happen. Congressman, we thank you for your time today. We really appreciate you breaking down these issues for us and appreciate your insight. Good to be with you. Thank you. And with that, that's going to do it for today's episode. Thanks so much for being with us here on the Daily Seedal podcast. If you have never had a chance, make sure that you check out our evening show. It's right here in this exact same podcast feed. And every day, around 5 p.m. we cover four or five of the top news stories of the day. These are the headlines that you

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