Discussion · Senate
John Barrasso Republican
“President Trump is standing up to China, not selling us out. Past leaders were weak and let China steal our technology and take over key supply chains. Trump is showing strength by punishing China for buying oil from Russia and Iran, blocking them from building bases in Greenland, and producing more American energy and minerals. We must stop depending on China for our medicine and materials.”
“Mr. President, when it comes to foreign policy, the Republican Party’s philosophy will always be ``peace through strength.’’ Yesterday, at the United Nations, President Trump made that very clear. He made it clear that America continues to lead with peace through strength. The President of communist China, Xi Jinping, will hear the same message later this week, when he comes to Washington, DC. Now, I just heard the minority leader of the U.S. Senate come to the floor and say something about the fact that he thought that President Trump was going to sell out our country to China. Let me set the record straight. President Xi last visited the White House 11 years ago. Today, he is going to arrive to a very different America and a very different President. A decade ago, Barack Obama was in the White House. The Obama policy with regard to China was appeasement. It was accommodation, and it was apologies. Obama’s weakness gave China free rein--free rein to undermine our economy and our national security. China spied on American businesses. They stole American technology. And China strengthened its grip on global supply chains. As Democrat climate alarmists forced the closure of our coal-fired powerplants, China built new ones. They continue to build them today in the race for power and the competition over artificial intelligence. From new technology to global supply chains, China’s goal is to be the military, the economic, and the technological superpower of the world. China wants to push America aside. Their vision is not cooperation. It is not even competition. It is complete control. The American people want safety, prosperity, and freedom. That is what we want at home in America. America can’t be free if we are dependent upon China for our medicine, for our materials, and for our minerals. We need to do more. America can’t continue to lead the free world if we allow China to steal our best ideas and our newest technologies. We must stand firm. America needs to stand strong. We must say to China: Never again. We also must say it to ourselves: Never again will we allow ourselves to be in this position. President Trump is very clear-eyed. He sees the stakes. He knows the threats. He also understands that American strength is more important today than ever before. That is why the President is acting decisively to protect American interests. Fair trade, historic tax cuts, aggressive deregulation--they have all made us stronger and more prosperous. Innovative American companies still give us a great strategic edge. Republican tax cuts are putting more money into people’s pockets. A secure border means less fentanyl coming through China, through Mexico and the southern border into the United States. Investment is coming to American manufacturing in record amounts, trillions of dollars. America is producing more energy than ever before. We are also mining more critical minerals. These minerals are critical for our homes, our factories, and our national defense. Under President Trump, America is hitting China’s ambitions north, south, east, and west. What he has done is hold China accountable. That wasn’t done in the previous administration, and President Trump is doing it without apology. Just yesterday--just yesterday--President Trump signed a historic agreement, and it is regarding Greenland. The agreement prevents our adversaries--including communist China--from building military bases in Greenland or making critical investments there. This was a historic agreement. The Trump administration has also hindered China by blocking their access to cheap oil. No longer can China buy oil at steep discounts from dictatorships in Venezuela or Iran. Additionally, we voted, here in the Senate, on our late colleague Lindsey Graham’s efforts on China and oil. The President has now signed into legislation the Lindsey Graham bill, putting new penalties on China for importing oil and energy from Russia or from Iran. The penalties are stiff. The penalties are severe. As the largest buyer of Russian energy, China now faces these tough new penalties. The United States is systematically blocking the vast ambitions of the so-called axis of aggression--China, Russia, and Iran. This is the definition of peace through strength. Weakness invites attacks; strength deters them. And Republicans are going to continue to show unmatched strength in defense of our American economy and our Americans’ safety. President Trump is going to do the same this week, when he meets with President Xi. And so I say to my colleague from New York, the minority leader: That is the straight record. That is setting the record straight about what things were like in the Democrat administration, and what things are like with President Trump in the White House. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.”
Mr. President, when it comes to foreign policy, the Republican Party’s philosophy will always be ``peace through strength.’’ Yesterday, at the United Nations, President Trump made that very clear. He made it clear that America continues to lead with peace through strength. The President of communist China, Xi Jinping, will hear the same message later this week, when he comes to Washington, DC. Now, I just heard the minority leader of the U.S. Senate come to the floor and say something about the fact that he thought that President Trump was going to sell out our country to China. Let me set the record straight. President Xi last visited the White House 11 years ago. Today, he is going to arrive to a very different America and a very different President. A decade ago, Barack Obama was in the White House. The Obama policy with regard to China was appeasement. It was accommodation, and it was apologies. Obama’s weakness gave China free rein--free rein to undermine our economy and our national security. China spied on American businesses. They stole American technology. And China strengthened its grip on global supply chains. As Democrat climate alarmists forced the closure of our coal-fired powerplants, China built new ones. They continue to build them today in the race for power and the competition over artificial intelligence. From new technology to global supply chains, China’s goal is to be the military, the economic, and the technological superpower of the world. China wants to push America aside. Their vision is not cooperation. It is not even competition. It is complete control. The American people want safety, prosperity, and freedom. That is what we want at home in America. America can’t be free if we are dependent upon China for our medicine, for our materials, and for our minerals. We need to do more. America can’t continue to lead the free world if we allow China to steal our best ideas and our newest technologies. We must stand firm. America needs to stand strong. We must say to China: Never again. We also must say it to ourselves: Never again will we allow ourselves to be in this position. President Trump is very clear-eyed. He sees the stakes. He knows the threats. He also understands that American strength is more important today than ever before. That is why the President is acting decisively to protect American interests. Fair trade, historic tax cuts, aggressive deregulation--they have all made us stronger and more prosperous. Innovative American companies still give us a great strategic edge. Republican tax cuts are putting more money into people’s pockets. A secure border means less fentanyl coming through China, through Mexico and the southern border into the United States. Investment is coming to American manufacturing in record amounts, trillions of dollars. America is producing more energy than ever before. We are also mining more critical minerals. These minerals are critical for our homes, our factories, and our national defense. Under President Trump, America is hitting China’s ambitions north, south, east, and west. What he has done is hold China accountable. That wasn’t done in the previous administration, and President Trump is doing it without apology. Just yesterday--just yesterday--President Trump signed a historic agreement, and it is regarding Greenland. The agreement prevents our adversaries--including communist China--from building military bases in Greenland or making critical investments there. This was a historic agreement. The Trump administration has also hindered China by blocking their access to cheap oil. No longer can China buy oil at steep discounts from dictatorships in Venezuela or Iran. Additionally, we voted, here in the Senate, on our late colleague Lindsey Graham’s efforts on China and oil. The President has now signed into legislation the Lindsey Graham bill, putting new penalties on China for importing oil and energy from Russia or from Iran. The penalties are stiff. The penalties are severe. As the largest buyer of Russian energy, China now faces these tough new penalties. The United States is systematically blocking the vast ambitions of the so-called axis of aggression--China, Russia, and Iran. This is the definition of peace through strength. Weakness invites attacks; strength deters them. And Republicans are going to continue to show unmatched strength in defense of our American economy and our Americans’ safety. President Trump is going to do the same this week, when he meets with President Xi. And so I say to my colleague from New York, the minority leader: That is the straight record. That is setting the record straight about what things were like in the Democrat administration, and what things are like with President Trump in the White House. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.