Washington D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Lead Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX) sat down with national security and foreign policy expert, James Jay Carafano, at the Heritage Foundation for a fireside chat on strengthening U.S. leadership in an era of global competition. Lead Republican McCaul spoke on his solutions to confronting global challenges such as countering China’s malign influence, combating threats from authoritarian regimes, navigating ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and more. Key highlights below: 

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On China…

“China announced their One Belt One Road initiative. It is global domination by military and economic power by 2030. It has been a bit deceptive, but I think people are waking up to the fact that they are everywhere… What they do is called predatory lending or debt traps. They come in under the auspices of ‘we are going to invest, build roads, build ports.’ But the problem is it’s a debt trap. They end up taking over these facilities without a shot fired. A good example: Sri Lanka. They built a port in Djibouti. They own both ends of the Panama Canal… We built that canal, and now the Chinese own it. That is incredible to me. 

“I was in El Salvador. They were going to put two ports in El Salvador. Fortunately the incoming President has decided that’s not a good move. Africa, they are all over Africa. How do we persuade these countries to reject the Chinese? We have to explain that it’s not in their best interest. It’s going to be long term pain for you. But we also have to compete. We are not competing as well. We passed the BUILD Act that put OPIC on steroids. We passed my bill, the Championing American Business Through Diplomacy Act, to make sure we are advocating for American interests abroad.

“The technology piece is what keeps me up at night the most. That is artificial intelligence, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and 5G. If you look at the global map, Jay, it is about 50 percent of the world right now where China is literally moving in with their 5G. They are like tentacles moving in and once the 5G is put in they control. They control the data; they control everything. We have to compete with them on 5G… They steal intellectual property, they have tech transfers, blueprints into our Pentagon, they steal our cyber weapons, but the fact is we have to compete with them to win. That has to be an investment that the United States is willing to make with the private sector.”

 

On Iran…

“We want to put maximum pressure on Iran so that the Iranian people can rise above this theocracy of oppression. I think 80% of the Iranian people do not agree with the Ayatollah , they do not agree with this theocracy that’s oppressing them… We are not going to sit back idly if Iran hits our military. If Iran strikes our military, we will respond. If Iran starts to build their nuclear facility we will respond to that… We are not going to allow Iran to become a nuclear power. I think getting out of the JCPOA has had a very good crippling effect on [Iran’s] economy; it’s putting pressure on them. I see what they are doing right now as weakness and desperation and those are all positive steps in the right direction.”

 

On legislation to strengthen American security in the Middle East…

“One of the first bills I introduced with my new hat at Foreign Affairs is [H.R. 336] the Israeli assistance package, the Jordanian assistance package, the anti Assad sanctions, and then the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) bill. The Senate, in a very short order, introduced a companion and then passed it in February… We had 77 Senators vote for this bill, bipartisan, and unfortunately that did not happen. We could not get this to markup so now we are using a procedural mechanism which is called a discharge petition. If we get 218 signatures we can put this bill on the floor for a vote. That’s where it stands right now. Israel is in a rough neighborhood and we have to defend and assist Israel. From a technology, cybersecurity standpoint they are very advanced. They are a great ally for us in the region. It’s a $30 billion package over 10 years. We also have to assist our Jordanian ally and deal with Assad.”

 

On North Korea…

“I think the maximum pressure campaign got Kim Jong Un to the table. I think we have to engage with them, we have to have conversation with them because the stakes are just too high. Over the last three decades in Presidencies we have made concessions in North Korea now to the point where they have an inter-continental ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead capable of hitting the continental United States. We have to engage with them, and the question is how to get them to stand down.

“I do see some merit in the incremental approach. You need a face saving measure with any dictator. Dictators are never easy to negotiate with. I think you need a face saving measure for him to get out of this.”

 

On childhood cancer in Africa…

“I founded the Childhood Cancer Caucus. We have passed a lot of good bills. We have now gotten to the point where 80 percent of children with cancer survive. But you go to Africa, 90 percent of children in Africa die. 90 percent mortality rate. PEPFAR, you know the HIV program, we passed, and there are clinics all over Africa now. Texas Children’s  has a Global Hope Initiative to bring cancer medications to Africa to help save them just like PEPFAR saved a generation. I am working with the Committee, I have been working with the Ambassador for PEPFAR… and a whole host of stakeholders to lay out the predicate of PEPFAR and bring in these medicines and  save these African children who could easily be cured but they just don’t have access.”

 

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