Last week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., helped get two bills through the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
At the end of March, Rubio introduced the “Taiwan Protection and National Resilience Act,” which “would require the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Commerce, the Department of State, and other federal agencies to report to Congress on the United States’ non-kinetic options to both prepare for and respond to a CCP attack on Taiwan, including opportunities to sanction the CCP and preempt Beijing’s retaliatory measures.”
As he showcased his bill, Rubio pointed to recent comments from the Chinese leadership on Taiwan.
“General Secretary Xi Jinping has ordered the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the Chinese Communist Party, to be prepared to invade Taiwan by 2027. This would inflict devastating consequences on our allies and U.S. service members in the region, as well as our nation. However, the U.S. has yet to formulate a clear strategy to protect our economy and significantly strengthen our partners in the region as a deterrent to inflict maximum consequences on the CCP in the event of such an act of aggression,” Rubio’s office noted.
“The threat of a reckless blockade or invasion of Taiwan from the CCP is real and one that both the U.S. and our international allies must be prepared for. At a time when our nation’s reliance on China’s genocidal regime leaves us hostage to Beijing’s leverage, we must develop a strategy to respond to the CCP’s hostile acts,” said Rubio.
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., is co-sponsoring the bill.
“The U.S.-Taiwan relationship is critical and we must protect against malign actors like the Chinese government that threaten the sovereignty of other nations – especially amid Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine. While efforts to deter aggression are essential, this bipartisan bill would help ensure we are prepared for and would be ready to respond in the event the Chinese government violates Taiwan’s sovereignty,” said Peters.
Over in the U.S. House, U.S. Reps. Chris Smith, R-NJ, and Brad Schneider, D-Ill., are championing the bill.
“Now more than ever, we need to stand by the free people of democratic Taiwan. Planning today for tomorrow’s contingencies—including the threat of an invasion from Communist China—makes them less likely to occur. This legislation combines preparedness with resolve in calling for strategies to counter any offensive gambit by Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party and to squeeze their ability to conduct military operations against the free people of Taiwan,” said Smith.
“America must be prepared to stand up to an opportunistic Chinese regime that is learning the wrong lessons from Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine. By showing the Chinese Communist Party that Democrats and Republicans are working in lockstep to ensure our military is prepared, this bill will deter future aggression and protect Taiwan’s liberty for generations to come,” said Schneider.
The bill cleared the Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday.
“It’s in our national and regional security interests to firmly support Taiwan, a valued ally of the United States. Congress must continue to closely monitor the CCP’s hostile acts against our democratic ally and remain firm in our strategy to deter any aggression against Taiwan,” said Rubio.
The committee also passed the “International Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act” which Rubio is backing.
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-NJ, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the bill back in May 2022 with U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, the top Republican on the committee, Rubio and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., as co-sponsors.
“Building off of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, the senators’ new legislation proposes reforms to expand U.S. efforts relating to combating human trafficking, including forced labor, as well as new requirements for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to integrate prevention efforts into the agency’s global programming. Among other provisions, the bipartisan bill also amends the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act with the aim of ensuring that the commitment and progress of countries toward implementing effective counter-trafficking measures are factors when determining recipients of U.S. development assistance,” Menendez’s office noted about the bill.
“Despite our great strides in recent years, human trafficking remains a horrific reality for countless millions of people around the world. Today, as millions of Ukrainian women and children fleeing Putin’s brutal invasion are among those at the greatest risk of being trafficked, we are reminded that traffickers seize any opportunity to exploit people in desperate circumstances, particularly victims of war and conflict,” said Menendez when he introduced the proposal. “This legislation will strengthen the United States’ ability to prevent and fight human trafficking in all its forms including by expanding prevention efforts at the USAID and increasing the tools available to hold governments to account if they do not take steps to combat human trafficking. I welcome the support from my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and look forward to working with them to secure swift passage of this legislation so we can ensure renewed U.S. leadership to combat the scourge of human trafficking in every corner of the world.”
Back in December, the Senate passed the bill without opposition and Rubio weighed in after the vote.
“The United States must continue to lead the fight against the horrors of human trafficking. This bill would provide the resources necessary to combat human trafficking and care for the victims of this evil. I urge my colleagues in the House to pass this bipartisan bill quickly,” Rubio said.
But the House did not pass the measure and the bill did not clear Congress last year.
Menenedez, Rubio and other backers, which now include U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who joined as a co-sponsor last week, are trying again and the bill cleared the committee last week.
“As the Committee on Foreign Relations favorably reported the bipartisan International Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, we are reminded of the urgent global crisis that human trafficking represents. This bill will provide important tools to better combat this crime and hold perpetrators accountable. I urge my Senate colleagues to swiftly pass this legislation,” Rubio said after the vote.
There is currently no companion measure over in the House.
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