Conservatives Urge Leadership to Strip ‘Woke’ Provisions From Anti-China Bill
A group of conservative Republicans led by Texas Rep. Louis Gohmert urged House leadership in both parties on Monday to strip hidden provisions from an upcoming anti-China bill, Breitbart reported.
The statement comes as the House and Senate meet to negotiate their versions of the bill, which passed in the lower chamber as the America COMPETES Act and the upper chamber as the United States Innovation and Competition Act.
Gohmert, Rep. Greg Steube of Florida, Doug LaMalfa of California, and Doug Lamborn of Colorado sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., calling on the leaders to eliminate five specific provisions:
“Any additional funding to the United Nations (UN); any immigration provision that provides amnesty, allows for refugee resettlement, or otherwise increases the number of green cards for foreigners in the United States; Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity (SOGI) language; language that would advance climate change goals; provisions without proper oversight.”
The House’s COMPETES Act and the Senate’s USICA contain provisions that could bar countries from economic development programs if they fail to enforce specific environmental criteria or international obligations, they noted.
The group also took issue with provisions that would allow more foreign workers, citing economic distress from inflation and wage depression.
“Flooding the labor market with foreign workers will further drive down wages for Americans, who have already seen their wages decline dramatically because of historic inflation caused by the Biden administration’s reckless spending,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Taking a divisive social issue and inserting it into national security legislation shows a clear lack of seriousness,” they continued. “Any additional woke language must be removed.”
