By Rep. Adam Kinzinger and Rep. John Joyce It's been a long time coming, but more and more Americans are waking up to the threat of Chinese influence in our technology. This is a reality we must face as a nation and one we need to get a handle on before it's too late. The FBI is currently investigating more than 1,000 cases of Chinese technology theft. And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently highlighted the dangers of TikTok, a popular video-sharing platform that has gained influence with young Americans. While the lip-syncing videos on TikTok may appear harmless, this company's data harvesting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, is far from innocuous. The CCP's ever-expanding influence in global technology poses a grave threat to America and our allies every single day. And yet this isn't a new problem. For years, the Chinese government has stolen data and information as it seeks to achieve global dominance in technology and military capabilities. More than a decade ago, Chinese hackers targeted Google, Adobe and other high-profile tech firms to steal intellectual property and personal data. Though it wasn't the first cyberattack to originate in China, "Operation Aurora" demonstrated the severity of this threat back in 2009. As brazen as that breach was, China continued to up the ante. A series of high-profile cyberattacks on major international retailers and U.S. defense contractors was followed by a devastating 2014-15 breach of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Communist China got its hands on the records of 19 million Americans who had applied for national security jobs -- a document trove said to be the "crown jewels" of spycraft. The federal government's response was insufficient, and the CCP escalated their attacks and fine-tuned their methods even further. American institutions are targeted by these sophisticated attacks daily as the CCP looks to steal our intellectual property, our state secrets and our personal information. The coronavirus crisis, fueled by the CCP's lies at the onset of the outbreak, has further exposed these threats. The CCP threatened to withhold medical supplies as well as certain pharmaceutical ingredients that are used to manufacture critical medicines Americans rely on and use regularly. And the Department of Homeland Security has caught Chinese-affiliated hackers attempting to steal U.S. research on a coronavirus vaccine. While cases of this virus continue to grow across the country, Americans are eagerly looking toward our science and technology leaders for a solution. As researchers work on finding effective treatments and developing a coronavirus vaccine, the U.S. must protect this research from China and other bad actors across the globe. China's more recent technological power not only endangers America's national security, it also poses a serious threat to the human rights of Chinese citizens and freedom-loving people around the world. Communist governments do not tolerate any form of dissent, and Beijing routinely uses technology to surveil, silence and threaten its critics. Huawei, another company with ties to the Chinese government, regularly comes under fire for its blatant disregard of human rights. Time and time again, the CCP has demonstrated it will use malicious tactics to exert its power and to hide its missteps from the world. The CCP has managed to fuel its own technological abilities by using cyberattacks that stranglehold their targets. And it's time we push back on the power grabs and address the reality of these threats by Communist China. We cannot cede any further ground to this hostile regime. In Congress, we have presented commonsense solutions that address overreach by the CCP. As members of the China Task Force, we are working to expose the CCP's interference in our technology and develop pragmatic solutions to bolster our defenses. Our team is working on proposals that will secure American research and punish bad actors who steal intellectual property paid for by American taxpayers. Additionally, the China Task Force is focused on equipping our scientists to win the race to 5G and remove Chinese telecom infrastructure from the United States. To achieve lasting progress, America must continue and expand its prohibition of dangerous technologies originating from China, like Huawei and ZTE, and create incentives for our allies to follow suit. In the 21st century, the United States simply cannot afford to fall behind China's technology momentum. For the sake of our national security and the good of the American people, we must once again lead in innovation and ensure security for our telecommunications.

By Rep. Adam Kinzinger The United States can no longer view China simply as an economic competitor. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has evolved into a clear and present national security threat that must be addressed now. This reality took some time to sink in, but the coronavirus pandemic, which has left over 100,000 Americans dead and tens of millions suffering financial hardship, has removed all doubt. Since discovering the virus in Wuhan, the CCP silenced doctors and scientists trying to sound the alarms, shut down social media across the country, and threatened to withhold lifesaving drugs from the world. These actions, combined with their latest infringement upon Hong Kong's special status determining its self-governance, demonstrate how the CCP's authoritarian system threatens the free world. As the spread of the coronavirus accelerated, we quickly came to understand just how vulnerable our supply chains had become. Our global dependence on China's labor market allowed the CCP to consolidate critical manufacturing sectors. As cities begin to reopen across the globe, we are not out of the clear. No one knows what the next week or year will bring. What we do know is that China is using this time to undermine the United States, our allies, and our associated freedoms wherever they can. A world where America takes a back seat to Chinese leadership is a world where democracy dies, freedom recedes, and authoritarianism reigns. Both as a nation and as individuals, we must accept this threat as fact and work together to protect the free market and our democratic systems that protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness around the world. In the last six months, China has shifted its diplomatic focus from an outwardly passive strategy to a more aggressive diplomacy to consolidate power and use all of their supply chain tools to maintain political influence around the world. The United States must take an active role in protecting critical supply infrastructure for us and our allies. We can't have one country hold the entire world hostage because of a key component in a cell phone, a rare mineral for a drug, or the limited manufacturing capacity for a chemical used to clean water. Accordingly, the U.S. must act -- on our own and with our allies -- to attract investment and regionalize our supply chains. Our focus should support directing various types of assistance to nations in our hemisphere, including diplomatic and political support to strengthen legal and regulatory environments. We should work to establish economic opportunity zones to attract new investment, promote business development, and enhance regional supply chains. In doing so, we would give priority to projects essential to U.S. national interests, as well as those that help us shore up our Strategic National Stockpiles, raise living standards, and increase job opportunities. We also need to rapidly expand bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, focusing on our hemisphere as well as Asia-Pacific and Europe. We need to take a leading role on the world stage to ensure China alone isn't writing the rules on global trade, leaving Americans out of lucrative markets. In the midst of the global pandemic, some may ask, "Why should we make all this effort to help other nations when we're hurting here at home?" The honest answer is that doing these things will help both the U.S. and our allies. First, we need to remember that the CCP started its campaign to overtake the U.S. as a superpower decades before the world realized this "hundred-year marathon' existed. Just take the Belt-and-Road Initiative and the 2050 Plan as proof. And, we know the CCP has slowly increased its footprint in our own backyard. As the crisis in Venezuela reached a fever pitch last year, dictator Nicolas Maduro was supported by President Xi Jinping and the CCP. As I pointed out then, the CCP's goal is to establish a military and economic foothold in the Western Hemisphere to undermine stability and pose a substantial security threat to the U.S. -- a threat not based in Beijing, but right here in the Americas. These attempts to undermine the U.S. from this proximal vantage point are wholly unacceptable, and the most effective countermeasure is increased engagement -- not indifference. Lastly, fostering economic growth abroad is perhaps the best way to address the root cause of emigration to the U.S. Improved economic conditions elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere would yield not only prosperity but political stability, thereby reducing one's need to leave home in search of better opportunity. As we address these complex issues, we must understand that countering 20- and 50-year plans will require bold action. Perhaps less obvious, but equally important, is that we must also be strategic and forward-looking. As difficult as things are in the U.S. today, we cannot allow temporary conditions to dictate policy-making and planning for tomorrow. We must address the problems of today with our minds on the future. As a member of the China Task Force, I'm working to address these issues and pushing for legislation that will foster more innovation in our manufacturing and ensure our supply chains are strong. The United States must lead by creating economic prosperity and social development -- not only for the American people, but for all freedom-loving individuals in our hemisphere and around the world. This is not about nationalism versus globalism. Rather, this is about executing a strategy that places economic freedom first so that we may usher in a new century of prosperity and relative peace. America did not become a beacon of hope by people who sat back in the misguided belief that things would just magically get better. It took the sacrifices of generations before us to risk it all for the greater good. And now, it is our generation's moment to do the same. Aggressive action from the United States today will secure the economy for future generations. The time for half-measures is in the past. We must move quickly, decisively, and strategically to shape our future -- and we must do it now.

"When you think of nuclear power, you might think of radioactive materials, expensive equipment or dangerous emissions. On the contrary, nuclear power produces no greenhouse emissions and has an incredible track record on safety with low operating costs. Nuclear power generates 20% of our nation's electricity, and in Illinois, 11 operating nuclear reactors -- including eight in the 16th Congressional District -- provide 88% of the state's emission-free electricity. "I'm proud to represent these nuclear power plants because they provide clean, reliable energy and create good jobs that strengthen our communities. Simply put, nuclear energy is essential to our proud Prairie State. "Yet the outlook for Illinois' nuclear power fleet is looking grim. The financial viability of each generation station is in serious jeopardy due to several factors. Special interests, market forces, overly-burdensome regulations, and sadly, outright public corruption have, over time, created a growing resistance to nuclear power and hampered any sort of state-level solution. "Today, America is the world's largest oil producer. And while it's great to see the natural gas boom happening across the country, it's producing more harmful emissions and putting economic stress on nuclear plants. The state-enacted subsidies for specific technologies such as wind and solar add to those stresses. We can and should support energy diversity, but not at the expense of our nuclear fleet. "When it comes to nuclear in Illinois, we are at a crossroads. If swift and decisive action is not taken in Springfield, there will be disastrous consequences -- and here's why. "Illinois is home to wind farms, solar farms, hydropower units, geothermal sources and renewable fuel plants. The Land of Lincoln serves as a perfect working example of a diverse, all-of-the-above approach to energy production, and as I serve in Congress, it's what I seek to replicate where possible on a national scale. "Included in this mix of energy resources is our nuclear power plants, which serve as Illinois' most abundant and reliable power source. When I visit schools in Byron or talk to constituents who've made their careers as control room operators or engineers at LaSalle Station, I'm able to see the incredible legacy of this technology continue to thrive. According to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the use of nuclear power across the United States in 2018 prevented the emission of 528 million metric tons of carbon dioxide -- which is the amount released by about 112 million passenger cars in a single year -- as well as hundreds of thousands in sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. Nuclear power generation saved Illinoisans from these emissions, further proving nuclear energy is one of the most important contributors to reducing dangerous gas emissions across the state and country. Due to misplaced associations and unreasonable fears related to nuclear power, some self-proclaimed environmentalists are pushing for early plant retirements. I would respectfully remind those people that America's nuclear energy facilities are among the safest and most secure industrial facilities. In more than 60 years of commercial nuclear energy production in the U.S., zero health effects have been linked to their operation. According to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), there has been no release of radioactive material or radiation in 30 years of commercial shipments of spent nuclear fuel. It's hard to deny the important role nuclear energy plays, and must continue to play, in keeping greenhouse gas emissions low while also providing abundant, affordable, around-the-clock power. For example, when the polar vortex struck the United States in 2014, coal piles froze, diesel generators couldn't operate and natural gas prices skyrocketed. The nuclear fleet, however, operated at 95% of its generating capacity, preventing blackouts during dangerously cold temperatures. In early 2019, Chicago saw a 34-year low temperature at -23F while Rockford faced an all-time low with -31F. Despite the elements, all six nuclear generating stations in Illinois provided reliable, carbon-free electricity for 11 million homes and businesses. Economically, nuclear energy is a vital part of America's infrastructure: it keeps prices stable and ensures consumers have multiple sources of electricity to utilize. Not only do nuclear plants add billions to our state economy every year, they also contribute substantially (about $180 million!) to our state and local governments. Municipal services -- including first-responders, hospitals, schools, roadwork and more--benefit tremendously from the taxes collected from these power plants. Communities, like the ones I represent, are strengthened by the nuclear operating stations far beyond the energy diversity they provide. At the federal level, there are some things we're doing to support the future of nuclear energy. But right now, we need to focus on sustaining our existing reactor fleet. To that end, there's only so much we can do to have an affect in the near-term. For my part, I wrote the Nuclear Utilization of Keynote Energy (NUKE) Act to provide regulatory certainty for our existing fleet and pave the way for additional reforms to encourage investments in the next generation of nuclear technology. I was pleased to see this bipartisan legislation signed into law last year. Another proposal that would have a direct and nearly immediate impact on our existing nuclear fleet is the Nuclear Powers America Act, which was offered by my friend and fellow Illinoisan U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood (IL-18). This bipartisan bill would provide a tax credit for investments in certain nuclear energy properties, including coverage for refueling and other expenditures. We're working to get it passed in the House but need help in the Senate -- especially from our Illinois senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth. Unfortunately, due to laws and regulations in Illinois, these federal proposals won't be enough. The most effective and necessary actions to help save our nuclear fleet can only come from Springfield -- from the Governor and General Assembly. If state officials fail to act, our nuclear generating stations will close. If that occurs, we face the prospect of blackouts, unreliable electricity costs, increased gas emissions, and job losses statewide. The lost tax revenue would hurt our communities and make it difficult to pay for things like high quality schools and the critical local services we rely on daily. Now is the time to act. If you're concerned about this impending crisis like I am, please contact your representation in Springfield. This is too important of an issue not to act, and quite frankly, the future of Illinois depends on it. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican, is the U.S. representative for Illinois' 16th congressional district. He is a member of the Republican Party.