HARRISBURG – Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Lehigh) today announced that he is sponsoring legislation to create a select committee in the House of Representatives to review Pennsylvania’s competitive status with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Rep. Danilo Burgos (D-Philadelphia) is the co-prime sponsor of the measure.

Specifically, the select committee would investigate, review, and make findings and recommendations concerning the status of the CCP’s economic, technological, and security progress in its competition with Pennsylvania and the United States.

“This select committee would be similar to one recently created by the U.S. House of Representatives to investigate competition with the CCP at the federal level,” said Mackenzie. “We believe there are also many issues at the state level regarding our competition with China that need to be examined as well.”

Mackenzie pointed to several examples of such state-related issues, including:

• Banning TikTok on all Pennsylvania government-owned devices.
• Divesting the Commonwealth from Chinese assets tied to the CCP.
• Prohibiting the sale of Pennsylvania agricultural land and critical land near military bases by Chinese investors with ties to the CCP.
• Oversight or banning of Chinese investment or donations tied to the CCP that may be made to Pennsylvania colleges and universities.
• Locations of, and work being conducted by, Department of Community and Economic Development trade offices.

Mackenzie and Burgos are currently circulating a co-sponsorship memo seeking bipartisan support for the legislation, which will be introduced in the coming weeks.

 

Information provided to TVL by:
Andy Briggs
Representative Ryan Mackenzie
134th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
http://www.repmackenzie.com/

 

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