Peter Meijer for Congress: Bill to Enhance Economic Security Passes Committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Peter Meijer (R-MI), a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, today delivered remarks during the markup of his bill, the DHS Trade and Economic Security Council Act of 2021, which was voted unanimously out of committee and now awaits a vote by the entire House. The bill would take steps to identify concentrated economic risks, set priorities, and establish coordinated action to respond to economic security matters. 

The DHS Trade and Economic Security Council Act of 2021 would:

Solidify economic security efforts at DHS by codifying two existing entities within the Department: (1) the DHS Trade and Economic Security Council, and (2) the position of Assistant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security within the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans.

• The Council would provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary related to the economic security of the homeland, which would include identifying concentrated risks for trade and economic security, setting priorities for securing the nation’s trade and economic security, coordinating Department-wide activity on trade and economic security matters, and proposing statutory and regulatory changes impacting trade and economic security.
• The Council would be chaired by the Assistant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security and consist of members appointed by the Secretary from nine specific DHS components and offices.
• The Council would be required to meet at least quarterly and provide regular briefings to Congress.
  • The Assistant Secretary would be responsible for formulating policy on trade, cargo security, and economic security matters, overseeing activities within the Department related to supply chain mapping and critical economic security domains, and coordinating with relevant stakeholders across the government and private sector.

The full text of Rep. Meijer’s remarks as prepared is below:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Mr. Ranking Member, for bringing this important piece of legislation, the DHS Trade and Economic Security Council Act of 2021, before the committee today.

Mr. Chairman, we, as a committee and as a country, cannot forget the disturbing and far-reaching effects that Chinese actions had on the U.S. economy at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic:

1. We were in a national lock-down for months.
2. We didn’t have enough essential medical supplies, and
3. China’s demand for personal protective equipment left the rest of the world scrambling through shortages.

We can no longer assume that our supply chains are functioning, ever-present, and resilient. Instead, we need to analyze them for vulnerabilities to ensure that DHS can contribute to the goal of greater economic security for every American. These efforts are more critical than ever, given the turmoil we’ve been through, and are still going through, over the past year and a half with COVID.

In November 2020, the Homeland Security Advisory Council published a report on our economic security. The report highlighted the threat that China poses, and it stated that the new, long-term “threats” are economic, and the new “weapons” are

• trade deals,
• technological innovation,
• intellectual property,
• infrastructure, and
• critical supply chain dependencies.

The U.S.-China strategic competition is increasingly driven by who controls these underlying systems, these technologies, and the rules by which we advance our economic interests.

But there is hope. The report made two recommendations on how the Department can combat China’s influence while also contributing to our economic security.

First, the report concluded that to keep the civilian side of our economy functioning in a time of crisis, Congress should institutionalize a political-level official who would reside in the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans and would conduct day-to-day policy coordination. This bill, taking note of that recommendation, codifies the position of an Assistant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security in the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans.

Second, the report recommended that DHS institutionalize a Council that would identify concentrated economic risks, set priorities, and coordinate enterprise-wide action on economic security matters. The bill does this as well.

By codifying these important facets of the Department, this bill sends a clear signal that DHS remains focused on our economic security.The work that this Council and the Assistant Secretary will do is critically important to the Nation’s response and resilience to the next, unforeseen global crisis.

Once again, thank you for supporting and passing this bill today.

I would also like to thank the committee for supporting my amendment to H.R. 5633, the DHS Inspector General Transparency Act, to provide further protections for whistleblowers.

Strengthening whistleblower protections will prevent retaliation and also encourage other whistleblowers to come forward if they have information that needs to be investigated.

Ensuring these protections will also help the Department with recruitment and retention efforts, as employees will be more confident in their abilities to report misconduct without fear of retaliation.

I would like to once again thank the committee for supporting these efforts here today, and I yield back.

Original source can be found here.