WASHINGTON — As a Chinese spy balloon streaked across the skies over the United States, many Americans saw first-hand the potential threat from Beijing’s global ambitions.
But those ambitions are bigger than most people realize and go well beyond the relatively minor threat posed by the balloon, said Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, who hopes to draw Americans’ attention to the issue with a hearing on Thursday.
“I think most Americans woke up and thought, wow, how did that balloon cross our airspace and fly with no communication, no planning and no authority to do it? What else is going on?» Pfluger said. “What about ranch land or farmland that leads to our food security that is being bought up by entities close to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party)? What about the land being purchased next to sensitive military installations? Those are all things that we intend to understand and warn the American public if that warrants the threshold of a warning.»
Pfluger is a former fighter pilot who served in the Pacific theater and represents a wide swath of West Texas. He believes there are examples throughout his district and across the country of the ways in which China is trying to manipulate basic systems that many Americans take for granted.
Pfluger will preside over a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Homeland Security on Terrorism, Law Enforcement and Intelligence on Thursday at 9 am ET, focused on countering the threats that the Chinese invasion poses to the United States.
“Think critical infrastructure. Think about the transmission lines of electricity, of power, for our highways,” Pfluger said. «Those things will be examined.»
China is one of the few areas in the current Congress where Republicans and Democrats have found common ground, and Pfluger believes the hearing will demonstrate the common interest both parties have in reining in these threats.
“This is a bipartisan issue. In fact, it’s not partisan,» he said. «And I think in this particular hearing, especially since we just saw a Chinese spy balloon fly across the country, it’s important, and I think it’s a wake-up call, to understand what more the Chinese Communist Party is doing inside the United States of America.”
“I think they have been operating at a threshold below the conflict level for a long time, but also to their benefit and to the detriment of the United States,” he added.
Pfluger’s subcommittee is separate from the new House China select committee, which has shown signs of bipartisanship and held its first hearing last week to examine the Chinese Communist Party’s many technological, economic and military threats.
Thursday’s hearing will also examine a variety of areas in which China is working to undermine the United States, Pfluger said. The panel will hear testimony from William Evanina, former director of the US National Counterintelligence and Security Center, as well as experts in cybersecurity, aerospace engineering and Chinese national security.
While Pfluger is increasingly concerned about the threats to infrastructure posed by China, he is also concerned about China gains access to the data of many Americans through social media apps like TikTok.
“I think all consumers, all Americans, need to know what they’re signing up for when it comes to those platforms,” he said.
Several bills are floating through Congress that would give the federal government the ability to control TikTok’s influence, and the White House is backing bipartisan new legislation that would allow the government to regulate, or even ban, the app.
Pfluger hopes this is the start of a serious conversation that will lead to tangible results. He made it clear that this is a problem that the average American needs to start paying attention to.
A Chinese embassy spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.