Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Chairman of the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, announced the following witnesses for the hearing entitled “How Corporations and Big Tech Leave Our Data Exposed to Criminals, China, and Other Bad Actors.” The hearing will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, November 5 at 2:30 p.m. ET in room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Sometimes the fate of one city defines the challenge of a generation. Fifty years ago, that city was Berlin. Today, it is Hong Kong. Beijing seeks to dominate the Asia-Pacific region, and eventually, the world — to bend global trade, global markets, and yes, global competitors, to its will. Nothing could be more dangerous to the security of the American people or the prosperity of our middle class.
As big corporations collect ever-increasing amounts of personal data, they become even more appealing targets for hacking. This hearing will explore the state of cyber security in America, and how the government and private sector are facing this growing threat.
Senator Hawley said, “Intelligence officials have warned us that the Chinese Communist Party is using student spies to steal our technology and undermine our national security on college campuses. This bill gives the Department of Homeland Security the tools it needs to address this growing threat by increasing counterintelligence vetting for student and academic visas.”
In response to yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with FBI Director Chris Wray, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) today sent letters to the heads of University of Missouri and Webster University, both of which house Confucius Institutes, expressing his concerns about the universities’ Confucius Institutes. This follows comments during the hearing when Director Wray told Senator Hawley that Chinese Confucius Institutes at American universities are a “source of concern” because they allow the Chinese Government to disseminate communist propaganda, encourage censorship, and restrict academic freedom.
“What happens at the border has a tremendous impact on communities in Missouri,” Senator Hawley said. “The nonstop flow of drugs and human trafficking coming into this country is a crisis, plain and simple. I want to learn more about the challenges our agents face, the problems these local communities are dealing with, and how we can figure out a path forward. We are facing a surge at the southern border like we have never seen before, and Congress needs to get off its backside and act.”
Today Senator Josh Hawley introduced the Protect Our Universities Act of 2019 to safeguard sensitive, national security-related academic research from Chinese, Russian, and Iranian intelligence services. The text will also be submitted as a Senate amendment to the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is currently going through markups in the House and Senate.
Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) participated in a panel with U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) as part of the Center for a New American Security’s (CNAS) 2019 National Security Conference. The Senators had a wide-ranging discussion on American foreign policy, endless wars in the Middle East, and the countries that pose the greatest long-term threat to American national security.
“Thirty years after the massacre at Tiananmen Square, the Communist Party of China remains committed to imposing its will not only on the Chinese people, but also on those of its neighbors,” said Senator Hawley. “It has not learned from one of the worst atrocities in its modern history, and today, the United States has an obligation to speak out.”
“It’s time to acknowledge that China acts more like an adversary than a friend,” said Senator Hawley. “For too long, China has exploited American innovation to undermine our values and threaten our security. This legislation is an important step toward keeping American technology out of the hands of the Chinese government and its military.”