WASHINGTON — Legislation announced in Congress this week would bar federal funding for Chinese-built railcars and buses, tightening an existing prohibition.
Six senators — three Republicans and three Democrats — announced the “Safebuarding Transit Operations to Prohibit China, or STOP China, Act. It would prohibit the use of Department of Transportation funding for the purchase of equipment built by companies associated with the Chinese government.
U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) are sponsoring the legislation. U.S. Reps. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) and John Garamendi (D-Calif) are leading the companion legislation in the house.
Text of the bill is not yet available on the Congress website.
“It is China’s mission to infiltrate and dominate every aspect of American society, including our transit systems, and we cannot let them succeed,” Cornyn said in a press release. “By preventing American tax dollars from being used to purchase Chinese government transit buses or rail cars, our legislation would help protect U.S. transportation infrastructure from the [Chinese Communist Party].”
A prohibition on Federal Transit Administration funding for transit equipment was part of the defense authorization bill for fiscal 2020, but China has continued to pursue business through other forms of funding. The new bill would broaden the funding prohibition, and require the United States Trade Representative and U.S. Attorney General to produce a list of prohibited entities headquartered in or affiliated with China.
“When we invest American taxpayer dollars, we should be supporting our Made in America economy and American workers, not opening our checkbook to adversaries like China,” Baldwin said. “I’m proud to work with Republicans and Democrats to support our workers and companies, keep the United States safe, and close a loophole that Chinese companies are exploiting to win government contracts and undercut American workers.”
As a veteran Red Line rider, I’ve been on the Orange Line a few times over the many decades. The first new Orange Line cars in my lifetime were delivered around 1963, if I recall from Pullman Standard, but if not P-S then some other American manufacturer. Don’t like Chinese companies? Then ask yourself what happened to Budd, P-S, St. Louis Car, and ACF.
The railcar in the photo above the caption “Chinese built” was built in Springfield, Massachusetts, by a Chinese-owned company out of as many Chinese parts and components as possible.
If you don’t like stuff built in China or made of Chinese parts or made by a China-owned company, hire a big dumpster and spend the next few days clearing out your house and garage.
Dirty Dick Nixon started the process of selling out America to China. In the years since, he’s had plenty of help.
A more pertinent question would be why the “traditional” suppliers ended production? And, what it would take for new American entrants to enter and stay in the marketplace?
It’s to bad there aren’t any real American companies that make transit equipment, and don’t talk to me about Siemens, Alstom and the others with plants in the U.S., they’re still not U.S. companies as the corporate leadership is either in Europe or SE Asia/Japan.