Of two greater warriors on the topic. And they are not johnnycomelatelys on this topic. These gentlemen have been battling this topic their entire careers. Really their entire lives. Both sacrificed greatly, as i like to quote with their lives in military service and then decided that wasnt quite enough to give up for a country that they wanted to then go even further and to give the gift of their time and their talents and their sacrifice and our congress fighting on the issue of fighting communism, hiding the ccp. Im going to tell you is the wife of a former senator from missouri, there are issues you can take on a be a hero. And then there are issues you can take on and be pelted for on a daily basis. That take courage and fortitude and personal sacrifice. And this issue is an issue that if youre going to take this on, your families going to be hit. Your children are going to be hit. You are going to be hit personally on a daily basis. Death threats are just beginning of the things that are going to happen to you if you take on the issues that these two just courageous and men of the men have taken on. Thats why its truly an honor for me to it get to introduce two of the bravest that we have among us in this country today. They are the hope for our businesses, they are the hope for our children and their futures. And they are the hope for the continuation of our republican this United States of america. Welcome representative jim banks and representative dan crenshaw, thank you for being with us today. [applause] i want to just start, gentlemen by just opening it to whoever would like to take it first. In passing what is your statement on the culpability of chinas moral responsibility in this virus . Thats go to first congressman. So first and foremost there is what we know that we cant talk about, on what we know we cant talk about we been briefed on behind closed doors in a classified setting. What we can say is we can get hung up on whether or not the coronavirus or covid19 was intentionally released and thrust upon the rest of the world and intended to destroy in effect harm on americans, we can put that discussion aside for a moment which is what i prefer to do, but we know the end of the day and we can talk about by china preventing the cdc from coming in to study in january of the beginnings of the outbreak, by refusing to allow two International Organizations and American Organization the to study those, Robert Obrien the National Security adviser, he discusses a study that shows 90 of cases of covid19 would have been avoided if we could have gone in in january when we tried to to investigate the beginnings of covid19 to better understand it. That alone is white china is morally coble, why they should be held accountable for the spread of the coronavirus. Back in 2005, china and the United States and another for other countries around the world signed onto International Health regulations with the un to stop the spread of the pandemic that you can harken back to that and what were dealing with now, they violated many that they signed on 20005 and should be held accountable for. Right now they are not. If someone in the white house were intent on holding them accountable. But i fear what that looks like the next lesson may go back to an era return a blind eye to not just the coronavirus but a lot of other activities in the Chinese Communist party where we dont hold them accountable. So i went to get to that without being political at all this is an educational not a political event. There are two candidates and both of them have laid out very binary plans that are not divergent in any way. Not only that they both demonstrated that President Biden is part of the Obama Administration had distinct policy and plan in President Trump is taken it completely different plan different lane, different road pretty want to get to that. I want to get to you know it she did talk about what should what is the price china should have to pay. I want to add a couple of things as well to what jim said. China knew there was a virus. They cut off travel domestically inside of china between hannon others but not internationally. I completely agree that the take that jim had on this. We can question their intent, but we do know their actions pray they did allow it to spread. They also spread misinformation through their contact it will help an organization. Even as recently as she prevented exports of ppe as wel well. There is quite a few things to add to the list there. Now what should be the price of that . Thats with the discussion gets complicated. First of all we need a realignment. We need a change in paradigm and how we view china. We need to view them as what they are. They are an adversarial relationship. Not quite the sold on choate cold war. You could say they wanted to see america implode from within. Ill think necessarily what china wants, the utter destruction of the United States, our economies are too closely intertwined. What they do want is to spread their domestic outlook onto the world. So we have a liberal global world order that is long been protected by the United States. The chinese want to take that over and taken over the system with an authoritative regime. So dont export that internationally. Thats with the belton Road Initiative is. Is a belton road that has a marketbased system to work. But the rules of the road they want to dictate. That is what they want to export. We need to be fully conscious of that. When you look at the difference between biden and trump, biden has been in office for quite a long time. Well before i was born. He is part of this notion that we should help chinas rise. And if we do that they will enter the liberal global order and a responsible way and adhere to our values its simply not true. Its certainly not clear to me that biden, for one has realize that. So so backing up to the culpability and responsibility on covid, what should the response of the United States b be . What price should check china pay specifically to maybe prevent the next pandemic. I have one bill that would pay quite the literal price. This allows u. S. Citizens to use our court system to sue china for damages. Now in reality what is that look like . Looks like possibly a classaction lawsuit that goes after their enterprises do i expect him to rice a big check . No i do not. Its one thing among many that we can do we need to encourage these investigations we need you to be bottom of it. We need to come up with creative ideas. That is not a simple answer how we make them pay. Again thats why reverted to the broader discussion of its a realignment is competing with them on multiple fronts its intellectual property theft, we closed on the consulate in my district in houston which is being used to spy on the Texas Medical Center to get access to the technology and vaccines. Now they want to make money off the virus they were hiding from everybody so we absolutely need to hold them accountable for this. So and congressman banks if you would speak to what degree of help from our allies . Civic class week secretary pompeo gave what i believe the most significant speech he has given during his time in the Trump Administration as secretary of state. He gave it at the Richard Nixon library which is symbolic in and of itself is the president who open the door that led down to the path the normalizing relationships with china. In that speech secretary talked about leveraging our allies abroad and creating a coalition of the free world versus communist china. Not just in an effort to hold them accountable but this realignment that dan is talking about, much of the same way we form coalitions about activities and afghanistan its time we begin to build that coalition of western countries who believe in western values. If you really boil this down, it is the repressive, authoritarian regime when values of the Chinas Communist Party versus the free and open Democratic Values of the United States of america and most of our allies. That is the dividing line. What dan is describing, whether we have incredible significant examples in recent months forced the nba, im from indiana we love basketball in indiana. I cant tell you how sick to the stomach it made me feel when the leadership many of the best basketball players of her day, groveled to china into Chinese Communist party values versus the values of the country they come from. This powerful example show you what we are up against. The next American Century be one thats governed by american interests . Or will be all subject ourselves to it lebron james in so many other nba players have been chasing the almighty dollar in interest of what china wants us to believe in. That is what we are up against. Thats what we cannot allow to happen. That is why secretary pompeos historic speech of the library last week. This administration is the only one in my lifetime that is sought to be tough on china through tougher trade deals, building up our military in a way that can combat the chinese military. This administration is very first year release the National Security that call for Great Power Competition with china on getting ourselves out of other important, dan and i both agree its going on the middle east is not just important yesterday but for a long time to come. To build up a military back combat the military china threat and away her last militaries not been able to do for the last generation. That powerful statement to join us in that endeavor something significantly should not lose sight of. So to bring up a great point. How do we classify whatever we are engaged in . If its a war is an informational work . Is it a medical work . We know there is a lot of battle on that front. What is this that we are engaged in . How do you classify it . So Administration Calls at Great Power Competition lisa did in 2017. And since then, as this administration builds upon that, this administration seems that weve all been through a very long movie the last four years. Where we are today with secretary pompeo, National Security adviser obrien, this president has surrounded himself with the leading minds of our time to understand the greatest x essential threat in America Today is china, economically and militarily. So is interesting i want to stop you for one second so what you do address that. If you watch the news today on any network except perhaps the one i work for, very few other exceptions you are going to hear the greatest threat we have today is russia not china. So continue. Or those of Mainstream Media outlets will said the greatest threat we face today is the president of her own country, sadly when this present is the only president in my lifetime has identified the truth that we face in china. I would say this. We cant and when the new cold war if we are constantly engaged in the civil war that we are engaged in an america thats are worried about and thats what im concerned about this election was not a political conference, i understand the challenges for the restrictions we have with politics, the election in novembers all about whether or not we will continue down a path of recognizing the greatest threat we face in china or whether we will retreat to pass not just the Obama Administration but Republican Administration of fully turn a blind eye to the china threat whether to join the wto or altogether ignoring their violations of Many International laws pursuing rip, stealing our jobs, thrusting the coronavirus on us without ever being held accountable for. Think the best way to describe it is a conflict of visions. We have a different vision on how to govern. So our vision is one where people are allowed to self govern, live freely, choose their own government and pursue their unhappiness. Thats a particular vision were human nature can be the parameters can be set by Democratic Institutions but not funnily changed man. The vision of the chinese is much different. They do believe in the ability to form human nature to create a collective. And basically any means to justify those ends. You can see it now, theyre putting in concentration camps, shaving their heads. There was an instance we just saw for our custom seized a bunch of human hair. Is being shipped here to make hair braids. It is horrible what is happening over there. This is because they have a totally different vision of humanity. They have a different vision for civilization. They want to export that vision. This is the essential conflict on how they perceive the freedom of the individual. What scares me the most is that vision, is not as toxic as you might think to american mines, especially young ones. So what are we saying right now in america . What is our civil war . Its also a conflict of vision and is fundamentally that is wellpaid the progressive belief is a topdown belief that people should think the way they want to. That people should speak the way they want them to. And again, the memes justify the ends because theres always some type of utopia there always trying to achieve. Utopianism has a bad history and humanity it results in a lot of people dead. Just like maoism had tens of thousands of people dead. Now theyre basically reenergizing that same kind of vision. When you talk about utopianism its very romantic, people are susceptible to it especially young people because maybe deep down they are morally good and they want to achieve something better. But what they fail to understand is the foundation for success that created america, the success of american freedom, personal freedom, a culture of rights. That is something only we have in america. And i mean it will only we have that. There is no bill of rights in Great Britain or canada. Their freedom of speech can be trampled on. Ours cannot be by law. Now is, thats a different discussion about cancel culture. Release we have a culture of rights them are losing that in the chinese are happy to perpetuate that. Its not to say the russians arent a threat, the russians are very good Information Warfare because theyve been doing it for a long time. They have been planing conflict of visions game for a century. They are very good at it. The chinese are Getting Better at it. We need to be going into this with eyes wide open. When you talk to people about this topic, which obviously you must have to do every single da day. We you have the opportunity to try to wake them up . What is that lightbulb moment look like . If you like so much of the country is asleep on this. Its technical comets over their head, they dont understand geopolitics, art children are not even taught that anymore. You cannot really hearken back to now because you dont even know what theyre talking about. You cannot hearken back as far as world war ii because they dont know that history. So congressman, how do you wakeup the population that does not understand history, does not understand the geopolitical situation they really dont understand her constitution. What is that lightbulb look like . So that is the milliondollar question. Thats why we are in such a difficult battle here. It takes another generation of teaching the right principles to counter generations of teaching the wrong principles. So we dont have that time. Where do we as an audience today start on this . In your individual conversations ask questions of the person prove youre trying to persuade somebody again without knowing the topic and that persons demeanor and how they are coming at it which misconceptions they are to have built their mind, it depends. What i find best to do is simply ask the question you wish a reporter would ask them. Dont confront them with your ideology what is somebody do they get deceptive and its hard to change someones mind the fact it doesnt matter to certain point lunch or emotionally attached to an argument. So helping them reason through is generally speaking my best advice without knowing the cut text of that particular conversation. My best advice for how to persuade somebody but it takes a work it is a generational battle. I actually find where i come from people do get it. I dont have to educate them about it because farmers in northeast indiana have seen what bad trade deals which china have done to devastate their markets. Right confirm we make things we have more manufacturing jobs. Capita my district that needs in the conch tree. Remit cars, medical devices, and i talked to businesses every day with experienced themselves or someone in their supply chain has asked springs ip theft. So working class, hardworking middleclass family in my district have seen china greek havoc on our economy for this is by donald trump was elected in 2016 to begin with. And why he got over 70 of the vote in a district like mine. Which is one of these bluecollar type districts that is always done really wellin because of this china issue. So today, most of the same people are sitting back and wondering why arent we doing enough to hold them accountable for what what we are suffering through it the moment . I dont have a lot of complaint about the administration but i do wish this administration would rise up and be tougher to hold china accountable for the coronavirus, for the three and half trillion dollars weve added to our National Debt already thats going to grow in the weeks and months to come. And for the longterm damage its been done to sue many workingclass people who have seen their wages scaled back lost their jobs altogether, their lives have been disrupted and they said single way. So we want this president who they voted for in 2016 to hold china accountable for work now what were going through today. So i want to hear you both lay out, again this is an educational summit, i went to to both lay out with this really looks like. In terms of joe biden has been in Public Office for almost halfcentury, almost 50 years. We have a long record to look at. We have a recent presidency of donald trump. We know it that looks like generally. It joe biden is elected, what does that look like . What does that relationship with china lookalike with marc if President Trump is reelected. What does that relationship look like . And in terms of real life, real americans, real families in the midwest, real families in texas for the average american. I want to hear both of you speak to that. The answer is simple. As dan said we have a fiftyyear framework of what it would look like if there was President Biden in the white house and with china. Vice President Biden a senator and later Vice President at the helm only normal relationships with china. We allowed them to enter the wto. Me largely turned a blind eye towards china shooting economically from steel dumping to other bad trade practices that did a lot of damage the american economy. We can assume that joe biden in the white house will be a lot different is joe biden a senator or Vice President. Donald trump on the other hand turn everything upside down. From the moment he was elected weather is negotiating a new trade deal, which has been much forgotten but the merits of that trade deal are so fundamentally important. In expecting more and demanding more from more from our trade deals with china, to what he has done to build a better relationship with india in the region which is very significant partner we have. And even growing our relationship better with japan. It was a reluctant ally their powerful ally. President trump was often underestimated his ability to go in and build a rapport with some these World Leaders in the region he can call at a moments notice and leverage as we build up the coalition in an alliance to put greater pressure on china. That is the difference. Biden gives us a record and idea of what he would be in the white house, President Trump has shown it. I think its an acquiescence versus standing up to them. I think biden continues to acquiesce. And another way to look at this. Left wing culture does inform left wing politics the same thing with right wing. When you see institutions on the left which is unfortunately all the institutions in hollywood, the nba, thats the name some examples acquiescing to china. That does inform leftwing politicians that is their base. So that matters quite a bit. So we can assume that biden is not going to take the steps that trump has taken. So i would never slap sheriff biden would never slap tariffs on china. Its a bold mood and even i was questioning at it first. Its a bit of a tax us. But i have to admit it did give us more leverage. I do have to admit some of these things. Im a gem was in the same uncomfortable position i was. Because with free trade, we want free trade, we defend that. We have to acknowledge we have no free trade relationship with china. Its going to be a rocky path to get there. Especially as an observer of median really a lifelong student of it, how all in the media seems to be to cover up any of the sins of china if you will, and yet, it seems that the groups of people and especially the media who would be the very first victims of a china impose governance of the u. S. , so they already are they are censoring their own movies, theyre censoring their basketball games. They already are. And they had the most vehement defenders of that sort of of china. Why is that . Because they hate trump so much. Its just that. They know full well how much blame should be laid on china for the coronavirus pandemic. They know that. But they are so obsessed with pinning every single fault on the president that they cant hold both ideas in their head buried it can even say maybe its a mix of both. They cannot even do that. It is just full on everything is the president fault because the hatred runs that deep i think. Thats so true, dale entered dan nails it. About Speaker Pelosi who for decades she served for decades with congress shes one of the leading china hawks on capitol hill. That change the day President Trump became president. Because once President Trump held the mantle is the only president to be tough on china in our lifetimes, that created a divide where she could not afford politically to appear she was on the same side as the sitting president xi despises where the base of her party would eat her life for doing it. That is the sad reality. I have a number of friends on the other side of the aisle who for years when i first got here i partnered with on pieces of legislation to counter the china threat had been intimidated to no longer go down that path. Youve seen that play out over and over again. All because you have one party that despises the president so much they cannot appear to be on the same pages them. s philosophical point likes makes the problem with the Democratic Party, left leftism in particular its a huge problem. Under the conservative we can take any new problem and we can place that against a series of principles. A series of questions we might ask. This is give you more freedom or less freedom . If less freedom why a customer exist infringing on your rights in order to have someone service . Is it a bridge on state rights . Debt . Does a series of questions. You dont have that we are on the left. For them its all about end result utopia. When that is the goal doesnt matter how you get there. Its kind of a dangerous thing. Their policies can change on a dime if they gain more political power. How do you even know how to trust . Its also why i watch my moderate liberal friends the Democratic Party be swept up into it as a very radical agenda thats been passed out of the house. By the way americas never had to deal with that agenda because none of it ever became law. We did a better job of telling people what they asked in the house because its a very radical agenda you wonder how moderate democrats voted for and you know why they also voted i just want to go up there and do nice things pretty want to be pragmatic. While when the far left tells them this is a nice step these of the nice things, trust us, youre wearing the blue jerseys thats what they vote poor there is no limiting principle thats a very scary thing. Let me give you another example of contradiction. How often do we hear the media talk about President Trump being against the freedom of the press attacking the media for their principles. Weve been complaining for every single morning on my front door and that House Office Building i receive a stack of newspapers often overwhelming from the washington post, Time Magazine number of other Media Outlets also met stack its own and control by the current chinese commas party. They distributed around the world is put it mysteriously on our doorsteps every morning. They might leave it like a lot of us do to live on a coffee table are constituents gives a newspaper a lot more credibility than what it deserves. Ive reached out to everyone from Speaker Pelosi to the sgt of arms to say how does this newspaper which is not an independent newspaper that is actually a state owned propaganda peace filled with anti american stories that almost every day theres something written in the newspaper that is anti american. How to set up your my doorstop . Ive spent out press releases on it. Not a single main street media has ever covered that story. That is an attack on our freedom of the press. Its an attack on our First Amendment principles, right before i said that could happen on the doorsteps of lawmakers offices in washington d. C. And locked Congressional Office buildings it can happen anywhere. So that is amazing, that is amazing. To what degree do you feel there are viable answers in terms of bills. Have that support that this audience to be helpful with that are out there we can promote, unlike take away forms and like to scare people and say we know we have a very looming enemy and there is a lot of work to be done. How can we support what you are doing . So i mention one bill and its going to china people can understand that relatively easily how much that manifest into reality is unclear. Greater support for allies can manifest in the legislation to. But that seems to be a combination of congress and the executive, the higher support for taiwan, higher recognition of taiwan, better resources for an avian or special Operations Forces in the pacific with an eye on a Great Power Competition. That is a different set of tactics and equipment than our past wars in the middle east. So it takes a realignment as well and that needs to be inherent in what we pass. By the way it is. I dont think we would have any complaints about that in the last one. Space force is actually an Important Role in is going to a big front tier will it will be up to america to lead the way to protect the avenues of space. And sort of engage in a fleet mentality which is why had an amendment to use navy ranks. I think a lot of people will be a fan. Those are a couple i know jim worked on a lot as well. So may begin with that as a member of the House Armed Services committee, we need to begin breaking down barriers the pentagon to prevent the innovation we need with our war fighting resources to combat the rise of technology and innovation on the part of the chinese. We know the Chinese Communist party with their pla, we know it they are up to. But they are not up to and somewhat for Important Reasons they are building platforms of information through stealing our facial recognition to biometric biometrics, i am astonished what i have learned about the 23 and me, ancestry. Com, all those kids go to china so they take that and store it along with facial recognition from apps like the face app, ticktock, all of these are tools that they used to spread around the United States to collect information they can use for their own security purposes. We have to be mindful of that. We need to begin a process or an accelerated process the United States that would rely more upon what we see coming out of Silicon Valley to build up moderate and future military that can prepare for the china threat down the road. Thats one area. Economically i have a number of those one that comes to mind more relevant recently is stopping predatory acquisitions the chinese technologies and another way they are profiting off the pandemic of their own making for their coming in and purchasing companies that have National Security related ip, they purchased it while our economies on its knees and they take the it back to china for their own purposes. Kind of building up the mechanisms to stop acquisitions by the chinese like that. We also know they purchased a Radio Station in las vegas at the same time they did it again to spread propaganda. I think you will see more of that by the china daily using america Media Outlets to spread their own propaganda to break away and cracked through. So existing Media Outlets is also an important one we are seeing more and more than that. Aware of the ancestry. Com and the dna. Where the team mention . So 23 and me and ancestry. Com. So they have the records of those . Simply put our records out that they have that . So that is why the pentagon has issued an order preventing our military personnel from using those biometric kits. You should ask yourself, the pentagon is telling our troops not to use them, maybe we shouldnt do it either. Most of us know anyway about ticktock july your children to be on ticktock . Thats a fight in my household. Weve heated a few time. So we need an american ticktock fast. So i agree with you. To what degree, gentlemen, the casper singer streets today you and i know the black lives matter arent all about saving black lives. Its a marxist front group. It stated mission is really to destroy the western family unit, right . And it really reads like a marxist manifesto. To what degree is the ccp involved in the black lives matter . And to what degree does a more than 1 million that black lives matter raise over the past couple of months go to advance communism the United States . I am not aware of direct links. Maybe there are. I will come back to a comment i made before. We cant combat the china threat. We cannot win the new cold war if weve sown so much discord in this new civil war we are going through in society in the United States today. There is no doubt that both russia and china are both sitting back and laughing with glee at what they are watching occur in the United States of America Today because it fits right into their agenda. And largely as china is so cocoa bowl for what we are going through, largely this fits right in to their vision of what they want to see happen in america. We cant allow them to win that way. We need to unify and have a vision of what we want america to be and how we protect america for the century to come. Yeah, i dont know about any involvement in the genius of the left is its ability to take an uncontroversial injustice that maybe we want to solve and use that as a vehicle for hyper radical policy that deals with environmentalism with labor laws they do with everything you kno know, the chinese and the russians they dont have to create this for they dont have to create some big conspiracy, we do it to ourselves. All they have to do is come in after the fact and stoke the divide. I think often times theyre very surprised at how easy it is. You hear this, i will never forget this interview i think it was in 1984 the next kgb agent talk about the soviet Propaganda Machine and its like 85 of their operation intelligence operations efforts. They were surprised at how easy phase i which is basically means hate your country hate your institution. This is not new its happening this is old marxist strategies been going on for a long time. Bubbles up kind of naturally in the human psyche. Marxism is a very romantic idea. We should never think we will escape it. We always have to educate our kids on the dangers of it. Its very natural to feel that way, the tri ballistic us versus them. Its actually deeply embedded in human nature parts we constantly have to confronted with better western enlightenment values. We did not do a good job of that of the last few decades. Arent last question because her running out of time. If there were one book that you could recommend. The congressman has a new book out. But if there were one book you could recommend for people in a time thats essential leading on this topic what would it be . You go first congressman kerch operates to affect my book. [laughter] on this topic you caught me offguard on that one. So may not necessarily on this topic on the historic. So how about this, since i said before this is a conflict of visions how about the book conflict of visions by john masella. Its a great book on philosophy and anything it helps you frame how people think differently. I think that sounds great. The pivotal read is michael pills varies 100 year war. Everyone should read it was published in 2015. Recently, Michael Auslin published a book and im blanking on the title. Just look up ae sl a and one of the greatest writers of all time on the subject. You can find that easily by googling Michael Auslin. So alright we will do that. And congress and crunch i would give you just a moment to talk about your new book. Very exciting i meant to bring it on stage with me and i completely missed that. Tell cell about a very so american resilience in the era of outrage. Its about how to be mentally tough and overcome cancel cultured outrage cultivates how to think better, be better, be strong in your daily life. Its very light on politics. It does get into, especially the last chapter its unfortunately very much into what were doing with now with the sort of tearing down of American Institution and tearing down of america herself. Thats a victim of ideology and identity politics its deeply rooted in marxism for a theres a history for them we have to know the history forever going to combat it. So absolutely. Thank you both so much for your time, i appreciate both of you very much. Appreciate you all tuning in as well. Were happy to be heard the freedom summit. Stay tuned so many more great panels are coming at you. Thanks. you can watch all of cspans Public Affairs programming on television, online or listen on our free radio app. Be a part of the National Conversation to see spans a daily washington journal programs or through our social media feeds. Cspan, created by americas Cable Television company as a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. Coming up tonight on cspan2, next, former president barack obama delivers remarks at a Funeral Service for civil rights leader representative john lewis in atlanta georgia. Then we will air the funerals for representative lewis in its entirety. After that, senators share their thoughts on their latest gop covid19 Response Plan and now here is former president barack obama at the Funeral Service where congressman john lewis in atlanta georgia. James wrote to the believers