High-ranking alumni of some of the most powerful congressional offices in the country have lobbied on behalf of companies controlled or greatly influenced by the Chinese military, disclosures show.
Chinese military companies are those the Department of Defense (DOD) has determined are “directly or indirectly owned, controlled or beneficially owned by” the Chinese military, as well as those that contribute to China’s military-industrial complex.
Former congressional staffers with ties to powerful members of Congress, like Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican House Whip Steve Scalise, have worked to influence policy on behalf of Pentagon-designated “Chinese military companies” like DJI, BGI and Huawei.
“If a lobbying firm chooses to represent a Chinese Military Company then they should be barred from representing any companies that contract with the DOD,” New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Granting lobbyists for Chinese military companies access to our highest offices jeopardizes American interests and compromises our legislative integrity,” Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio told the DCNF.
(RELATED: Chinese Military Companies Have Spent Over $24 Million Lobbying The US Gov’t In Recent Years) Nick Sutter, for instance, spent seven years working for Democratic Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell between 2011 and 2018, plus an additional nine months in Schumer’s office.
“A simple rule of thumb for responsible Congressional staff, if the content and appearance of communication with Chinese military entities would raise a red flag for security clearance review, then meeting with said entity’s lobbyist should too” The offices of Gillibrand, Cantwell, Matsui, Schumer, Paul, and Boozman did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.
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