McCarthy Slams America COMPETES Act Over Visa Provisions for STEM Doctorates as a Tool for the Chinese Army to Sneak Spies into America

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) slammed a bill sponsored by House Democrats to increase competitiveness with China, claiming its visa provisions for STEM students would allow China to send more spies to the U.S. as students.

The Sunday Morning Futures segment began with McCarthy criticizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) actions related to China.

“She has protected China from any investigations to the origin of Covid even though it has killed more than 900,000 Americans,” McCarthy said. “She is preventing American athletes from protesting at the Olympics and now she’s producing a bill that sends American taxpayer money to China.”

McCarthy said the America COMPETES Act is a “Concedes Act” because it “sends $8 billion to the green UN climate fund that has given $100 million to China.” The bill recently passed the House by a nearly party line vote of 222-210.

“It has unlimited green cards [for skilled workers],” McCarthy claimed.

McCarthy’s claim isn’t quite accurate, though the bill removes numerical caps on green cards specifically for individuals holding doctorate degrees in certain STEM fields.

Other immigration provisions in the bill include new visas to encourage foreign entrepreneurs to launch tech start-ups in the U.S. and a temporary protected status to qualified Hong Kong residents for 18 months after the bill’s enactment.

“This is what the Chinese army uses to bring people into America to spy on us saying they are students,” McCarthy alleged of the green card provision. “This bill does nothing to hold China accountable.”

Under the Trump administration, more than 1,000 visas of Chinese students and researchers were canceled over alleged ties to the military in a policy that was broadly criticized by universities and students.

McCarthy pledged that if Republicans take back the House, he would establish a bipartisan committee on China that would tackle issues such as increasing competitiveness and investigating the origins of Covid-19.

“You take the actions of the Democrats, I do not know what China has on these people, but it must be so powerful because their actions every turn stop and harm us but protect China,” McCarthy said.

Watch above, via Fox News