{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/newsroom-news-releases-barrasso-questions-sec-blinken-on-china-border-crisis-and-energy-security/", "Barrasso Questions Sec. Blinken on China, Border Crisis, and Energy Security", "2023-03-22", "2023", "2023-03", "Republican", "Senate", "WY", "John Barrasso", "B001261", "www.barrasso.senate.gov", "barrasso", "https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/newsroom/news-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) questioned U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on how to stop China and Russia from taking advantage of our nation and American taxpayers.\n\nSenator Barrasso pressed Sec. Blinken on China being labeled as a developing nation, resulting in American taxpayers footing the bill for multilateral development bank loans to the Chinese Communist Party. Earlier today, Senator Barrasso led 21 senators in introducing legislation to end lending to China from multilateral development banks.\n\nHe also questioned the secretary on what is being done to stop the flow of fentanyl from China coming across our southern border, and the need to increase American energy exports to our European allies to help them escape their dependence on Russian energy.\n\nSecretary Blinken testified at today\u2019s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the U.S. State Department\u2019s FY 2024 budget request.\n\nClick here to watch Sen. Barrasso\u2019s full exchange with Sec. Blinken.\n\nOn China Being Labeled as a Developing Country:\n\n\u201cToday, I led a bipartisan group of 21 senators in introducing legislation to end lending to China through the multilateral development banks.\n\n\u201cSince 2016, China has received almost $23 billion from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.\n\n\u201cAmerican taxpayers are the largest contributor to these banks. It is completely unacceptable for Americans to be subsidizing loans to China.\n\n\u201cThe administration continues to allow American taxpayer dollars to go to the Chinese Communist Party. I believe it needs to end. Not another dime should be approved.\n\n\u2018These banks are designed to assist developing countries. China is no longer a developing country. It was years and years ago when these international organizations were put into place. But the designation hasn\u2019t changed.\n\n\u201cChina is the second-largest economy in the world. It clearly has the financial resources and the access to capital to meet its own needs without the assistance from the international community.\n\n\u201cBut the Chinese Communist Party continues to exploit this outdated label as a developing country to get preferential treatments and loans.\n\n\u201cAs a \u2018developing country,\u2019 China also receives funds from international bodies mostly paid for by American taxpayers. China just got $1.4 billion from the multilateral fund at the Montreal Protocol \u2013 which is from back in the 1980s.\n\n\u201cLet\u2019s be clear \u2013 this money moving from America to China is making China stronger and America weaker.\n\n\u201cThis is at a time when China is blatantly flying spy balloons over the nation, stealing intellectual property, sending fentanyl and other opioids into the U.S., increasing military aggression, we have the whole list.\n\n\u201cIt seems that China is playing the international community as well as our own administration as fools. Their goal is simple: they want to be the world\u2019s dominant power.\n\n\u201cDo you believe that China still qualifies as a developing country? Why should American taxpayers be supporting lending and financial assistance that goes to China?\u201d\n\nFollow-up:\n\n\u201cWe are giving subsidized loans to a country that then turns around and can use this money to engage in predatory lending to the developing nations, as you described.\u201d\n\nClick here to watch Sen. Barrasso\u2019s remarks on China.\n\nOn European Energy Security:\n\n\u201cEurope has learned some hard lessons following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. None are clearer than the need to have access to an affordable and dependable supply of energy. Not renewable. Affordable, available, reliable energy.\n\n\u201cRussia has demonstrated over and over again its willingness to use energy as a weapon. The world has seen Russia threaten our allies and our partners with natural gas.\n\n\u201cEuropeans understand the crucial importance of increasing U.S. oil and natural gas production and exports to them from here. Unfortunately, President Biden has not necessarily followed that path because of his approach on the issue of climate and carbon.\n\n\u201cDo you support increasing exports of American liquefied natural gas to help our allies and partners escape this dependence on Russia?\u201d\n\nFollow-up:\n\n\u201cSo you agree Europe is much better off buying energy resources from the United States than having to buy it from our adversaries?\u201d\n\nClick here to watch Sen. Barrasso\u2019s remarks on energy security.\n\nOn Fentanyl Precursors into Mexico:\n\n\u201cI want to talk about fentanyl.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m from Wyoming, you would think how much fentanyl could be going there, it\u2019s not close to the border. But every state is a border state.\n\n\u201cWyoming is seeing an astronomical increase in the amount of deaths related to fentanyl.\n\n\u201cAt the same time, the amount of fentanyl in Wyoming is at an all-time high.\n\n\u201cOur Division of Criminal Investigation just in 2020, seized about 1,600 \u2018dosage units.\u2019\n\n\u201cThis past year, 13,000 units seized \u2013 a 13-fold increase and that was only for three quarters of the year.\n\n\u201cWhat can we be doing more to work with the government of Mexico to stop the importation of fentanyl precursors from China?\u201d\n\nFollow-up:\n\n\u201cLast week, the U.S. Border Patrol Chief Ortiz testified before the House Homeland Security Committee hearing in McAllen, Texas.\n\n\u201cHe was pointedly asked whether or not the Department of Homeland Security has operational control of the border.\n\n\u201cAnd the chief of the U.S. Border Patrol said, \u2018No, sir.\u2019\u201d\n\nClick here to watch Sen. Barrasso\u2019s remarks on the border.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T17:54:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/newsroom-news-releases-barrasso-questions-sec-blinken-on-china-border-crisis-and-energy-security/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1175880208611488, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}