Hinson calls for passage of her bill to help protect American agriculture from CCP

WASHINGTON — North-central Iowa congresswoman Ashley Hinson says the accusations this week that two Chinese scientists smuggled a dangerous fungus that causes a disease in crops so that one of them could research the pathogen at a University of Michigan laboratory shows the need to pass new legislation she’s sponsoring to help further protect agriculture in America.

The two scientists were charged in US District Court in Detroit with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the US, false statements, and visa fraud.

Hinson says this is the latest of many recent examples of Chinese nationals with links to the Chinese Communist Party exploiting America’s higher education system.  “The dangerous attempts we saw this week by these Chinese nationals should really serve as a wake-up call here. I think it’s of utmost importance we get my bill across the finish line and to the president’s desk so that we can ensure that farmers have the necessary resources and safeguards to compete and continue feeding into our world.”

Hinson says it’s time for the US to take a bigger stance on the CCP’s efforts to control the global food supply through persistent intellectual property theft and deceptive trade practices.  “Whether it’s stealing valuable seeds from the ground, quietly buying up our farmland, or through deceptive trade practices, China has long worked to undermine American agriculture and the global food supply.”

Hinson for a number of years has served on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.