Caucus Participation

US-China Working Group

I am the co-chair of the bipartisan U.S.-China Working Group, a group focused on educating members and staff on U.S.-China issues through meetings and briefings with academic, business and political leaders from the U.S. and China.

The USCWG provides accurate information to Members of Congress on critical issues at critical moments. We provide a forum for honest, open and frank discussion with Chinese leaders.  We are neither “panda huggers” nor “dragon slayers.”  Membership in the group does not imply taking a position on key issues.

Through the Working Group, I host regular dialogue with members of the Chinese Leadership. I’ve met with President Hu Jintao, NPC Chairman Wu Bangguo, Madame Wu Yi, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Deputy Minister Dai Bingguo, Vice Premier Wang Qishan, CBRC Chairman Liu Mingkang, and leading Chinese scholars and business leaders. Additionally, since the creation of the Working Group in June 2005, we have hosted the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, the USTR, the Chief of Naval Operations, several Fortune 100 CEOs, and a series of lectures by award-winning academics. 
 
Our Working Group has conducted three successful missions to China, focusing on the global economic recession, consumer product safety, Intellectual Property Rights, the establishment of a Defense Telephone Link, counternarcotics, Olympics security, energy cooperation and global climate change. We were the first foreign delegation to visit the manned-space launch center in Jiuquan.

Last year, we reintroduced the “U.S.-China Competitiveness Agenda,” four bills focused on export promotion, diplomatic infrastructure, energy cooperation and domestic Chinese language instruction.

Electronic Warfare Working Group

I am the Co-Chair of the Bipartisan Electronic Warfare Working Group, an organization dedicated to educating senior policymakers, including the Department of Defense and Congress, about the importance of Electronic Warfare to our military.  This is particularly important to Northwest Washington, which is home to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and the Navy’s Electronic Attack Wing-Pacific, the military’s premiere Electronic Warfare unit.

Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine

As co-chair of the Caucus to Fight and Control Methamphetamine, I understand the devastating effect that illicit drugs have on families.  In 2005, I worked to pass the first-ever comprehensive anti-meth legislation -- the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act (CMEA). This landmark legislation placed ephedrine and pseudoephedrine products (meth “precursors” needed to make the drug) behind the counter at pharmacies across the country; eliminated a loophole in federal law allowing the unlimited sale of pseudoephedrine pills sold in “blister packs”; holds major meth precursor exporters and importers accountable for their efforts to prevent meth production; and toughens federal penalties for meth traffickers and those who cook or deal meth in the presence of children, making it more difficult for drug dealers to get the ingredients they need to manufacture meth. This bill also helped local law enforcement as they dramatically reduced the number of “homegrown” meth labs in Washington state since its inception.