•    "During its four-year tenure, the China Initiative stifled innovation by discouraging foreign talent from moving to American companies and prevented Chinese researchers from accepting positions at our institutions of higher learning.  We cannot quantify those missed opportunities.  There is no way to know what inventions never came to be, but we can realize when we made a mistake, and move on. This bill would prevent us from doing so. I appreciate that my colleagues have been circumspect when talking about the national security threat posed by China.  But it is imperative that we differentiate the many people who live and work in the United States from the threat posed by the government of China, not just in our words but in our actions." Source: Rep. Jerry Nadler (Democrat, New York, District 12)

•    "With this most recent attempt to reinstate the China Initiative, we are reminded yet again of discriminatory investigations that create a "living hell" for researchers and their families. There is absolutely no reason for us to take a step back and reinstate a policy that has deeply harmed so many and led to a widespread chilling effect for our communities, especially during Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. While AASF has worked diligently to build bridges and foster trust at the federal level, we also closely monitor the work of our legislators and stand firm in our opposition to any attempt at reinstating the ‘China Initiative,’ including HR 1398. We will continue to work toward healing, trust, and academic equality for all, but this will not be possible if this Initiative is reinstated. Our country is made stronger when Asian Americans and immigrants are able to contribute freely without fear of discrimination or harm—and any legislation from Congress should be a reflection of that." Source: Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Executive Director of the Asian-American Scholar Forum

•    "The Trump-era China Initiative undermined our nation’s scientific innovation and global partnerships while perpetuating the ‘forever foreigner’ stereotype and ruining the careers and lives of the innocent scholars targeted for investigations solely because of their Chinese ancestry. In fact, the China Initiative was such a failure at collecting evidence of economic espionage that the DOJ was forced to switch its investigations from trade secret thefts to grant application mistakes. That is why the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus successfully pushed the DOJ under President Biden to eliminate the initiative and why we led a letter to Congressional leadership today to avoid resuscitating a program based on xenophobia, not evidence." Source: Rep. Judy Chu (Democrat, California, District 28)