WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) joined a bipartisan resolution – led by Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) condemning the Chinese spy balloon that was first publicly reported in U.S. airspace above Billings, Montana. This resolution unanimously passed the U.S. Senate on February 15, 2023.
“The Chinese Communist Party’s brazen violation of U.S. airspace is alarming and unacceptable – but not surprising. I am proud to join with my colleagues to pass this resolution, and call out the CCP for this surveillance program and their other intelligence collection activities that threaten our national security. This motion calls on President Biden to inform Congress about this and other violations of U.S. airspace, and how we will counter threats like this moving forward. As a new member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, I will work to ensure our military has the resources it needs to defend our nation from threats to our security,” Senator Capito said.
“China’s efforts to spy on the United States cannot and will not be tolerated. Our bipartisan resolution condemns in the strongest terms the Chinese spy balloon and their intrusion on our airspace. I’m committed to protecting West Virginians and Americans and the values we hold dear and will continue working to get answers on this unacceptable incursion,” Senator Manchin said.
Senators Capito, Manchin, Collins, and Tester were joined by Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Chris Coons (D-Dele), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn).
The full text of the resolution can be found here.
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