Select Committee on the CCP Roundtable on Gotion
The Breakthrough Ideas team traveled to Green Charter Township in Michigan for the Roundtable discussion on Gotion presented by the Select Committee on the CCP. Amanda Piker, a Manteno resident and founding member of Concerned Citizens of Manteno, presented at the roundtable. Michigan Congressman John Moolenaar, Chairman of the Select Committee on the CCP, hosted the roundtable and was joined by Illinois Congressman Darin LaHood.
Other experts who gave testimony included:
Jason Kruse, Supervisor, Green Charter Township
Emily de La Bruyère, Co-Founder, Horizon Advisory
Mr. Brian Cavanaugh, Senior Vice President, American Global Strategies
Ambassador Joseph Cella, Head of the Michigan-China Economic Security Review
After hearing the testimony, there is no question that Gotion has deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party and slave labor in China. Both Congressmen and the policy experts noted Gotion’s connections specifically and repeatedly in their remarks.
Congressman Moolenaar emailed after the event a full recording of the round table, which can be found here.
In his opening remarks, Moolenaar said, “Finally, you should know the brave men and women of our military want nothing to do with Gotion, as the Department of Defense is prohibited from buying the company’s batteries. So why would we allow this company to receive tax dollars, buy our land, and build a factory here?”
This is just one of many reasons why it is detestable that Governor Pritzker cut a deal with Gotion to give them tax subsidies of up to $536 million and already gave them $125 million in two checks – essentially cash payments – without having to produce anything. He is doing deals with people who want to eventually control us and rule over us.
In his opening remarks, Darin LaHood said China has a plan to replace the U.S. in all ways. They want us to be dependent on them for critical resources, ensure we are incapable of defending ourselves, and control our economy and critical infrastructure.
The Select Committee on CCP has been working since February 2023 to assess the threat of the CCP to the U.S. and document the human rights abuses of China towards its own people. Based on the Committee’s findings, Rep. Moolenaar filed H.R. 6175, the No Gotion Act, to “deny certain green energy tax benefits to companies connected to certain countries of concern.” Countries of concern are defined in the act as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. This bill has bipartisan support and would nullify any federal tax credits that Gotion would receive from the Inflation Reduction Act that were for “green energy” companies. As it stands right now, Gotion could receive potentially $8 billion in tax credits.
We need a State Rep. in Illinois to file similar legislation negating any tax subsidies for companies with ties to our adversaries. Gotion would not be located in the U.S. but for the massive tax subsidies.
View excerpts from the speaker’s testimony by clicking the pictures below.
Amanda Piker shared how Gotion is impacting her local community. She explained in detail how residents were kept in the dark as elected officials signed non-disclosure agreements to cut the deal without the public knowing.
Emily de La Bruyère spoke about the strategy of the CCP industrial policy to establish global dependence on the CCP’s products, specifically electric vehicles.
In her remarks, Emily de la Bruyere noted that China controls 95% of the rare earth minerals and is buying up other countries’ supplies. EV batteries cannot be made without input from China, and those inputs are mined and processed on the backs of slave labor in the Xinjiang Province.
Brian Cavanaugh discussed how the tactics of the CCP are developing to threaten the United States.
He stated unequivocally that the CCP is an existential threat to the U.S.
Cavanaugh went into detail about how China controls and spies on its own people, how they use the technology we buy to spy on us, and how all Chinese companies are required to spy for the CCP.
Ambassador Joseph Cella outlined how the CCP will use Gotion for its own purposes, including the threat of espionage near the military base Camp Grayling, the largest US National Guard Training Facility in the United States.
Cella also stated that the U.S. is in a cold war with the CCP. He said that all parties involved in the Gotion deal are naïve. There is no distinction between private companies and the Chinese state.
If you skipped ahead and didn’t listen to the expert testimony, don’t worry – the Select Committee on the CCP put together this 2-minute video that summarizes the remarks.
After listening to the videos, please get involved in pushing back on the Gotion deal.
Contact your state legislators and tell them you don’t want to fund slave labor in China and companies controlled by the CCP, our number one economic and military adversary.
I think back now to the Gotion announcement with the elected officials, heads of ComEd and the gas company, and Gotion leaders, including Communist Chen Li, slobbering all over each other proud of the massive boondoggle they signed on the backs of Illinois and U.S. taxpayers and the slave labor of persecuted Chinese religious minorities.
It should sicken every patriot. As Darin LaHood said, if people knew what this deal was about, they would do something. Please this Newsletter with others. No one should be ok with funding the CCP and slave labor.