WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously Thursday to condemn China’s balloon surveillance program as a “blatant violation” of U.S. sovereignty, in an unusually swift bipartisan rebuke of Beijing as questions mount about the balloon that the United States says was part of a vast aerial spying program.
The 419-0 vote came as U.S. officials, in a closed-door session, gave lawmakers information about the balloon. The Senate held the hearing on the balloon, which crossed the United States before being shot down by U.S. military aircraft last weekend.
“This resolution, I believe, sends a clear bipartisan message to the Communist Party of China and to our adversaries around the world that this action will not be tolerated,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
In a Congress riven by partisan divisions, shared anxiety over China’s stealthy balloon surveillance program and the scope of Beijing’s global military and economic strength caused an unusual opening for bipartisan agreement.
The top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs panel, lawmaker Gregory Meeks of New York, said, “It is now up to Beijing to demonstrate not only to the United States but to the entire world that it is serious about respecting international rules and laws.”
The balloon flew from Alaska to the Atlantic Ocean, but the United States did not shoot it down until it was over the Atlantic, off the coast of South Carolina. That prompted bipartisan concerns, questions and outrage, some of it directed at President Joe Biden for not acting sooner. But the GOP-led House set aside criticism of Biden for now and focused on the People’s Republic of China.