WASHINGTON, D.C –– Today, Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, announced a hearing for Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at 10:00 AM ET, to examine the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) strategic port investments in the Western Hemisphere and how these investments impact our homeland security. 
 
“Communist China’s nefarious incursions in our hemisphere are a major national security concern threatening the U.S. and our allies,” Chairman Gimenez said. “America cannot, and will not, stand idly by while Communist China continues to undermine our interests at maritime ports across the continent. I look forward to working closely with President Trump and Secretary Noem to protect our country and oust Communist China from our hemisphere.” 
 
DETAILS:  
 
What: A Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security hearing entitled, “Examining the PRC’s Strategic Port Investments in the Western Hemisphere and the Implications for Homeland Security, Part I.” 
 
When: Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at 10:00 AM ET 
 
Where: 310 Cannon House Office Building 

WITNESSES:  

Isaac Kardon, PhD
Senior Fellow, Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Matthew Kroenig, PhD
Vice President and Senior Director of the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security of the Atlantic Council

Ryan C. Berg, PhD
Director of the Americas Program, Head of the Future of Venezuela Initiative, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Cary Davis
President & CEO, The American Association of Port Authorities

Witness testimony can be found here. The hearing will be livestreamed on YouTube and will be opened to the public and the press.
 
BACKGROUND:
 
On January 22, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN), Subcommittee Chairman Gimenez, and Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) sent a letter to Acting U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Kevin E. Lunday, requesting information on the Coast Guard’s actions to mitigate risks posed by a state-owned enterprise from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), COSCO SHIPPING, and its operations within the U.S. Maritime Transportation System. 
 
In September 2024, Chairmen Green and Gimenez joined Chairman Moolenaar in releasing a joint investigative report exposing a rising threat to U.S. economic and homeland security posed by China-made ship-to-shore port cranes. Read the full report here.
 
In April 2024, the Subcommittee joined the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation for a joint Miami field hearing to examine port security.
 
In February 2024, the Subcommittee held a hearing to examine security vulnerabilities at U.S. maritime ports amid increased cybersecurity threats from China. In the hearing, a witness from the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to Chairman Gimenez that China has “both the capability and intent to challenge the rules-based trade system” and is “leveraging all instruments of their national power to do so.”

###