WASHINGTON — A host of progressive foreign policy provisions on issues like scrutinizing advanced weapon sales to the United Arab Emirates and welcoming more asylum-seekers fleeing Beijing’s oppression were tucked into House Democrats’ bill aimed at bolstering competition with China.
It remains unclear just how many of these liberal foreign policy provisions on such wide-ranging topics — including Afghanistan-related sanctions, combating anti-Asian racism, improving COVID-19 vaccine access in developing countries and boosting respect for indigenous peoples — might be included in any compromise measure that a House-Senate conference committee soon will begin working on.
House Republicans have been scathing about what they’ve termed Democrats’ “Christmas tree” of a bill, which they argue mostly opted for platitudes in its international affairs-focused title. Republicans wanted more provisions like what they consider the harder-nosed policies they were unable to secure during floor work on the bill, such as new export controls on advanced technology to China.
