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Chair warns of 'rise of communism' in U.S., invites survivors to testify
Summary
At a hearing, the chair warned of a perceived "rise of communism" in the U.S., framed the session as focused on survivors who lived under communist regimes, and yielded the floor for firsthand testimony.
At a hearing of the House Committee on Natural Resources, the chair opened by saying the event was "not about a political theory or academic debate" but about "real people who actually lived under communism, suffered under communism, and actually found the courage to escape it." The chair said the committee would hear firsthand testimony rather than a textbook-style lecture.
The chair expressed alarm that "what we're witnessing here in America" is "the rise of communism," adding, "It's like a cancer... if you don't eradicate it, it spreads." The remarks included a political framing that Democrats were electing "Democratic socialist[s]" and a reference to a prior press conference where a participant called it the "communist caucus." The chair said the goal of the hearing was to "educate people where communism comes from but where it leads to," and emphasized that the problem is policy, not people who lived under those systems.
The chair closed the opening remarks by saying Republican members would "fight tooth and nail" and yielded the floor to colleagues and witnesses to begin testimony. No formal motions or votes were recorded in the segments provided.
