Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Chair, House China Select Committee will lead a delegation that will visit Taiwan from February 22-24, 2024 as part of a larger visit to the Indo-Pacific region. Other members of the delegation include Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA). The delegation will meet with senior Taiwan leaders and members of civil society to discuss U.S.-Taiwan relations, regional security, trade and investment, and other significant issues of mutual interest.
For the delegation’s bios, please refer to the page below.
Chairman Mike Gallagher
Congressman Mike Gallagher has represented Wisconsin’s 8th District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2017. Mike was born and raised in Green Bay, where he now lives with his wife Anne and daughters, Grace and Rose.
Mike served for seven years on active duty in the United States Marine Corps, including two deployments to Iraq. Mike also served as the lead Republican staffer for the Middle East and Counterterrorism on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and worked in the private sector at an energy and supply chain management company in Green Bay.
Mike earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, a master’s degree in Security Studies from Georgetown University, a second in Strategic Intelligence from National Intelligence University, and a PhD in International Relations from Georgetown.
In the 118th Congress, Representative Gallagher serves as Chairman of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, as Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation , and on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence . From 2019-2021 he served as Co-Chairman of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission.
Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi was elected to Congress in 2016 and is now in his fourth term representing Illinois’ 8th District, which includes Chicago’s west and northwest suburbs as well as the 41st ward of the city. He serves as Ranking Member of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, making him the first South Asian American in history to lead a Congressional Committee. He also serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Oversight and Accountability as a member of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs. The Congressman is a Vice-Chair of the Equality Caucus and Co-Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Immigration Task Force. In addition, he is the founder and Chairman of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus to End the Youth Vaping Epidemic and the bipartisan Solar Caucus.
Representative Krishnamoorthi is the child of immigrants and was raised in Peoria, Illinois. He attended public schools in Peoria and was a valedictorian of his high school class. Scholarships and student loans allowed him to graduate summa cum laude from Princeton University with a degree in mechanical engineering and a certificate from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. He then graduated with honors from Harvard Law School and clerked for a federal judge before practicing law in Chicago.
Representative Krishnamoorthi pursued public service while practicing law and was appointed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan as a Special Assistant Attorney General to help start the state’s Public Integrity Unit created to root out corruption in Illinois. As a member of the Illinois Housing Development Authority, the Congressman chaired the Audit Committee, helping to provide thousands of low and moderate-income families across the state with affordable housing. Congressman Krishnamoorthi also served as Illinois Deputy Treasurer, where he oversaw the state’s technology venture capital fund and helped make programs such as the state’s unclaimed property program leaner and more efficient.
After his time in the Illinois Treasurer’s Office, Representative Krishnamoorthi returned to the private sector, serving as president of research-oriented small businesses developing technology in the national security and renewable energy industries. Representative Krishnamoorthi also served as the Vice-Chair of the Illinois Innovation Council and co-founded InSPIRE, a non-profit that provides inner-city students and veterans with training in solar technology.
The Congressman resides with his wife Priya, a physician, and 3 children in Schaumburg, Illinois.
Representative John Moolenaar
Congressman John Moolenaar represents the hardworking residents of Michigan’s Second Congressional District.
As Michigan’s senior member of the House Committee on Appropriations, Moolenaar is dedicated to holding the federal government accountable to taxpayers. He strongly believes in fiscal responsibility and has been fighting to make the economy work for Michigan families and seniors. As a member of the committee, he serves on the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies and the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.
During his time in Congress, Congressman Moolenaar has focused on improving the lives of the Michiganders. He has introduced legislation to hold the VA accountable to our veterans; to help rural residents get better internet; and to improve the quality-of-care seniors are receiving.
Along with Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), Congressman Moolenaar serves as the Co-Chair for the School Choice Caucus, and as a parent, Moolenaar is proud to stand in support of parental rights and school choice in Michigan and across America.
Moolenaar brings years of leadership experience in the private and public sectors to Congress. He began his career as a chemist, after graduating from Hope College with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Moolenaar then worked in business development, and as a school administrator. Moolenaar has a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University. From 2003-2008, he served in the Michigan House of Representatives, and in the Michigan State Senate from 2011-2015.
Congressman Moolenaar and his wife, Amy, raised their family in Michigan and are blessed with six children and two grandchildren.
Representative Dusty Johnson
Dusty Johnson brings an energetic and optimistic leadership style to Washington as South Dakota’s lone voice in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a “policy guy,” he works hard to be a knowledgeable and value-added member on issues related to his committee assignments: Agriculture, Transportation & Infrastructure, and the Select Committee on China.
Committee on Agriculture – A recognized leader in issues related to rural America, agriculture, livestock, and rural broadband, Dusty was grateful to be named Chairman of the Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development Subcommittee. Ahead of the reauthorization of the five-year Farm Bill, Dusty’s role will give him more influence over cryptocurrency, commodities, and rural communities. Dusty also serves on the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit.
Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure – Dusty has remained focused on supply chain issues through ocean shipping reform, highway, manufacturing, and transit reform. T&I has jurisdiction over issues important to South Dakota, including railroads, aviation, pipelines, FEMA, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Dusty serves on the Subcommittee on Aviation; Highways and Transit; and Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
Select Committee on China – Dusty recognizes the 360-degree threat China poses to all American citizens, our food security, and national security. His leadership prohibiting purchases of American ag land and ag businesses by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and banning TikTok on government devices led to his appointment on the Select Committee by Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI).
Republican Main Street Caucus – As Chairman of the caucus, Dusty leads a group of 70+ pragmatic conservatives looking to pass commonsense solutions in Congress. Main Street is dedicated to getting things done and is active in organizing support for bills.
Prior to being elected to Congress, Dusty served as vice president for Vantage Point Solutions, a South Dakota-based engineering and consulting firm specializing in rural telecommunications. Vantage Point has more than 200 employees and helps rural providers design, build, and operate broadband systems in 40 states. Dusty is an expert in state and national telecommunications policy, especially Federal Communications Commission reform efforts and the transformation of the Universal Service Fund.
In 2004, Dusty was elected statewide to the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission. He worked with his colleagues to maintain a fair and reasonable regulatory environment, facilitating the investment of hundreds of millions of dollars into rural energy and telecommunications infrastructure. In 2010, Governor Dennis Daugaard asked Dusty to serve as chief of staff, the chief operating officer for much of state government. In that role, Dusty oversaw many of the Governor’s top projects and initiatives, especially those related to infrastructure and public safety.
Dusty grew up in a large working-class family in central South Dakota. He has degrees from the University of South Dakota and the University of Kansas. Dusty has been an active community volunteer, having served as a Sunday School teacher, adjunct faculty member at Dakota Wesleyan University, and president and board member of Abbott House, an agency serving abused and neglected children. He lives in Mitchell with his wife and three sons. As a family, they enjoy hiking, camping, hunting, and reading.
Representative Seth Moulton
Seth Moulton is a father, a husband, and a veteran who represents a new generation of Democratic leaders in Washington.
Inspired to public service by his most important mentor in life, the great Black Minister Reverend Peter Gomes, he joined the Marines in 2001, days after his college graduation and a few months before the attacks on 9/11. Leading a frontline infantry platoon in the first Marine company to enter Baghdad, he later worked to establish a free and independent Iraqi media, and served as a liaison to senior Iraqi military and political leaders for General Petraeus. While he was an outspoken critic of the Iraq War, he proudly served four tours, sharing the view of many of our servicemembers that he didn’t want anyone to go in his place.
After returning home from Iraq, Seth used the G.I. Bill to earn joint degrees in business and public administration, and then became the managing director of Texas Central, where he worked to build America’s first high-speed rail line. But it wasn’t long before he was called to serve once again, this time in his home district in Massachusetts.
Seth challenged the establishment with a platform of bringing a new generation of leadership to Washington, fighting for progressive values while reaching across the aisle to get things done.
Named the Most Effective Freshman Democrat in his first term, Seth has consistently delivered results in a divided Washington. No House or Senate office has won more Democracy Awards from the Congressional Management Foundation than his team. He earned one in 2018 for Transparency, a second in 2020 for having the best constituent services in all of Congress, and a third in 2022 for Achievement in Innovation and Modernization.
His legislation created the 988 National Suicide Lifeline , which is now live in all fifty states. Seth has delivered Faster Care for Veterans , modernized Government Travel , and delivered on ALS Disability Insurance . His American High-Speed Rail Act is the most ambitious and forward-thinking infrastructure package before Congress today, and his G.I. Bill Restoration Act would finally restore long-denied benefits to Black veterans of World War II.
Today, Seth sits on three committees. He is a member of the House Armed Services Committee where he serves as Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. At the beginning of the 118th Congress, he was selected by party leadership to sit on the new Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the U.S. and China, which was created to shape a diplomatic, economic, and military strategy toward the Chinese Communist Party that preserves American leadership and avoids war.
As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Seth is the Congressional leader on high-speed rail and other next-generation infrastructure.
Back home in Massachusetts, Seth works tirelessly to support local small businesses and veterans, advance civil rights, and grow the economy. He created a model intergovernmental task force that has spurred over $1 billion in federal economic development funding for the city of Lynn, and he forged a unique partnership between fishermen and scientists to ensure the long-term sustainability of fish stocks and the local fishing economy.
Most importantly, Seth is the proud father of two girls, Emmy and Caroline. His amazing wife Liz is a sports industry executive, and they live in Salem, Massachusetts.
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Source: American Institute in Taiwan (AIT)
Author: N/A
Format: Press Release
China Policy Research 