U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, hasn’t been taking a full-blown break since Congress recessed last week. He’s been near the Florida beaches, but has spent plenty of time at Eglin Air Force Base working on national security matters.
Crawford said when Congress regroups from recess, it will be facing a crucial deadline for passing appropriations bills before Oct. 1 or face a potential government shutdown.
“I think we’ll be looking at trying to get our approps bills in some form or fashion across the finish line. That’s job one, make sure that we maintain the government funding,” he said.
Seven of the 12 appropriations bills have passed out of committee, but only two have passed on the House floor. If Republicans in Congress, with their slim majorities, can’t make quick work of the budget, a continuing resolution (CR) may come into play. That’s a move that Crawford would like to avoid.
“Nobody wants to see a CR. What that would mean is essentially retaining essentially Biden-level spending and turning that over to OMB (Office of Management and Budget). And that’s not what members want to see happen. So we’re going to do everything we can to try to support the movement of those approps bills in some form or fashion,” said Crawford. “It may require some sort of fiscal gymnastics, if you will, to try and be able to pull this off. That is maybe a short term CR to allow a little more time to get the approps bills finished. But what we know is in the long term CRs are not good and we want to avoid that.”
Like most members of Congress and the general public, Crawford has been watching from afar as President Donald Trump maneuvers his tariff strategy with multiple countries. Tariff rates are varied and deadlines keep shifting. Still, Crawford supports the president’s actions as necessary in the long run.
“The reality is we’ve suffered from decades of a conventional orthodoxy as it applies to tariffs that we would never use tariffs because tariffs are bad. But every other country uses tariffs and predominantly against us. So we were bearing the brunt of tariffs that were used against the United States,” he said.
“I actually commend the president for taking the action that he’s taken, and I see this as a powerful move to help support American ag producers, American workers, American industry, and American consumers. So it’s unconventional. Yes. And I think a lot of people are afraid of that sort of unconventional approach, but the reality is I think it’s yielding some pretty positive results,” he said.
In late July, Crawford issued a statement after a House Intelligence Committee hearing warned of the need for America to become more engaged on the artificial intelligence (AI) front. He noted China is moving much faster than people realize and that not keeping up will increase national security risks. Crawford said the hearing’s experts explained “frontier labs” that may soon achieve self-improving AI, and that the U.S. must reach this threshold first to secure economic and national security dominance.
“Artificial intelligence can certainly be a game changer and we need to be on the leading edge to be competitive with countries like China who are quickly adopting AI technology to try to do everything they can to supplant the American economy to become the preeminent economic superpower in the world. It’s the only way we’re going to be able to maintain our status,” he said.
You can listen to Crawford’s full interview at this link.