New York City, NY – Today, U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) delivered remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations laying out her vision for American national security and foreign policy, one that is keyed to the priorities of the middle-class. Slotkin’s vision was informed by conducting national security town halls in Michigan.
Slotkin identifies major and emerging threats and calls for protecting critical American supply chains through a real industrial policy, creating a Sovereign Wealth Fund, creating Cyber National Guard to protect Americans, and discusses the urgency of winning the AI Race against China with a Manhattan Project-style approach.
WATCH THE SPEECH HERE.
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Key Excerpts:
- A national security strategy worth its salt must do two things. First, protect U.S. citizens, the homeland, and our way of life. And second, advance American prosperity. That’s it.
- So when I decided to give this speech, I wanted to do something most national security folks wouldn’t think was important: reach out to regular Michiganders and get their thoughts on the subject… I held town halls on national security in Benton Harbor and Troy, Michigan… Here’s what I heard: First and foremost, economic stress is impacting every aspect of their lives.
- Some folks brought up President Trump’s approach of burning everything down. For most, the jury is still out. And there’s a message in that ambivalence: Many Americans have lost confidence that we know what we’re doing abroad. And they have good reason to feel uneasy.
- So, informed by them, I’m going to focus on the three big things that, if we get right, will define American security for the next 50 years.
- First, we need to treat economic security as national security—and be ruthless about growing the middle class.
- Second, we need to win the Tech Race, just like we won the nuclear and space races. This is especially true for AI.
- Third, we need to fundamentally rethink how we protect Americans—since they are now on the frontlines.
- We must ensure that the dollar remains the world’s currency… Dollar dominance means lower interest rates for things like mortgages and car loans, more valuable 401Ks, cheaper imports, and lower inflation.
- That also means leading on the money of the future. Just as countries like Kenya are skipping traditional banking and going right to mobile money, we want the digital currencies of tomorrow to be keyed to the dollar.
- We need to treat our critical supply chains as national security assets. While some items, like Rubik’s Cubes and ladies’ razors, will never again be made in the U.S., critical items like pharmaceuticals, chips, and autos should be made, at least in part, in the U.S. China has weaponized these supply chains, giving them a veto on our economy that we should not accept.
- We therefore need real industrial policy that strengthens American industries and offers taxpayers a return on their investment.
- We need to stand up a proper Sovereign Wealth Fund to invest in technologies that usually scare off investors.
- …we need a Rare Earth Reserve to stockpile critical minerals, just as we set up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the 70’s after the oil crisis.
- By the way, as someone from Michigan, let me just say that smart industrial policy also means prosperity for the middle class. New manufacturing, engineering, and construction jobs. And critically, it means spreading the wealth across America, not just enriching 18 tech executives in Silicon Valley.
- What if, in addition to military alliances, we had a Lithium Alliance? Or a Chip Alliance? One can imagine a NATO-like body where countries agree to shared export controls, tech, and protection against Chinese coercion.
- We are in a Tech Race with China right now… And there’s no area more important to win than on artificial intelligence.
- The last time we were in a race like this, we won by setting up the Manhattan Project… We need the same level of ambition now, updated for the modern age. If Congress were healthy, we’d be setting this up now.
- Finally; In this new era of economic and tech warfare, it’s our citizens who are now serving on the frontlines. And they’re under attack… We need to train a Cyber National Guard that deploys to help prevent or respond to attacks.
- To sum up: We need economic security to be a national security priority. We need to get our ass in gear on the tech arms race, particularly on AI.
- This will require a fundamental re-organization of the way we do our national security work.
- The good news is that we have a moment of rare opportunity here. Trump is indeed burning everything down. But instead of snapping back to the old way of doing things, we have to build something new out of the ashes.