Castro Introduces Bill to Understand 'Allies' and 'Adversaries'

Texas Representative Joaquin Castro (D) recently co-introduced the Open Translation Center Act. The bipartisan bill would fund a “research center that will be charged with creating publicly-accessible translations of open-source materials (including speeches from government officials, official proclamations, and other documents) from China, Russia, and other nations of strategic interest to the United States.”

The bill would translate documents from the nations of strategic interest; provide explanations of the translated material; make some of the material public; and train analysts to work in the field.

“The United States can’t afford to be in a position where our competitors know more about us than we know about them. For generations, Congress supported open-source translation programs that helped Americans understand both our allies and our adversaries,” said Rep. Castro, senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Castro continued, “As our investment in those programs have declined, countries like China and Russia have accelerated their own – putting us at a strategic disadvantage. The Open Translation Center will be an invaluable resource for American journalists, academics, and policymakers and will promote a 21st-century understanding of the global challenges and opportunities that we face.”

“Our adversaries, namely the Chinese Communist Party, continue to grow increasingly aggressive across the world-stage. This poses a serious threat to American national security and in order to understand and combat these threats, it is imperative to be able to read and understand our adversaries’ primary sources,” said Wisconsin Congressman Mike Gallagher (R), chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

“Establishing an Open Translation and Analysis Center is an important, bipartisan step we can take in Congress to better understand and better defend the free world,” said Sen. Gallagher.

“To better understand threats from countries like China and Russia, compete on the world stage, and keep our families safe, we need accurate, up-to-date information about our competitors and adversaries. And that starts with reading, translating, and understanding exactly what they are writing and saying,” said Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin (D). “I am proud to join with my Republican and Democratic colleagues on this effort to increase transparency, strengthen our national security, and keep families and our economy safe.”