Secure Equipment Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Pallone and Ranking Member Rodgers of the full committee, as well as Ranking Member Latta and Chairman Doyle of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, for helping bring my bill, H.R. 3919, the Secure Equipment Act, to the House floor.

Madam Speaker, I also want to especially thank Congresswoman Eshoo for partnering with me on this bill. We have worked on a number of telecommunications laws, and this is yet another example of Congresswoman Eshoo and I coming together, and our staffs, to address a very important threat to American families.

Madam Speaker, my bill is about one thing, and that is stopping the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese companies that act on their behalf from compromising our telecommunications networks and stopping them from jeopardizing American national security and the important data that all Americans hold sacred.

H.R. 3919, the Secure Equipment Act, puts a full stop to China infiltrating our networks by prohibiting the FCC from issuing equipment licenses to Chinese telecommunications equipment companies that are identified as national security threats.

This legislation builds off the important work of the Energy and Commerce Committee when it came together in a bipartisan manner in 2019, as Chairman Pallone mentioned, on his critical legislation that will address the threat of China by getting the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act signed into law.

One of the requirements of that act instructed the FCC to publish a list of telecommunication equipment companies deemed to be national security threats. In fact, earlier this year, the FCC published that list of companies. As you can see, five companies ended up on that list. All of these companies are Chinese companies that are either partly or wholly owned by the Chinese Government and that have ties to the CCP.

Madam Speaker, we know all too well that the CCP wastes no time and no opportunity to expose American vulnerabilities and to try to undermine our national security. There are way too many examples of that.

Since all Chinese companies are subject to Chinese national security laws, at any point the CCP could choose to exploit these listed companies and require them to tap into their access in American networks to gain critical, sensitive data, both from individuals as well as sensitive government information.

While the 2019 law made great strides in thwarting the threat of China in our networks, U.S. carriers can still privately purchase equipment from these listed companies on the open market.

By prohibiting the FCC from issuing any equipment licenses to these companies that are listed as national security threats, our bill seeks to close the gap in existing law and slam the door on jeopardized Chinese equipment from threatening our American networks and from threatening the privacy and data of American families.

Madam Speaker, the time has never been more urgent. It is important that this body do all it can to stop the undue and malign influences of the CCP from infiltrating our data and our telecommunications network.

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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta), the ranking member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee.

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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence), my friend and also a member of the committee.

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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, the gentleman does not, and I am prepared to close.

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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I would just again join, along with my colleague, Anna Eshoo from California, in urging all Members of the House to pass the Secure Equipment Act and protect the privacy of data from Americans as well as that sensitive information that flows across networks that is also held by the government.

Let's delist and not certify companies that have already been deemed by the FCC to be national security threats. I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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