Secure Equipment Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana, my good friend, the whip of the Republican Party here in the House, for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3919, the Secure Equipment Act of 2021, which was introduced by Representatives Scalise and Eshoo.

This bill takes an important step to strengthen the security of our communications network from bad actors like Huawei. The Communist Chinese Party and its allies have been working for years to find ways to access American networks and enter our markets. Our national security agencies agree that Huawei and other untrusted vendors pose an unacceptable risk to our national security. Today, we are sending another strong signal that America will hold China accountable.

Last Congress, we passed the Secure and Trusted Communications Act into law, which took a great first step to secure our networks by prohibiting Federal funds to be used to purchase untrusted equipment and services, still allowing untrusted vendors to enter our market if purchased by private dollars.

H.R. 3919 would strengthen our national security and close this loophole by prohibiting the FCC from licensing any communication equipment by an entity on the Commission's covered list, regardless of whether it was bought using public dollars.

It is critical that we work to stay one step ahead of our adversaries, and this bill would advance our security as 5G is deployed across the country.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

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