Countering Untrusted Telecommunications Abroad Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1149) to establish certain reporting and other requirements relating to telecommunications equipment and services produced or provided by certain entities, and for other purposes, as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 1149

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Countering Untrusted Telecommunications Abroad Act''. SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that--

(1) the national security of the United States is affected by the telecommunications security of United States allies, partners, and other countries around the globe;

(2) the importance of mobile and internet services makes such services tempting and effective tools for malign influence and economic coercion;

(3) Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corporation (and any subsidiary or affiliate of either such entity) should not serve as a vendor of telecommunications equipment or services given the close ties to, and control over, such entities by the People's Republic of China; and

(4) it is in the economic and national security interests of the United States to ensure that countries around the globe use trusted telecommunications equipment or services. SEC. 3. REPORT ON UNTRUSTED TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES IN COUNTRIES WITH COLLECTIVE DEFENSE AGREEMENT WITH UNITED STATES.

(a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for two years, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, shall submit to the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Foreign Relations and Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the prevalence of untrusted telecommunications equipment or services in the networks of United States allies and partners.

(b) Matters.--The report under subsection (a) shall enumerate each United States ally or partner with respect to which the United States has entered into a collective defense agreement and include, for each such country, the following:

(1) A description of the presence, or lack thereof, of untrusted telecommunications equipment or services in any 5G network of the country.

(2) If any untrusted telecommunications equipment or service is present in such a network--

(A) an enumeration of any mobile carriers that are using the untrusted telecommunications equipment or service present, and any mobile carriers that are not;

(B) a determination of whether the untrusted telecommunications equipment or service present is in the core or periphery of the network; and

(C) any plans by the United States ally or partner, or the individual mobile carrier, to rip and replace the untrusted telecommunications equipment or service present with a trusted telecommunications equipment or service.

(3) A description of any plans by network operators to use untrusted communications equipment or services in the deployment of Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) technology, or any successor to such technology, or in future 6G networks. SEC. 4. REPORT ON COVERED TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES IN UNITED STATES EMBASSIES.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:

(1) The Comptroller General of the United States has reported that 23 percent of all telecommunications device manufacturers of the Department of State have at least one supplier reported to be headquartered in the People's Republic of China or the Russian Federation.

(2) The Comptroller General has reported that four percent of all telecommunications contractors of the Department of State have at least one supplier reported to be headquartered in the People's Republic of China.

(b) Report.--

(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the heads of such other departments and agencies as the Secretary determines necessary, shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report containing an assessment of the use of covered telecommunications equipment or services in United States embassies and by United States embassy staff and personnel.

(2) Matters.--The report under paragraph (1) shall include information on the following:

(A) The status of the implementation by the Secretary of State of the prohibition under subsection (a)(1) of section 889 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232; 132 Stat. 1917; 41 U.S.C. 3901 note prec.) with respect to equipment, systems, and services used at United States embassies, including--

(i) an identification of the United States embassies with respect to which the Secretary has implemented such prohibition, and an identification of those with respect to which the Secretary has not implemented such prohibition, if any;

(ii) an identification of any difficulties that have delayed the implementation of such prohibition by the Secretary with respect to United States embassies, such as visibility into supply chains, costs of equipment replacement, and plans for timely remediation;

(iii) information on any waivers that have been granted to an entity under subsection (d) of such section 889 for equipment, systems, or services used at United States embassies, including a justification of why each waiver was granted and any other information required pursuant to paragraph (1)(B) of such subsection; and

(iv) for any entity that has sought a waiver specified in clause (iii), the implementation status of the phase-out plan of the entity submitted by the entity pursuant to subsection (d) of such section 889.

(B) Information regarding the extent to which the digital devices of United States embassy staff and personnel are serviced by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation (or any subsidiary or affiliate of either such entity), or any other entity headquartered in the People's Republic of China, and an assessment of the likelihood of the intelligence services of the People's Republic of China gaining access to the contents and data of the digital devices used by United States embassy personnel as a result of any such servicing.

(C) Any other information regarding ongoing efforts to safeguard the communications security of United States embassies.

(3) Form.--The report under paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. SEC. 5. SUPPORTING TRUSTED TELECOMMUNICATIONS.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, shall select for the provision of support under this section telecommunications infrastructure projects that have the potential, as determined by the Secretary, to promote the national security of the United States and meet such other requirements as the Secretary may prescribe.

(b) Diplomatic and Political Support.--The Secretary of State shall provide to each project selected under subsection (a), as appropriate, diplomatic and political support, including by using the diplomatic and political influence and expertise of the Department of State to build the capacity of countries to resolve any impediments to the development of the project.

(c) Early Stage Project Support.--The Director of the United States Trade and Development Agency should provide, as appropriate, early-stage project support with respect to projects selected under subsection (a). SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) Covered telecommunications equipment or service; untrusted telecommunications equipment or service.--The terms ``covered telecommunications equipment or service'' and ``untrusted telecommunications equipment or service'' have the meaning given to the term ``covered communications equipment or service'' in section 9 of the Secure and Trusted Communications Network Act of 2019 (47 U.S.C. 1608).

(2) Trusted telecommunications equipment or service.--The term ``trusted telecommunications equipment or service'' means any telecommunications equipment or service that is not a covered telecommunications equipment or service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1149, Countering Untrusted Telecommunications Abroad Act.

The Chinese Communist Party, as we all know, weaponizes every tool at its disposal, whether it is intellectual property, a balloon, or a social media app. That is why it is no surprise that CCP-controlled companies like Huawei pose risks to our national security and why it is important that we do not allow ourselves or our allies or partners to be duped by the seemingly low- cost, state-backed telecom companies like Huawei.

It might seem cheap, but the fact is the cost is much higher than many realize. You pay by allowing the CCP to control all of your telecommunications data, which, as history has shown, it can and will use against you. China has made no bones about that.

What does this bill do? It requires, number one, the State Department to conduct a risk assessment and report to Congress on the presence of any untrusted telecommunications equipment or vendors like Huawei in the networks of defense-allied countries.

Number two, it requires the Government Accountability Office to report on Chinese and Russian telecom suppliers serving U.S. embassies overseas.

Number three, finally, the bill tasks the State Department with identifying telecom infrastructure projects that would strengthen U.S. national security.

Three worthy goals.

The United States has to be a leader on this front. We need to help our allies and our partners end their dependence on problematic companies like Huawei that are in the pocket of our adversaries. It makes no sense whatsoever.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Wild) for her leadership on this issue and for working together on this important bill, which deserves our unanimous support, in my opinion.

House of Representatives, Committee on Financial Services, Washington, DC, March 14, 2023. Hon. Michael McCaul, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman McCaul: Thank you for consulting with the Committee on Financial Services regarding H.R. 1149, the Countering Untrusted Telecommunications Abroad Act. I agree that the Committee shall be discharged from further consideration of the bill so that it may proceed expeditiously to the House Floor. The Committee takes this action with the mutual understanding that, by foregoing consideration of H.R. 1149 at this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over the subject matter contained in this or similar legislation, and that the Committee will be appropriately consulted and involved on this or similar legislation as it moves forward. The Committee also reserves the right to see appointment of an appropriate number of conferees to any conference with the Senate involving this or similar legislation, and we request your support for any such request.

Finally, as you mentioned in your letter, I ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this bill be included in your Committee's report to accompany the legislation, as well as in the Congressional Record during floor consideration thereof. Sincerely, Patrick McHenry, Chairman, Committee on Financial Services. ____ House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC, March 14, 2023. Hon. Patrick McHenry, Chairman, Committee on Financial Services, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman McHenry: Thank you for consulting with the Foreign Affairs Committee and agreeing to be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1149, Countering Untrusted Telecommunications Abroad Act, so that the measure may proceed expeditiously to the House floor. The suspension text incorporates edits you have requested to portions of the bill within your committee's jurisdiction.

I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives on this measure or similar legislation in the future. I would support your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees from your committee to any House-Senate conference on this legislation.

I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 1149 into the Congressional Record during floor consideration. I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward to continuing to work together as this measure moves through the legislative process. Sincerely, Michael T. McCaul, Chairman.

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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, telecommunications and the secure transfer of electronic data are absolutely critical. I don't think I have met somebody that disagrees with that in today's world. They are critical to our national security and to our economic well-being.

We don't want to get on a website that we think is unsecure. We don't want to reply to a text that we think comes from an untrusted number.

We cannot afford the vulnerability that comes from giving control of this technology to the Chinese Communist Party or other malign actors.

H.R. 1149 will help us get a handle on those vulnerabilities, forcing the Department of State to formulate an effective response.

Again, I thank Ms. Wild for introducing this measure. I urge unanimous support for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

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