Decoupling From Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1166, the Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act.

As Communist China seeks to gain influence in critical industries around the world, the United States must be at the forefront of combating and decoupling from the CCP. This includes battery technology.

As we become more and more dependent on battery technology, we need to ensure that these batteries are sourced from nonadversarial countries. As it stands, Communist China produces approximately 80 percent of the world's batteries and roughly 70 percent of the world's lithium ion batteries. This dependence puts U.S. supply chains at risk and threatens our national security.

Our government should not be spending tax dollars to procure batteries from companies that profit from slave labor or provide another avenue for the CCP to expand their surveillance apparatus here in the United States. As an agency tasked with protecting the homeland, the Department of Homeland Security should not be procuring batteries from a geopolitical adversary.

H.R. 1166, the Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act, is a critical first step in addressing this issue. Modeled after previous provisions included in the FY 2024 NDAA, my legislation builds off of these efforts and prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from procuring batteries from companies that have deep ties to the CCP and engage in human rights abuses.

H.R. 1166 helps our Nation take a step forward in advancing our efforts to decouple from the PRC and safeguard critical supply chains from exploitation.

I am proud that this bill passed out of the Committee on Homeland Security in a bipartisan manner last Congress and was passed on the House floor. I look forward to seeing it pass and becoming law in the 119th Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

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