118 HR 8631 IH: Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act of 2024 U.S. House of Representatives 2024-06-05 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I118th CONGRESS2d SessionH. R. 8631IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJune 5, 2024Mr. Gimenez (for himself, Mr. Green of Tennessee, Mr. Moolenaar, and Mr. Pfluger) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland SecurityA BILLTo prohibit the Secretary of Homeland Security from procuring certain foreign-made batteries, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act of 2024.

2.

Prohibition on availability of funds for procurement of certain batteries

(a)

In general

Beginning on October 1, 2027, none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available for the Department of Homeland Security may be obligated to procure a battery produced by an entity specified in subsection (b).(b)

Entities specified

The entities specified in this subsection are the following:(1)Contemporary Amperex Technology Company, Limited (also known as CATL).(2)BYD Company, Limited.(3)Envision Energy, Limited.(4)EVE Energy Company, Limited.(5)Gotion High tech Company, Limited.(6)Hithium Energy Storage Technology company, Limited.(7)Any successor to an entity specified in paragraphs (1) through (6).(c)

Treatment of production

For purposes of this section, a battery shall be treated as produced by an entity specified in subsection (b) if such entity—(1)assembles or manufactures the final product that uses such battery; or(2)creates or otherwise provides a majority of the components used in such battery.(d)

Waivers

(1)

Relating to assessment

The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the limitation under subsection (a) if the Secretary assesses in the affirmative all of the following:(A)The batteries to be procured do not pose a national security, data, or infrastructure risk to the United States.(B)The entity that produced such batteries does not satisfy the criteria for listing under—(i)section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (10 U.S.C. 113 note); or(ii)Public Law 117–78 (commonly referred to as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act).(C)There is no available alternative to procure batteries that are—(i)of similar or better cost and quality; and(ii)produced by an entity not specified in subsection (b).(2)

Relating to research

The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the limitation under subsection (a) if the Secretary determines that the batteries to be procured are for the sole purpose of research, evaluation, training, testing, or analysis(3)

Congressional notification

Not later than 15 days after granting a waiver under this subsection, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a notification relating thereto.