[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 130 (Wednesday, August 1, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5574-S5575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, a short while ago the Senate passed the 
final version of the National Defense Authorization Act. Here is why I 
opposed that legislation: It is a national security bill that weakens 
our national security. This afternoon I want to discuss why.
  The Chinese tech company ZTE was revealed not long ago to be a serial 
sanctions violator. They violated U.S. sanctions against Iran and North 
Korea, knowingly selling American technology to those countries. For 
their violations, the Commerce Department dropped the hammer and hit 
them with crippling penalties, including a fine of $1.2 billion.
  That is until Donald Trump stepped in to save ZTE.
  With a speed and a focus this administration seems incapable of 
bringing to any other issue, the President ordered his team to spring 
into action to rescue ZTE. He fired off tweets. He made the eyebrow-
raising comment that it was a problem that U.S. sanctions were hurting 
jobs in China. His Treasury Secretary virtually apologized for the U.S. 
having taken action against a serial sanctions violator. This all comes 
from an administration putting on a show--constantly tough talking--and 
from a President pretending that he puts America first. He sure didn't 
in this case.
  Now there are a few sides of this issue for everybody at home to 
remember--the national security aspect, as well as the trade and 
economic aspect.
  First, I sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and a few months 
ago, the committee held an open hearing with Bill Evanina, the Director 
of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. He is the 
point-man for the Trump administration when it comes to questions of 
counterespionage and counterterror. In response to my question, he told 
me that ZTE poses a national security risk to the United States.
  That was not some outside individual providing testimony. He is not a 
hearing witness chosen by Democrats. Again, that is the person who has 
led the National Counterintelligence and Security Center since 2014. He 
says ZTE poses a threat to America, but his boss, the President of the 
United States, let ZTE off the hook.
  Here is the second issue: the Trump administration loves to tout what 
it calls new trade deals, but as far as I can tell, just about the only 
deal they have cooked up with any teeth, the only one that is actually 
finished, is this ZTE deal that saved jobs--in China.
  Colleagues, the President and I don't agree on much, but one of his 
favorite talking points that I do agree with is that our country has to 
do a lot more to stop China from stealing our technology and our jobs, 
but when you look at this ZTE case, he seems to be giving away our jobs 
and our security.
  It is an absolute head-scratcher to me and to a whole lot of other 
people including Senators on both sides of the aisle. It raised the 
question are the President's decisions being guided by something else, 
something other than American interests? That is because the ZTE deal 
came right after the Trump family secured valuable trademarks in China 
and a Trump project in

[[Page S5575]]

Indonesia got a $500 million loan from a Chinese state-owned company.
  So a bipartisan group of Senators, myself included, said let's figure 
out a way to reinstate the penalties against ZTE as a part of the 
annual defense authorization bill, but when it came time to hammer out 
the differences between the Senate's bill and the House's bill, 
Republicans watered down the ZTE penalties. Republicans in both 
Chambers caved to the White House and handed a big gift to China at the 
expense of American jobs and national security.
  In my view, it is inexcusable that the plan put together by Senators 
on both sides--a plan that would have protected our security and 
punished a serial violator of U.S. sanctions--was stripped out of this 
bill. The weaker House proposal that took its place doesn't go nearly 
far enough to fight the espionage threat that the Trump 
administration's own counterintelligence nominee testified to.
  Bottom line, Trump's ZTE deal is bad for American security and 
American jobs. The House got it wrong with their weaker legislation. 
The Senate was under no obligation to accept their watered-down bill. 
That is why I voted no, and that is why members who voted for this 
proposal cannot claim innocence when it comes to letting ZTE off the 
hook for its violations of our sanctions.

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