[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 183 (Tuesday, October 19, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H5659-H5661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1715
         INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY ACT

  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4028) to require the Secretary of Commerce to report on and 
develop a whole-of-Government strategy with respect to the economic 
competitiveness of the information and communication technology supply 
chain, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4028

       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 ``Information and 
     Communication Technology Strategy Act''.

     SEC. 2. ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS OF INFORMATION AND 
                   COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY SUPPLY CHAIN.

       (a) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
     Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation of the Senate a report on the information and 
     communication technology supply chain that--
       (1) identifies--
       (A) information and communication technology critical to 
     the economic competitiveness of the United States; and
       (B) the industrial capacity of--
       (i) United States vendors that produce information and 
     communication technology identified under subparagraph (A); 
     and
       (ii) trusted information and communication technology 
     vendors that produce information and communication technology 
     identified under subparagraph (A);
       (2) assesses the economic competitiveness of vendors 
     described under paragraph (1)(B);
       (3) assesses whether, and to what extent, there is a 
     dependence by providers of advanced telecommunications 
     capability in the United States on information and 
     communication technology identified under paragraph (1)(A) 
     that is not trusted;
       (4) identifies--
       (A) what actions by the Federal Government are needed to 
     support, and bolster the economic competitiveness of, trusted 
     information and communication technology vendors; and
       (B) what Federal resources are needed to reduce dependence 
     by providers of advanced telecommunications capability in the 
     United States on companies that--
       (i) produce information and communication technology; and
       (ii) are not trusted; and
       (5) defines lines of effort and assigns responsibilities 
     for a whole-of-Government response to ensuring the 
     competitiveness of the information and communication 
     technology supply chain in the United States.
       (b) Whole-of-Government Strategy.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary shall develop, on the basis 
     of the report required by subsection (a), a whole-of-
     Government strategy to ensure the economic competitiveness of 
     trusted information and communication technology vendors that 
     includes--
       (A) recommendations on how--
       (i) to strengthen the structure, resources, and authorities 
     of the Federal Government to support the economic 
     competitiveness of trusted information and communication 
     technology vendors, including United States vendors that are 
     trusted information and communication technology vendors; and
       (ii) the Federal Government can address any barriers to a 
     market-based solution for increasing the economic 
     competitiveness of such information and communication 
     technology vendors;
       (B) defined lines of effort and responsibilities for 
     Federal agencies to implement the strategy; and
       (C) a description of--
       (i) any change to a Federal program, Federal law, or 
     structure of the Federal Government necessary to implement 
     any recommendation under subparagraph (A); and
       (ii) any additional Federal resource necessary to implement 
     any recommendation under subparagraph (A).
       (2) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the submission 
     of the report required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
     submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 
     of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
     and Transportation of the Senate a report containing the 
     strategy developed under paragraph (1).
       (c) Consultation Required.--In carrying out subsections (a) 
     and (b), the Secretary shall consult with--
       (1) a cross-section of trusted information and 
     communication technology vendors; and
       (2) the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland 
     Security, the Attorney General, the Director of National 
     Intelligence, the Chair of the Federal Communications 
     Commission and any other head of an agency the Secretary 
     determines necessary.
       (d) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Advanced telecommunications capability.--The term 
     ``advanced telecommunications capability'' has the meaning 
     given that term in section 706 of the Telecommunications Act 
     of 1996 (47 U.S.C. 1302).
       (2) Information and communication technology supply 
     chain.--The term ``information and communication technology 
     supply chain'' means all of the companies that produce 
     information and communication technology.
       (3) Information and communication technology.--The term 
     ``information and communication technology'' means a 
     technology (including software), component, or material that 
     enables communications by radio or wire.
       (4) Not trusted.--The term ``not trusted'' means, with 
     respect to a company or information and communication 
     technology, that the company or information and communication 
     technology is determined by the Secretary to pose an 
     unacceptable risk to national security of the United States, 
     or the security and safety of the United States persons based 
     solely on one

[[Page H5660]]

     or more determination described under paragraphs (1) through 
     (4) of section 2(c) of the Secure and Trusted Communications 
     Networks Act of 2019 (Public Law 116-124).
       (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Commerce, acting through the Assistant Secretary of 
     Commerce for Communications and Information.
       (6) Trusted.--The term ``trusted'' means, with respect to a 
     company, that the Secretary has not determined that the 
     company is not trusted.
       (7) Trusted information and communication technology 
     vendor.--The term ``trusted information and communication 
     technology vendor'' means a company--
       (A) that produces information and communication technology; 
     and
       (B) that is trusted.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 4028.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4028, the Information and 
Communication Technology Strategy Act.
  This bill would help ensure the United States remains a global 
economic power by providing Congress with valuable insights on the 
information and communication technology supply chain and a strategic 
roadmap for the entire Federal Government to strengthen the 
competitiveness of trusted information and communication technology 
vendors.
  The bill accomplishes these important objectives by requiring the 
Secretary of Commerce to report to Congress on the technology most 
critical to ensuring the continued economic success of the United 
States. It is also supposed to examine the ability and capacity of 
American manufacturers and other trusted vendors to produce this 
technology.
  The report will be completed through the Department's National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration. It will also 
identify how many of our country's communications providers depend upon 
untrusted vendors of this technology, and then it will outline actions 
the Federal Government can take to increase the support of trusted 
vendors and eliminate the support of untrusted vendors.
  Finally, the legislation calls for the Secretary of Commerce to 
develop a whole-of-government strategy, along with recommendations 
based on the report. The strategy is meant to enhance the economic 
growth of trusted information and communication technology vendors, 
both in the United States and abroad.
  Madam Speaker, the bill requires that the Secretary of Commerce 
consult with a wide variety of trusted information and communication 
technology vendors. It also requires the Secretary to consult with the 
heads of several government agencies, including the Secretary of State, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, the Director 
of National Intelligence, and the Chair of the FCC.
  By enhancing the global supply chain for trusted information and 
communication technology vendors, this bill would help strengthen the 
American economy and protect our country from nontrusted parties 
seeking to disrupt America's competitiveness in the information and 
communication technology industry.
  Madam Speaker, I want to commend Representatives Spanberger, 
McNerney, Long, and Carter for their bipartisan efforts on this 
legislation. I hope we can come together to move the bill forward. I 
urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4028, the Information 
and Communication Technology Strategy Act, which was introduced by 
Representatives Long, Carter, Spanberger, and McNerney.
  For decades, U.S. companies and their trusted partners have been at 
the forefront of wireless technology innovation. We led the world in 
developing 4G, and we are now in the process of deploying and refining 
5G technology. While this work continues, we must ensure supply chain 
security is at the forefront.
  China and other adversaries have made a concerted effort to dominate 
critical components of the communication supply chain. We have already 
seen how bad actors like China are trying to seed their equipment 
across the globe, create technological dependencies, and steal 
sensitive data to advance their own interests.
  This bill, H.R. 4028, would direct the National Telecommunications 
and Information Administration, NTIA, to study the economic 
competitiveness of trusted information and communications technology 
vendors. NTIA would be charged with leading a whole-of-government 
strategy to ensure the economic competitiveness of trusted vendors and 
prevent us from being dependent on companies controlled by the Chinese 
Communist Party.
  Only with a comprehensive understanding of the problems we face, 
along with the strategy to address these problems, will we be able to 
secure our networks and ensure continued U.S. leadership.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Long), the sponsor of this legislation.
  Mr. LONG. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4028, 
the Information and Communication Technology Strategy Act.
  Currently, far too many U.S.-based information and communications 
vendors rely on technology from foreign sources. The Information and 
Communication Technology Strategy Act will require the Department of 
Commerce to assess the dependence of information and communications 
vendors on foreign technologies and create a whole-of-government 
strategy that will bolster the economic competitiveness of U.S. 
information and communications vendors and reduce their reliance on 
foreign resources.
  With all the supply chain disruptions we have seen this past year, it 
is important to know how our domestic production of this crucial 
equipment can be strengthened in the future.
  If passed, this piece of legislation brings us one step closer to 
making sure our Nation's information technology supply chains are 
secure and free from dependence on foreign countries, such as China.

  We need to continue to work in a bipartisan manner to ensure that the 
whole-of-government strategy that is created through this legislation 
is properly implemented. I look forward to working with my colleagues 
in the Senate to ensure this legislation becomes law.
  I thank all of my friends across the aisle for helping us get to this 
point, and I look forward to getting this bill across the finish line.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Carter).
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4028. This is 
legislation that I was proud to originally cosponsor with my good 
friend, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Long).
  Madam Speaker, my colleagues on this side of the aisle are leading to 
secure our communications technology and supply chains with proposals 
like this, which would create a whole-of-government strategy. We need 
to make sure information technology supply chains are secure, and we 
need to know how dependent U.S. information and communications 
technology companies are on foreign countries like China.
  To accomplish this goal, we must secure our communications supply 
chain by enhancing communication between the government and private 
sector on cybersecurity literacy and educating the public on cyber 
hygiene practices.

[[Page H5661]]

  We know that investment in innovation and preparation for the 
security challenges of tomorrow's technologies are critical. Our Nation 
has, unfortunately, seen firsthand the disruption caused by attacks on 
American supply chains, critical infrastructure, and government 
computer systems in recent years.
  That is why H.R. 4028 is so important. This legislation would direct 
the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to not 
just conduct a study but would require it to come up with a real 
solution to securing this critical supply chain.
  This legislation would not only identify the risk but also develop a 
strategy to secure supply chains for information and communications 
technology. We must take our communications and technology supply chain 
seriously, and this legislation would do just that.
  Madam Speaker, I urge swift passage of H.R. 4028.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I ask if the gentleman is prepared to 
close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LATTA. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close.
  As we have heard from our speakers today, it is absolutely essential 
that the United States leads when we are talking about 
telecommunication services and the supply chain because it is 
absolutely essential for national security.
  I urge passage of the legislation in the House, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, again, this is part of our effort to 
enhance economic growth with regard to trusted communications vendors 
both here and abroad. I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4028, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the 
yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

                          ____________________