[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 150 (Monday, September 19, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H7900-H7902]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SECURING GLOBAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT

  Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 8503) to require the development of a strategy to promote 
the use of secure telecommunications infrastructure worldwide, and for 
other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 8503

       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 ``Securing Global 
     Telecommunications Act''.

     SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress as follows:
       (1) The United States Government should promote and take 
     steps to ensure American leadership in strategic technology 
     industries, including telecommunications infrastructure and 
     other information and communications technologies.
       (2) The expansive presence of companies linked to the 
     Chinese Communist Party, such as Huawei, in global mobile 
     networks and the national security implications thereof, such 
     as the ability of the People's Republic of China to 
     exfiltrate the information flowing through those networks and 
     shut off countries' internet access, demonstrates the 
     importance of the United States remaining at the 
     technological frontier and the dire consequences of falling 
     behind.
       (3) The significant cost of countering Huawei's market 
     leadership in telecommunications infrastructure around the 
     world underscores the urgency of supporting the 
     competitiveness of United States companies in next-generation 
     information and communication technology.

[[Page H7901]]

       (4) To remain a leader at the International 
     Telecommunication Union (ITU) and preserve the ITU's 
     technical integrity, the United States must work with 
     emerging economies and developing nations to bolster global 
     telecommunications security and protect American national 
     security interests.
       (5) Multilateral cooperation with like-minded partners and 
     allies is critical to carry out the significant effort of 
     financing and promoting secure networks around the world and 
     to achieve market leadership of trusted vendors in this 
     sector.

     SEC. 3. STRATEGY FOR SECURING GLOBAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS 
                   INFRASTRUCTURE.

       (a) Strategy Required.--Not later than 90 days after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 
     shall develop and submit to the Committees on Foreign Affairs 
     of the House of Representatives and Energy and Commerce and 
     the Committees on Foreign Relations and Commerce, Science, 
     and Transportation and of the Senate a strategy, to be known 
     as the ``Strategy to Secure Global Telecommunications 
     Infrastructure'' (referred to in this Act as the 
     ``Strategy''), to promote the use of secure telecommunication 
     infrastructure in countries other than the United States.
       (b) Consultation Required.--The Secretary of State shall 
     consult with the President of the Export-Import Bank of the 
     United States, the Chief Executive Officer of the Development 
     Finance Corporation, the Administrator of the United States 
     Agency for International Development, the Director of the 
     Trade and Development Agency, the Chair of the Federal 
     Communications Commission, and the Assistant Secretary of 
     Commerce for Communications and Information, in developing 
     the Strategy, which shall consist of an approach led by the 
     Department of State using the policy tools, and informed by 
     the technical expertise, of the other Federal entities so 
     consulted to achieve the goal described in subsection (a).
       (c) Elements.--The Strategy shall also include sections on 
     each of the following:
       (1) Mobile networks, including a description of efforts by 
     countries other than the United States to--
       (A) promote trusted Open RAN technologies while protecting 
     against any security risks posed by untrusted vendors in Open 
     RAN networks;
       (B) use financing mechanisms to assist ``rip-and-replace'' 
     projects and to incentivize countries to choose trusted 
     equipment vendors;
       (C) bolster multilateral cooperation, especially with 
     developing countries and emerging economies, to promote the 
     deployment of trusted wireless networks worldwide; and
       (D) collaborate with trusted private sector companies to 
     counter Chinese market leadership in the telecom equipment 
     industry.
       (2) Data centers, including a description of efforts to--
       (A) utilize financing mechanisms to incentivize countries 
     other than the United States to choose trusted data center 
     providers; and
       (B) bolster multilateral cooperation, especially with 
     developing countries and emerging economies, to promote the 
     deployment of trusted data centers worldwide.
       (3) Sixth (and future) generation technologies (6G), 
     including a description of efforts to--
       (A) deepen cooperation with like-minded countries to 
     promote United States and allied market leadership in 6G 
     networks and technologies; and
       (B) increase buy-in from developing countries and emerging 
     countries on trusted technologies.
       (4) Low-Earth orbit satellites, aerostats, and 
     stratospheric balloons, including a description of efforts to 
     work with trusted private sector companies to retain the 
     ability to quickly provide internet connection in response to 
     emergency situations.

     SEC. 4. REPORT ON MALIGN INFLUENCE AT THE INTERNATIONAL 
                   TELECOMMUNICATION UNION.

       (a) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall develop 
     and 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 the Senate a report on Russian and Chinese 
     strategies and efforts--
       (1) to expand the mandate of the International 
     Telecommunication Union (ITU) to cover internet governance 
     policy; and
       (2) to advance other actions favorable to authoritarian 
     interests and/or hostile to fair, industry-led processes.
       (b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall 
     also identify efforts by China and Russia--
       (1) to increase the ITU's jurisdiction over internet 
     governance and to propose internet governance standards at 
     the ITU;
       (2) to leverage their private sector actors to advance 
     their national interests through the ITU, including--
       (A) encouraging Chinese and Russian companies to leverage 
     their market power to pressure other member countries to 
     deliver favorable decisions on ITU elections; and
       (B) China's efforts to leverage Huawei's role as the 
     primary telecommunications equipment and services provider 
     for many developing countries to compel such countries to 
     deliver favorable decisions on standards proposals, election 
     victories, candidate selection, and other levers of power at 
     the ITU; and
       (3) to use the influence of Chinese and Russian nationals 
     serving in the ITU to advantage the companies, standards 
     decisions, and candidates that advance the CCP and Kremlin's 
     interests.
       (c) Form.--The report required by this section shall be 
     submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified 
     annex.

     SEC. 5. REPORT ON MULTILATERAL COORDINATION.

       Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the 
     President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the 
     Administrator for the United States Agency on International 
     Development, the Chief Executive Officer of the Development 
     Finance Corporation, the Chair of the Federal Communications 
     Commission, and the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for 
     Communications and Information, shall develop and submit to 
     the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Energy and Commerce and 
     of the House of Representatives and the Committees Foreign 
     Relations and on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and of 
     the Senate a report that identifies opportunities for greater 
     collaboration with allies and partners to promote secure 
     information and communications technology infrastructure in 
     countries other than the United States, including through--
       (1) joint financing efforts to help trusted vendors win 
     bids to build out information and communications technology 
     (ICT) infrastructure;
       (2) incorporating ICT focuses into allies' and partners' 
     international development finance initiatives; and
       (3) diplomatic coordination to emphasize the importance of 
     secure telecommunications infrastructure to countries using 
     untrusted providers.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. 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. 8503.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 8503, the Securing 
Global Telecommunications Act, introduced by the gentlewoman from North 
Carolina (Ms. Manning) and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim).
  A week from today, the International Telecommunication Union, the 
U.N. organization that oversees global telecom and tech issues, will 
have a plenipotentiary for the first time in 4 years. Crucially, among 
the elections to be held during this time, there will be an election to 
decide who will lead the agency as its secretary general.
  The current secretary general is a Chinese national who has used his 
position to bolster the PRC's interests. The upcoming race to decide 
who will next lead the organization is between an American, Doreen 
Bogdan-Martin, and a Russian national, Rashid Ismailov. The Russians 
and Chinese have consistently staked out positions on internet 
governance that would make the communications sector more friendly for 
authoritarian governments such as they, governments that want to crack 
down on human rights, on freedom of speech and expression.
  This bill is an answer that stakes out a better telecommunications 
future. It calls on the administration to submit a strategy on how to 
promote American economic and security interests in critical 
technologies like 5G, Open RAN, and low-Earth orbit satellite internet.
  The bill positions the United States to lead on global 
telecommunications issues and requires the administration to increase 
reporting and transparency on Russian and PRC activities in the 
telecommunications sector. This information will help us better 
coordinate with like-minded democracies on digital and internet freedom 
and security issues.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting the bill, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
H.R. 8503, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support the Securing Global 
Telecommunications Act introduced by two of my colleagues on the 
Foreign Affairs Committee, the gentlewoman from North

[[Page H7902]]

Carolina (Ms. Manning) and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim).
  The Chinese Communist Party does not hide the fact that its end goal 
is to replace freedom and democracy with dictatorship and oppression, 
and they use advanced communications such as 5G networks to spread 
their malign influence. The CCP seeks to spread that influence further 
by dominating the international standards-setting bodies that set the 
rules of the road for emerging technologies to skew those standards and 
industries toward their interests and industries.
  This bipartisan bill seeks to bolster U.S. efforts that are already 
underway, but I think it takes it even further to promote secure 
telecommunications infrastructure around the world.
  It will require, for example, that the U.S. Department of State 
submit a report on Chinese and Russian efforts to advance their 
interests at international standards-setting bodies, as my colleague 
from New Jersey just pointed out, like the International 
Telecommunication Union, or ITU, and to identify opportunities for 
multilateral collaboration to promote secure telecom providers.
  Lastly, it codifies the International Digital Economy and 
Telecommunication Advisory Committee, which the State Department 
created to provide expert advice to the Bureau of Cyberspace and 
Digital Policy on ICT policy matters.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a good bill and deserves the support of Members on 
both sides. I urge its support, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from North Carolina (Ms. Manning).
  Ms. MANNING. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Representative 
Malinowski, for yielding. I thank Chairman Meeks for his leadership in 
advancing this legislation to the floor, and the gentlewoman from 
California (Mrs. Kim), my friend, for partnering with me on this 
important bill.
  I rise today in support of my Securing Global Telecommunications Act, 
a bipartisan bill I introduced to help combat China's attempts to 
dominate the next generation of critical technology.
  Mr. Speaker, many of the products we use every day are connected to 
telecommunications networks, and they rely on a nearly invisible set of 
internationally agreed-upon standards.
  Our strategic competitors, Russia and China, want to gain an unfair 
advantage over these critical areas. They are determined to set the 
rules of the road for the next generation of critical technologies like 
5G and AI. They are relentless in their efforts to provide their own 
companies, like Huawei and ZTE, with an unfair advantage while shutting 
out all competitors.
  This effort is not just about helping their businesses win. This is 
about controlling a key strategic domain, which poses serious risks and 
consequences for the U.S. and global security. That is because the PRC 
has demonstrated its willingness to abuse technology to steal data, 
conduct surveillance, and invade privacy, all to further its 
geopolitical agenda and bolster its model of a closed, authoritarian 
system of governance.

                              {time}  1515

  The United States and our allies must work together to counter this 
threat. We need to develop and deploy more secure and better trusted 
tech and telecommunications infrastructure.
  My bipartisan bill will help do just that.
  First, the bill will require a comprehensive strategy for securing 
global telecommunications infrastructure worldwide, incorporating 
mobile networks, data centers, and emerging technologies like LEO 
satellites and 6G.
  We can't afford to be complacent about this challenge. We must have a 
cohesive strategy to address this issue.
  This bill will also help crack down on Russia's and China's malign 
influence at the International Telecommunication Union, or ITU--a 
little-known but incredibly important U.N. organization that could 
determine the standards behind the future of the digital world. It is 
vital that America and allied countries are in the room at the table 
and leading the charge to set next-generation technology standards.
  Finally, the bill would encourage the U.S. to work closely with our 
allies and partners to promote and finance secure networks and trusted 
vendors, without having to rely on Chinese state-owned companies that 
threaten our security.
  Taken together, these important measures will help us shore up key 
gaps and vulnerabilities, while countering China's strategic technology 
ambitions.
  Mr. Speaker, our adversaries hope and believe that they can achieve 
undue influence and dominance over international telecom infrastructure 
and technical standards.
  This bill is a step toward stopping their unfettered aggression in an 
area that is of vital strategic importance.
  It will help preserve our global leadership in tech and telecom, keep 
our companies competitive, and protect the safety and integrity of the 
networks we rely on every day.
  Once again, I thank Chairman Meeks for his leadership in this area. I 
urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.
  Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 8503, the Securing Global 
Telecommunications Act, is important legislation that will position our 
country to be a leader in the world's telecommunications future. It 
will ensure that the U.S. Government is taking steps to shore up and 
protect our digital infrastructure at home and help us better 
coordinate with like-minded democracies as we work to thwart Russia and 
the PRC's malign efforts to crack down on dissent and freedom of 
expression.
  I again thank my colleagues, Representatives Manning and Kim for 
introducing this legislation. I hope my colleagues will join me in 
supporting this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, 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. Malinowski) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 8503, 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. ROSENDALE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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