[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 151 (Tuesday, September 20, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H7990-H7992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COUNTERING UNTRUSTED TELECOMMUNICATIONS ABROAD ACT
H.R. 8520
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 ``Countering Untrusted
Telecommunications Abroad Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the national security of the United States is affected
by the telecommunications security of United States allies,
partners, and other countries around the globe;
(2) the importance of mobile and internet services makes
such services tempting and effective tools for malign
influence and economic coercion;
(3) Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corporation (and
any subsidiary or affiliate of either such entity) should not
serve as a vendor of telecommunications equipment or services
given the close ties to, and control over, such entities by
the People's Republic of China; and
(4) it is in the economic and national security interests
of the United States to ensure that countries around the
globe use trusted telecommunications equipment or services.
SEC. 3. REPORT ON UNTRUSTED TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT OR
SERVICES IN COUNTRIES WITH COLLECTIVE DEFENSE
AGREEMENT WITH UNITED STATES.
(a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for two years,
the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Assistant
Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information,
shall 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 of the Senate a report on the prevalence of
untrusted telecommunications equipment or services in the
networks of United States allies and partners.
(b) Matters.--The report under subsection (a) shall
enumerate each United States ally or partner with respect to
which the United States has entered into a collective defense
agreement and include, for each such country, the following:
(1) A description of the presence, or lack thereof, of
untrusted telecommunications equipment or services in any 5G
network of the country.
(2) If any untrusted telecommunications equipment or
service is present in such a network--
(A) an enumeration of any mobile carriers that are using
the untrusted telecommunications equipment or service
present, and any mobile carriers that are not;
(B) a determination of whether the untrusted
telecommunications equipment or service present is in the
core or periphery of the network; and
(C) any plans by the United States ally or partner, or the
individual mobile carrier, to rip and replace the untrusted
telecommunications equipment or service present with a
trusted telecommunications equipment or service.
(3) A description of any plans by network operators to use
untrusted communications equipment or services in the
deployment of Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN)
technology, or any successor to such technology, or in future
6G networks.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON COVERED TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT OR
SERVICES IN UNITED STATES EMBASSIES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Comptroller General of the United States has
reported that 23 percent of all telecommunications device
manufacturers of the Department of State have at least one
supplier reported to be headquartered in the People's
Republic of China or the Russian Federation.
(2) The Comptroller General has reported that four percent
of all telecommunications contractors of the Department of
State have at least one supplier reported to be headquartered
in the People's Republic of China.
(b) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in
consultation with the heads of such other departments and
agencies as the Secretary determines necessary, shall submit
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate a report containing an assessment of the use of
covered telecommunications equipment or services in United
States embassies and by United States embassy staff and
personnel.
(2) Matters.--The report under paragraph (1) shall include
information on the following:
(A) The status of the implementation by the Secretary of
State of the prohibition under subsection (a)(1) of section
889 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232; 132 Stat. 1917; 41
U.S.C. 3901 note prec.) with respect to equipment, systems,
and services used at United States embassies, including--
(i) an identification of the United States embassies with
respect to which the Secretary has implemented such
prohibition, and an identification of those with respect to
which the Secretary has not implemented such prohibition, if
any;
(ii) an identification of any difficulties that have
delayed the implementation of such prohibition by the
Secretary with respect to United States embassies, such as
visibility into supply chains, costs of equipment
replacement, and plans for timely remediation;
(iii) information on any waivers that have been granted to
an entity under subsection (d) of such section 889 for
equipment, systems, or services used at United States
embassies, including a justification of why each waiver was
granted and any other information required pursuant to
paragraph (1)(B) of such subsection; and
(iv) for any entity that has sought a waiver specified in
clause (iii), the implementation status of the phase-out plan
of the entity submitted by the entity pursuant to subsection
(d) of such section 889.
(B) Information regarding the extent to which the digital
devices of United States embassy staff and personnel are
serviced by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation
(or any subsidiary or affiliate of either such entity), or
any other entity headquartered in the People's Republic of
China, and an assessment of the likelihood of the
intelligence services of the People's Republic of China
gaining access to the contents and data of the digital
devices used by United States embassy personnel as a result
of any such servicing.
(C) Any other information regarding ongoing efforts to
safeguard the communications security of United States
embassies.
(3) Form.--The report under paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified
annex.
SEC. 5. SUPPORTING TRUSTED TELECOMMUNICATIONS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of State, in consultation
with the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications
and Information, shall select for the provision of support
under this section telecommunications infrastructure projects
that have the potential, as determined by the Secretary, to
promote the national security of the United States and meet
such other requirements as the Secretary may prescribe.
(b) Diplomatic and Political Support.--The Secretary of
State shall provide to each project selected under subsection
(a), as appropriate, diplomatic and political support,
including by using the diplomatic and political influence and
expertise of the Department of State to build the capacity of
countries to resolve any impediments to the development of
the project.
(c) Early Stage Project Support.--The Director of the
United States Trade and Development Agency should provide, as
appropriate, early-stage project support with respect to
projects selected under subsection (a).
SEC. 6. DISCLOSURE AND TRANSPARENCY OF UNTRUSTED
COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT.
(a) In General.--Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m) is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
``(s) Disclosure of Certain Activities Related to Untrusted
Telecommunications Equipment.--
[[Page H7991]]
``(1) In general.--Each issuer required to file an annual
or quarterly report under subsection (a) shall disclose in
that report the information required in paragraph (2) if,
during the period covered by the report, the issuer or any
affiliate of the issuer used or contracted to use covered
telecommunications equipment or services.
``(2) Information required.--If an issuer or affiliate of
the issuer has engaged in an activity described in paragraph
(1), the issuer shall disclose such activity, including a
detailed description of--
``(A) whether the covered telecommunications equipment or
services are being used in a mobile network run by the
issuer, and whether those equipment or services were used in
the core or periphery of the network;
``(B) whether the covered telecommunications equipment or
services were used for cloud computing or data storage;
``(C) whether any covered telecommunications equipment or
services were replaced with other vendors; and
``(D) whether the issuer is currently engaging in
negotiations or planning to contract to use additional
covered telecommunications equipment or services.
``(3) Notice of disclosures.--If an issuer reports under
paragraph (1) that the issuer or an affiliate of the issuer
has knowingly engaged in any activity described in that
paragraph, the issuer shall separately file with the
Commission, concurrently with the annual or quarterly report
under subsection (a), a notice that the disclosure of that
activity has been included in that annual or quarterly report
that identifies the issuer and contains the information
required by paragraph (2).
``(4) Public disclosure of information.--Upon receiving a
notice under paragraph (3) that an annual or quarterly report
includes a disclosure of an activity described in paragraph
(1), the Commission shall promptly--
``(A) transmit the report to--
``(i) the President;
``(ii) the Committees on Foreign Affairs, Energy and
Commerce, and Financial Services of the House of
Representatives; and
``(iii) the Committees on Foreign Relations, Commerce,
Science, and Transportation, and Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate; and
``(B) make the information provided in the disclosure and
the notice available to the public by posting the information
on the Internet website of the Commission.
``(5) Covered telecommunications equipment or service
defined.--In this subsection, the term `covered
telecommunications equipment or service' has the meaning
given to the term `covered communications equipment or
service' in section 9 of the Secure and Trusted
Communications Network Act of 2019 (47 U.S.C. 1608).''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall take effect with respect to reports required to be
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission after the
date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Covered telecommunications equipment or service;
untrusted telecommunications equipment or service.--The terms
``covered telecommunications equipment or service'' and
``untrusted telecommunications equipment or service'' have
the meaning given to the term ``covered communications
equipment or service'' in section 9 of the Secure and Trusted
Communications Network Act of 2019 (47 U.S.C. 1608).
(2) Trusted telecommunications equipment or service.--The
term ``trusted telecommunications equipment or service''
means any telecommunications equipment or service that is not
a covered telecommunications equipment or service.
Urging the European Union to Designate Hizballah in Its Entirety as a
Terrorist Organization
H. Res. 558
Whereas, in April 1983, a Hizballah terror attack against
the United States Embassy in Beirut killed 63 people;
Whereas, in October 1983, a Hizballah terror attack against
the United States Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killed
241 American and 58 French servicemembers supporting the
Multinational Force peacekeeping mission;
Whereas, in July 2012, a Hizballah terror attack, carried
out by an operative with dual Lebanese-French citizenship, in
Burgas, Bulgaria, killed 5 Israeli tourists and 1 Bulgarian;
Whereas, in March 2013, a Swedish-Lebanese Hizballah
operative in Cyprus was convicted of planning terror attacks
against Israeli tourists;
Whereas, in June 2015, a Hizballah operative was sentenced
to 6 years in prison after he stockpiled more than 8 tons of
ammonium nitrate in Cyprus;
Whereas the Hizballah International Financing Prevention
Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-102) and the Hizballah
International Financing Prevention Amendments Act of 2018
(Public Law 115-272) broadened financial sector sanctions
against Hizballah to compel foreign financial institutions to
refrain from supporting the terrorist group;
Whereas, in May 2018, the Department of the Treasury
imposed sanctions on Abdullah Safi-Al-Din, Hizballah's
representative to Iran, Mohammad Ibrahim Bazzi, a Hizballah
financier, and blacklisted 5 of Bazzi's companies, including
Belgian energy services conglomerate Global Trading Group NV;
Whereas, in October 2018, French police raided the Islamic
Zahra Centre on suspicion of supporting Hizballah, freezing
the organization's funds, and seizing illegal weapons;
Whereas, in September 2020, 4 former leaders of the Zahra
Centre France were arrested on suspicion of continuing to run
the association;
Whereas, in July 2019, the Department of the Treasury
designated 2 Hizballah-backed members of Lebanese Parliament,
Amin Sherri and Muhammad Hasan Ra'd, and Hizballah security
official Wafiq Safa, stating that Hizballah uses its
operatives in parliament to advance its violent activities;
Whereas, as of April 2020, Germany believed there to be
1,050 people with suspected links to Hizballah in the
country;
Whereas Europol's June 2020 European Union Terrorism
Situation and Trend Report outlined that Hizballah is
``suspected of trafficking diamonds and drugs and of money
laundering via the trade in second-hand cars'', and the
report also stated that ``investigations face the difficulty
of demonstrating that the funds collected are channeled to
the military wing of the organization'';
Whereas United States-led Project Cassandra and Operation
Cedar exposed the criminal-business wing of Hizballah, the
Business Affairs Component (BAC) of Hezbollah's External
Security Organization;
Whereas, during Project Cassandra, Hizballah elements
involved in drug trafficking were arrested in the United
States, South America, and several European countries,
including France, Belgium, Germany, and Italy;
Whereas Hizballah's criminal activity in Europe is run by
the BAC, which reports to the External Security Organisation,
also known as Unit 910, or the Islamic Jihad Organization,
and Abdallah Safieddine, Hizballah's representative in Iran,
is also involved in this activity;
Whereas, in August 2020, United Nations Secretary General
Guterres called on Lebanon to disarm Hizballah, citing the
terror group's persistent violation of Resolution 1701
(2006);
Whereas Iran is the prime sponsor of Hizballah, harboring,
financing, training, and arming the group;
Whereas the Department of the Treasury and Department of
State estimate that Iran provides as much as $700,000,000 per
year to Hizballah in the form of financial and logistical
support, weapons, and training;
Whereas Hizballah now has an arsenal of approximately
150,000 missiles and rockets, many of which can reach deep
into Israel;
Whereas Hizballah fighters have been supporting the Assad
regime in Syria, often leading operations in the conflict
which has left more than 500,000 dead;
Whereas Hizballah's destabilizing actions in Syria have
contributed to a migrant crisis that has brought over 700,000
refugees to Europe;
Whereas Hizballah trains and provides weapons for militias
in Iraq and Yemen, further destabilizing the region and
perpetuating violence in those countries;
Whereas Hizballah activities continue to plague Lebanon
with profound economic and political instability and
violence;
Whereas, in August 2020, at least 220 people died and
thousands more were injured when a massive stockpile of
ammonium nitrate exploded in Beirut's port;
Whereas Hizballah's cross border illicit arms and drugs
trafficking undermines the Lebanese Armed Forces, the
legitimate security establishment of the country as outlined
in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006);
Whereas, in October 2012, Hizballah Deputy Secretary
General Naim Qassem stated that ``[Hizballah does not] have a
military wing and a political one . . . Every element of
Hizballah, from commanders to members as well as our various
capabilities, are in the service of the resistance'';
Whereas the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, the
Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Serbia,
and Kosovo, among others, have designated Hizballah in its
entirety as a terror organization;
Whereas, in March 2016, the Gulf Cooperation Council
formally branded Hizballah, in its entirety, a terrorist
organization, and the League of Arab States shortly
thereafter adopted the same designation;
Whereas the Department of the Treasury has diligently added
persons and entities to the list of Specially Designated
Global Terrorists who have provided material support to the
Hizballah terrorist organization, thereby hampering its
financing and logistical capabilities;
Whereas the European Union, in July 2013, designated
Hizballah's so-called ``military wing'', but not the
organization as a whole, as a terrorist organization;
Whereas, despite restrictions put on Hizballah since the
designation of its military wing, the group continues to
conduct illicit narcotrafficking, money laundering, and
weapons trafficking throughout Europe and the world; and
Whereas the House of Representatives has previously called
on the European Union to fully designate Hizballah as a
terrorist organization, passing House Resolution 359 in
October 2017: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) applauds and expresses support for the continued,
increased cooperation between
[[Page H7992]]
the United States and the European Union (EU) in thwarting
Hizballah's criminal and terrorist activities;
(2) supports transcontinental efforts within Europe to
share intelligence information among police and security
services to facilitate greater cooperation in tracking,
apprehending, and prosecuting terrorists, foreign fighters,
and potential offenders;
(3) encourages the European Union to implement sanctions
against Hizballah-affiliated terrorists in tandem with the
United States;
(4) recommends greater civil society engagement in both the
United States and Europe to underscore Hizballah's malign
regional influence; and
(5) urges the European Union to designate Hizballah in its
entirety as a terrorist organization and increase pressure on
the group, including through--
(A) facilitating better cross-border cooperation between
European Union members in combating Hizballah;
(B) issuing arrest warrants against members and active
supporters of Hizballah;
(C) freezing Hizballah's assets in Europe, including those
masquerading as charities; and
(D) prohibiting fundraising activities in support of
Hizballah.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 2 of House Resolution
1361, the ordering of the yeas and nays on postponed motions to suspend
the rules with respect to such measures is vacated to the end that all
such motions are considered as withdrawn.
The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Maryland
(Mr. Hoyer) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bills and
agree to the resolution.
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.
This is a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 361,
nays 69, not voting 2, as follows:
[Roll No. 443]
YEAS--361
Adams
Aderholt
Aguilar
Allen
Allred
Amodei
Armstrong
Arrington
Auchincloss
Axne
Bacon
Baird
Balderson
Banks
Barr
Barragan
Bass
Beatty
Bentz
Bera
Bergman
Beyer
Bice (OK)
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Blunt Rochester
Bonamici
Bost
Bourdeaux
Bowman
Boyle, Brendan F.
Brady
Brown (MD)
Brown (OH)
Brownley
Buchanan
Bucshon
Burgess
Bush
Bustos
Butterfield
Calvert
Carbajal
Cardenas
Carey
Carl
Carson
Carter (GA)
Carter (LA)
Carter (TX)
Cartwright
Case
Casten
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chabot
Cheney
Cherfilus-McCormick
Chu
Cicilline
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Cole
Comer
Connolly
Conway
Cooper
Correa
Costa
Courtney
Craig
Crenshaw
Crow
Cuellar
Curtis
Davids (KS)
Davis, Danny K.
Davis, Rodney
Dean
DeFazio
DeGette
DeLauro
DelBene
Demings
DeSaulnier
DesJarlais
Deutch
Diaz-Balart
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle, Michael F.
Duncan
Dunn
Ellzey
Escobar
Eshoo
Espaillat
Evans
Feenstra
Ferguson
Finstad
Fischbach
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Fletcher
Flood
Flores
Foster
Foxx
Frankel, Lois
Fulcher
Gallagher
Gallego
Garamendi
Garbarino
Garcia (CA)
Garcia (IL)
Garcia (TX)
Gimenez
Golden
Gomez
Gonzales, Tony
Gonzalez (OH)
Gonzalez, Vicente
Gottheimer
Granger
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Green, Al (TX)
Grijalva
Guest
Guthrie
Harder (CA)
Harshbarger
Hartzler
Hayes
Herrell
Herrera Beutler
Higgins (NY)
Hill
Himes
Hinson
Hollingsworth
Horsford
Houlahan
Hoyer
Hudson
Huffman
Huizenga
Issa
Jackson
Jackson Lee
Jacobs (CA)
Jacobs (NY)
Jayapal
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (OH)
Johnson (SD)
Johnson (TX)
Jones
Joyce (OH)
Joyce (PA)
Kahele
Kaptur
Katko
Keating
Keller
Kelly (IL)
Kelly (PA)
Khanna
Kildee
Kilmer
Kim (CA)
Kim (NJ)
Kind
Kirkpatrick
Krishnamoorthi
Kuster
Kustoff
LaHood
LaMalfa
Lamb
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latta
LaTurner
Lawrence
Lawson (FL)
Lee (CA)
Lee (NV)
Leger Fernandez
Letlow
Levin (CA)
Levin (MI)
Lieu
Lofgren
Long
Lowenthal
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Luria
Lynch
Mace
Malinowski
Malliotakis
Maloney, Carolyn B.
Maloney, Sean
Manning
Mast
Matsui
McBath
McCarthy
McCaul
McClain
McClintock
McCollum
McEachin
McGovern
McKinley
McNerney
Meeks
Meijer
Meng
Meuser
Mfume
Miller (WV)
Miller-Meeks
Mooney
Moore (UT)
Moore (WI)
Morelle
Moulton
Mrvan
Murphy (FL)
Murphy (NC)
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Neguse
Newhouse
Newman
Norcross
O'Halleran
Obernolte
Ocasio-Cortez
Omar
Owens
Palazzo
Pallone
Panetta
Pappas
Pascrell
Payne
Peltola
Perlmutter
Peters
Pfluger
Phillips
Pingree
Pocan
Porter
Pressley
Price (NC)
Quigley
Raskin
Reschenthaler
Rice (NY)
Rodgers (WA)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Ross
Rouzer
Roybal-Allard
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Rush
Rutherford
Ryan (NY)
Ryan (OH)
Salazar
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Scalise
Scanlon
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Schrader
Schrier
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Sempolinski
Sewell
Sherman
Sherrill
Simpson
Sires
Slotkin
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (WA)
Smucker
Soto
Spanberger
Spartz
Speier
Stansbury
Stanton
Stauber
Steel
Stefanik
Steil
Stevens
Stewart
Strickland
Suozzi
Swalwell
Takano
Taylor
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thompson (PA)
Titus
Tlaib
Tonko
Torres (CA)
Torres (NY)
Trahan
Trone
Turner
Underwood
Upton
Valadao
Van Duyne
Vargas
Veasey
Velazquez
Wagner
Walberg
Waltz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson Coleman
Welch
Wenstrup
Westerman
Wexton
Wild
Williams (GA)
Wilson (FL)
Wittman
Womack
Yarmuth
NAYS--69
Babin
Biggs
Bishop (NC)
Boebert
Brooks
Buck
Budd
Burchett
Cammack
Cawthorn
Cline
Cloud
Clyde
Crawford
Davidson
Donalds
Emmer
Estes
Fallon
Fitzgerald
Franklin, C. Scott
Gaetz
Gibbs
Gohmert
Good (VA)
Gooden (TX)
Gosar
Green (TN)
Greene (GA)
Griffith
Grothman
Harris
Hern
Hice (GA)
Higgins (LA)
Jordan
Kelly (MS)
Lamborn
Lesko
Loudermilk
Mann
Massie
McHenry
Miller (IL)
Moolenaar
Moore (AL)
Mullin
Nehls
Norman
Palmer
Pence
Perry
Posey
Rice (SC)
Rose
Rosendale
Roy
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sessions
Steube
Tenney
Tiffany
Timmons
Van Drew
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Williams (TX)
Wilson (SC)
NOT VOTING--2
Kinzinger
Zeldin
{time} 1416
So (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended,
the bills were passed, and the resolution was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The title of H.R. 7338 was amended so as to read: ``A bill to require
congressional notification prior to payments of Department of State
rewards using cryptocurrencies, and for other purposes.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Stated for:
Mr. BUDD. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 443, I mistakenly voted
``nay'' when I intended to vote ``yea.''
members recorded pursuant to house resolution 8, 117th congress
Baird (Bucshon)
Bass (Correa)
Boebert (Gaetz)
Chu (Beyer)
Conway (Valadao)
Garcia (IL) (Correa)
Gomez (Evans)
Gottheimer (Neguse)
Johnson (TX) (Jeffries)
Jones (Beyer)
Kirkpatrick (Pallone)
Lamb (Pallone)
Lawrence (Stevens)
McEachin (Beyer)
McHenry (Donalds)
Meng (Escobar)
Napolitano (Correa)
Newman (Beyer)
Palazzo (Fleischmann)
Ruiz (Correa)
Rush (Bowman)
Ryan (OH) (Correa)
Sanchez (Pallone)
Soto (Wasserman Schultz)
Swalwell (Correa)
Vargas (Correa)
Waltz (Gimenez)
____________________