[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 139 (Monday, September 9, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5060-H5061]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           FOREIGN ADVERSARY COMMUNICATIONS TRANSPARENCY ACT

  Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 820) to direct the Federal Communications Commission to publish a 
list of entities that hold authorizations, licenses, or other grants of 
authority issued by the Commission and that have certain foreign 
ownership, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 820

       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 ``Foreign Adversary 
     Communications Transparency Act''.

     SEC. 2. LIST OF ENTITIES HOLDING FCC AUTHORIZATIONS, 
                   LICENSES, OR OTHER GRANTS OF AUTHORITY AND 
                   HAVING CERTAIN FOREIGN OWNERSHIP.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall publish on 
     the internet website of the Commission a list of each 
     entity--
       (1) that holds a license issued by the Commission pursuant 
     to--
       (A) section 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
     U.S.C. 309(j)); or
       (B) the Act of May 27, 1921 (47 U.S.C. 34 et seq.; commonly 
     known as the ``Cable Landing Licensing Act'') and Executive 
     Order 10530 (3 U.S.C. 301 note; relating to the performance 
     of certain functions vested in or subject to the approval of 
     the President); and
       (2) with respect to which--
       (A) a covered entity holds an equity or voting interest 
     that is required to be reported to the Commission under the 
     ownership rules of the Commission; or
       (B) an appropriate national security agency has determined 
     that a covered entity exerts control, regardless of whether 
     such covered entity holds an equity or voting interest as 
     described in subparagraph (A).
       (b) Rulemaking.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall issue rules 
     to obtain information to identify each entity--
       (A) that holds any authorization, license, or other grant 
     of authority issued by the Commission (other than a license 
     described in subsection (a)(1)); and
       (B) with respect to which a covered entity holds an equity 
     or voting interest that is required to be reported to the 
     Commission under the ownership rules of the Commission.
       (2) Placement on list.--Not later than 1 year after the 
     Commission issues the rules required by paragraph (1), the 
     Commission shall place each entity described in such 
     paragraph on the list published under subsection (a).
       (c) Paperwork Reduction Act Exemption.--A collection of 
     information conducted or sponsored by the Commission to 
     implement this section does not constitute a collection of 
     information for the purposes of subchapter I of chapter 35 of 
     title 44, United States Code (commonly referred to as the 
     ``Paperwork Reduction Act'').
       (d) Annual Updates.--The Commission shall, not less 
     frequently than annually, update the list published under 
     subsection (a), including with respect to any entity required 
     to be placed on such list by subsection (b)(2).
       (e) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Appropriate national security agency.--The term 
     ``appropriate national security agency'' has the meaning 
     given such term in section 9 of the Secure and Trusted 
     Communications Networks Act of 2019 (47 U.S.C. 1608).
       (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
     Communications Commission.
       (3) Covered country.--The term ``covered country'' means a 
     country specified in section 4872(d)(2) of title 10, United 
     States Code.
       (4) Covered entity.--The term ``covered entity'' means--
       (A) the government of a covered country;
       (B) an entity organized under the laws of a covered 
     country; and
       (C) a subsidiary or affiliate of an entity described in 
     subparagraph (B), regardless of whether the subsidiary or 
     affiliate is organized under the laws of a covered country.

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
insert extraneous material in the record on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 820, the Foreign Adversary 
Communications Transparency Act, led by the gentlewoman from New York's 
21st District.
  The Chinese Communist Party and other foreign adversaries present 
security threats to our critical infrastructure. Entities with ties to 
these countries could be called upon to support and assist their 
national intelligence work, jeopardizing the security of American data 
and communications networks. As a result, the presence of their 
equipment in our networks pose a significant threat to our national 
security.
  Over the years, Congress has worked to address these threats from 
passing legislation to rip-and-replace Huawei and ZTE equipment from 
our networks by encouraging TikTok to divest from its CCP-controlled 
parent company, ByteDance. We must build on this work by bringing 
transparency into the ways our foreign adversaries operate in our 
networks.
  This legislation requires the FCC to annually publish a list of 
entities with ties to our adversaries, Communist China, Russia, Iran, 
and North Korea, that hold a license, authorization, or other authority 
granted by the FCC.
  Understanding which adversaries are present in our communications 
networks as well as the threat they pose is necessary to strengthen our 
networks.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York's 21st District 
for her leadership on this bill and the chair of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee for her leadership moving this bill to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 820, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 820, the Foreign Adversary 
Communications Transparency Act.
  Last week, the Department of Justice indicted two Russian nationals 
over payments made to several extreme rightwing American influencers in 
an attempt to tip the scales in our Nation's upcoming elections. This 
is an extremely disturbing and stark reminder of the length that 
foreign adversary countries will go to use our media and communications 
networks to disrupt and divide us, weakening our country for their own 
benefit.
  Whether it is through social media, equipment, or the communications 
networks itself, we have seen these operations time and time again, 
which is why we must stay vigilant to minimize these risks or avoid 
them all together.
  Today, we are taking additional action to stay ahead of these risks. 
H.R. 820 will shed some light on the investments of foreign adversaries 
in our country's communications networks.
  Every day these networks carry Americans' most sensitive personal 
data. We must have a clear understanding if any foreign adversary 
countries, or the companies operating within those countries, are 
investors in our communications networks.
  This is critically important because, unfortunately, we have too 
often seen foreign adversary governments or those beholden to them 
target these networks and the devices and applications running on top 
of them as a way to disrupt our daily lives or to conduct espionage 
campaigns.

[[Page H5061]]

  Any communications network with ties to China, Russia, North Korea, 
and Iran magnifies this target and endangers our national security 
interests.
  H.R. 820 helps address these concerns. This bipartisan bill would 
require the Federal Communications Commission to publish a list within 
4 months indicating any entities with ties to China, Russia, North 
Korea, and Iran that hold wireless and undersea cable licenses that 
power our country's mobile and fixed communications networks.
  The bill would also require the FCC to issue rules in 18 months to 
help it attain foreign ownership information for the remaining 
authorization, licenses, and grants that the agency issues. The FCC 
would then publish on its list any additional entities with ties to 
China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran no later than 1 year after the new 
rules are adopted. The FCC would also need to update this entity list 
annually.
  With this bill, we continue to secure our communications networks and 
protect Americans from rogue nation-states seeking to use our networks 
against us. This bill will also help us better protect our allies as 
they too rely on our global undersea cable network for broadband 
services.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 820, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Stefanik), the bill's sponsor.
  Ms. STEFANIK. Mr. Speaker, once again, I rise today in support of 
bipartisan legislation, the Foreign Adversary Communications 
Transparency or FACT Act.
  I will thank again our Energy and Commerce Chairwoman Cathy McMorris 
Rodgers, Chairman Latta, Ranking Member Pallone, and the entire 
committee for their support.
  Additionally, I will take the time to thank the previous chair of the 
Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States 
and the Chinese Communist Party,  Mike Gallagher; the current chair, 
Chairman   John Moolenaar; and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi for 
their work this Congress in advancing public awareness of the dire 
threat that Communist China poses to America's prosperity and passing 
critical legislation to counter that critical threat.

  Communist China is using every tool at its disposal to conduct a 
coordinated campaign to surveil and collect information on Americans. 
One of the ways that the CCP is doing this is through infiltrating our 
telecommunications and technology markets.
  Despite this clear and present threat posed by Communist Chinese-
controlled telecommunications company, many still maintain authorities 
to operate in the United States. Even worse, while some CCP-controlled 
companies like Huawei and ZTE have been publicly identified, there are 
other Communist Chinese telecom and tech companies that have not yet 
drawn public scrutiny.
  My bipartisan FACT Act will provide much-needed transparency into the 
level of Communist China's infiltration into our technology sector.
  The FACT Act will require the Federal Communications Commission to 
publish a list of companies who both hold FCC authorizations and have 
any ownership by foreign adversarial governments, including China, 
Russia, Iran, and others.
  This public disclosure will help to shine a light on the malign 
access and influence Communist Chinese companies have inside our tech 
and telecom markets. We cannot allow companies controlled by the CCP or 
other foreign adversaries to have unfettered and unknown access to our 
telecommunications infrastructure.
  This legislation will give Americans much-needed transparency and 
will pave the way for future action to counter these adversarial-owned 
listed companies.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
bipartisan bill to counter the influence of Communist China and other 
foreign adversaries on America's telecommunications infrastructure.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I, again, urge support for this important 
legislation to protect us on a bipartisan basis, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, this legislation came out of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee 44-0. It shows how important this legislation is, 
and I urge support of H.R. 820.
  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 Ohio (Mr. Latta) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 820, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________