[Senate Report 119-36]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 110
119th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 119-36
_______________________________________________________________________
FOREIGN ADVERSARY COMMUNICATIONS
TRANSPARENCY ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE,
AND TRANSPORTATION
on
S. 259
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
July 9, 2025.--Ordered to be printed
_______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
59-010 WASHINGTON : 2025
SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
one hundred nineteenth congress
first session
TED CRUZ, Texas, Chairman
JOHN THUNE, South Dakota MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
DEB FISCHER, Nebraska BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
JERRY MORAN, Kansas EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
TODD YOUNG, Indiana TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
TED BUDD, North Carolina JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
ERIC SCHMITT, Missouri BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico
JOHN CURTIS, Utah JOHN W. HICKENLOOPER, Colorado
BERNIE MORENO, Ohio JOHN FETTERMAN, Pennsylvania
TIM SHEEHY, Montana ANDY KIM, New Jersey
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER, Delaware
CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS, Wyoming
Brad Grantz, Majority Staff Director
Lila Harper Helms, Democratic Staff Director
Calendar No. 110
119th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 119-36
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FOREIGN ADVERSARY COMMUNICATIONS
TRANSPARENCY ACT
_______
July 9, 2025.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Cruz, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 259]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to
which was referred the bill (S. 259) 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, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that
the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of S. 259, Foreign Adversary Communications
Transparency Act, is to require the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) to publish a list of entities that hold
authorizations, licenses, and other grants of authority issued
by the FCC that have certain foreign ownership.
BACKGROUND AND NEEDS
Congress and the Federal Government have taken significant
steps to reduce the presence of malign Chinese actors in
American communications networks. Perhaps most visibly,
Congress passed the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks
Act of 2019, which established the FCC's Covered List and
required the FCC to publish a list of companies that provide
equipment and services that could compromise U.S. national
security.\1\ Additionally, the Secure Equipment Act of 2021
prohibited the FCC from reviewing or approving any new
equipment authorizations from companies on the FCC's Covered
List.\2\ Separately, in 2021 and 2022, the FCC revoked the
section 214 operating authorities of China Telecom Americas,
China Unicom Americas, Pacific Networks, and ComNet USA.\3\
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\1\Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, Public
Law 116-124, 134 Stat. 158 (2020).
\2\Secure Equipment Act of 2021, Public Law 117-55, 135 Stat. 423
(2021).
\3\China Telecom (Americas) Corporation, Order on Revocation and
Termination, FCC Record, vol. 36 (2021), no. 19, p. 15966; China Unicom
(Americas) Operations Limited, Order on Revocation, FCC Record, vol. 37
(2022), no. 2, p. 1480; Pacific Networks Corp. and ComNet (USA) LLC,
Order on Revocation and Termination, FCC Record, vol. 37 (2022), no. 5,
p. 4220.
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Under current law, entities holding licenses or
authorizations granted by the FCC must receive prior approval
before transferring or assigning any ownership stake.\4\ And
unless approved by the FCC, broadcast, common carrier, and
aeronautical station, license holders are subject to a 25
percent foreign ownership stake cap.\5\ Despite existing
prohibitions on authorizations of equipment subject to the
Covered List and restrictions on transfer of FCC licenses or
permits, entities with ties to adversarial foreign governments
can still hold FCC licenses or authorizations.\6\
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\4\47 U.S.C. 310(d).
\5\47 U.S.C. 310(b)(4). See also Federal Communications Commission,
``FCC Licensees and Authorization Holders Must Timely Disclose Changes
in Foreign Ownership and Control,'' Public Notice, FCC Record, vol. 38
(2023), no. 4, p. 3429.
\6\Federal Communications Commission, ``Protecting Against National
Security Threats to the Communications Supply Chain Through the
Equipment Authorization Program,'' Report and Order and Further Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC Record, vol. 37 (2022), no. 15, p. 13493;
U.S. Representative Rob Wittman, ``Wittman Introduces Bipartisan
Legislation to Strengthen U.S. Telecommunications Against Foreign
Adversaries,'' press release, January 31, 2025 (https://
wittman.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=6257).
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SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS
S. 259 would require the FCC to do the following:
Identify and publish on its website a list of
entities with ties to covered countries that hold
licenses or authorizations granted by the FCC.
Issue rules requiring the collection of information
on such licensees' ownership structure.
Annually update the public list of entities.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 259 was introduced on January 27, 2025, by Senator
Fischer (for herself and Senators Rosen, Cornyn, and Lujan) and
was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate. On April 30, 2025, the Committee
met in open Executive Session and, by voice vote, ordered S.
259 reported favorably without amendment.
H.R. 906, a House companion bill to S. 259, was introduced
on January 31, 2025, by Representative Wittman (for himself and
Representatives Kean, Khanna, and Castor) and was referred to
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives. Representative Stefanik is an additional
cosponsor. On April 8, 2025, that Committee met in open
Executive Session and, by voice vote, ordered H.R. 906 reported
favorably. H.R. 906 was considered under suspension of the
rules on April 28, 2025, and passed by voice vote in the House.
118th Congress
S. 2114, the Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency
Act, was introduced on June 22, 2023, by Senator Rubio and was
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate.
H.R. 820, a House companion bill to S. 2114, was introduced
on February 2, 2023, by Representative Stefanik (for herself
and Representatives Gallagher and Khanna) and was referred to
the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives. Representative Davis was an additional
cosponsor. On March 20, 2024, that Committee met in an open
Executive Session and, by a vote of 44-0, ordered H.R. 820
reported favorably, as amended. On September 9, 2024, H.R. 820
passed the House by unanimous consent, as amended.
117th Congress
H.R. 9236, the Foreign Adversary Communications
Transparency Act, was introduced on October 25, 2022, by
Representative Stefanik (for herself and Representative
Gallagher) and was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce of the House of Representatives.
ESTIMATED COSTS
In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget
Office:
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S. 259 would require the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to publish annually a list of entities with ties to
China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia that hold licenses or
authorizations granted by the commission.
Based on information from the FCC, CBO expects that the
agency would need five employees, at an annual average cost of
$225,000 per employee, for the first two years, to review
existing grants of authority, and two employees after 2027 to
review new applications and changes in ownership. On that
basis, CBO estimates that it would cost the FCC $4 million over
the 2025-2030 period to issue rules and identify whether any of
those four nations hold equity or a voting interest in
organizations that have an authorization, license, or other
grant of authority issued by the commission. Because the FCC is
authorized to collect fees each year sufficient to offset the
appropriated costs of its regulatory activities, CBO estimates
that the net cost to the FCC would be negligible, assuming
appropriation actions consistent with that authority.
If the FCC increases annual fee collections to offset the
costs of implementing provisions in the bill, S. 259 would
increase the cost of an existing private-sector mandate on
entities required to pay those fees. CBO estimates that the
incremental cost of the mandate would be small and would fall
below the threshold established in the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act (UMRA) for private-sector mandates ($206 million in 2025,
adjusted annually for inflation).
The bill contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined
in UMRA.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Margot Berman
(for federal costs) and Rachel Austin (for mandates). The
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director
of Budget Analysis.
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
REGULATORY IMPACT STATEMENT
In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the
legislation, as reported:
Number of Persons Covered
S. 259 would direct the FCC to issue rules facilitating the
collection of information on certain current licensees'
ownership structures to create a list of entities that hold
authorizations, licenses, and other grants of authority issued
by the FCC that have certain foreign ownership. The collection
would require licensees to provide information on their
ownership structure to identify if a covered entity holds an
equity or voting interest, and therefore, would be added to the
list.
Economic Impact
S. 259 is not expected to have an adverse impact on the
Nation's economy. The legislation would publish a list of
entities that hold authorizations, licenses, and other grants
of authority issued by the FCC that have certain foreign
ownership.
Privacy
S. 259 would not impact the personal privacy of
individuals.
Paperwork
The Committee does not anticipate a major increase in
paperwork burdens for private individuals or businesses
resulting from the passage of this legislation. Licensees would
be required to report on their ownership structure, and those
with certain ownership would be publicly disclosed.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
In compliance with paragraph 4(b) of rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides that no
provisions contained in the bill, as reported, meet the
definition of congressionally directed spending items under the
rule.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title.
This section would provide that the bill may be cited as
the ``Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act''.
Section 2. List of entities holding FCC authorizations, licenses, or
other grants of authority and having certain foreign ownership.
This section would define the terms ``appropriate national
security agency'', ``Commission'', ``covered country'', and
``covered entity''.
This section would require the FCC to publish on its
website a list of entities that hold a license or authorization
and in which a covered entity either (i) holds a specified
voting or equity interest or (ii) has been determined by a
national security agency to be subject to the control of a
covered entity, no later than 120 days after enactment.
This section would also direct the FCC to issue rules
facilitating the collection of information on the ownership
structure of licensees on the FCC's published list no later
than 18 months after enactment. No later than 1 year after the
FCC issues these rules, the FCC would be required to add to the
published list any such entity in which a covered entity holds
a specified voting or equity interest. The collection of
information to create this list would be exempt from the
Paperwork Reduction Act. The FCC would be required to update
the published list annually.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that the
bill as reported would make no change to existing law.
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