The Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday advanced bipartisan legislation to restrict private entities from buying equipment from Chinese telecom companies such as Huawei and ZTE, which are thought to pose national security risks.
The Secure Equipment Act of 2021, co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, passed the Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday with overwhelming bipartisan support and is expected to get a vote on the Senate floor in the coming months.
The bill would direct the Federal Communications Commission not to approve applications from Chinese telecom companies to sell their devices to American companies, thereby closing a loophole that allowed Chinese devices to enter U.S. telecom networks, which are vital to national security.
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The House also recently advanced similar bipartisan legislation, introduced by Republican Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo of California, indicating that there is bicameral support for the Senate bill and that it is likely to become law.
“The Chinese Communist Party will stop at nothing to exploit our laws and undermine our national security,” Rubio said in a statement. “Chinese state-directed companies, like Huawei and ZTE, have no place in our telecommunications network. This bill would keep compromised equipment from bad actors out of critical U.S. infrastructure.”
U.S. government officials have warned since 2018 that Huawei has ties to the Chinese government, banning Huawei equipment for federal government use because of security concerns. The company denies having ties to the Chinese government or being influenced by them.
The FCC voted in December 2020 with bipartisan support to stop Huawei and ZTE, another Chinese telecommunications firm, from receiving U.S. telecommunications subsidies, calling both companies national security threats.
FCC commissioners on both sides of the aisle said Wednesday that they supported the Senate bill, including acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, and Republican commissioner Brendan Carr.
In June, Huawei lost a court challenge to the FCC declaration that it is a national security threat due to its links to the Chinese Communist Party.
Huawei is also one of a number of Chinese companies added to the “entities list” maintained by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security for its role in the CCP’s surveillance of its Uyghur Muslim population, restricting the company’s and its suppliers’ access to U.S. products and technology.
“In today’s increasingly connected world, we must animate our technology with our values,” Markey said in a statement. “That’s why our bipartisan legislation will keep compromised equipment out of U.S. telecommunications networks and ensure our technology is safe for consumers and secure for the United States.”
The push to restrict access to Chinese telecom devices predates the Biden administration and was supported by former President Donald Trump as well.
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Last year, the Trump administration engaged in an all-out effort to limit Huawei’s global reach, especially in the area of fifth-generation wireless, pushing its “Five Eyes” international partners to reject Huawei technology in their communications networks.
