A bipartisan group of U.S. House members reintroduced a bill Tuesday (March 16) that would direct the federal government to provide assistance and technical expertise to strengthen U.S. leadership in international standard-setting bodies for telecommunications systems and to enhance cooperation with U.S. allies to address the security risks posed to the United States by China in the 5G space.
Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the ranking Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, along with Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from that state, and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, a Republican from Pennsylvania, reintroduced Tuesday the “Promoting U.S. International Leadership in 5G International Leadership in 5G Act.
In a statement, the House Foreign Affairs Committee said the bill would strengthen cooperation between the United States and its allies to identify and address the security risks posed by companies affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party in the 5G space. In addition, the bill would require the State Department to develop a diplomatic strategy to enhance U.S. engagement with partners in international standard-setting bodies.
The statement also said the bill would improve U.S. economic competitiveness in the world and create up to 3 million jobs in the United States.
The bill had already passed the House in the previous Congress, but did not make it through the Senate at the end of the last session.
“The Chinese Communist Party is not hiding the fact that they will do whatever it takes to become a major global power – especially by controlling the world’s 5G networks,” said McCaul, the ranking Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Communist China’s spying tactics, theft of U.S. intellectual property and cyber hacking threaten our national security and our competitiveness in the international community. The United States must become a leader in 5G and continue to join our allies in condemning the malicious actions of the Chinese Communist Party.”
The bill says the president should establish an interagency working group to provide assistance and technical expertise to strengthen U.S. leadership in the international standard-setting body that sets standards for devices, systems, software and virtually defined networks that support fifth-generation and later mobile telecommunications systems and infrastructure.
“Leadership in 5G must be a national priority,” said Rep. Cuellar, D-N.Y., in a statement.
“As China’s Communist Party intensifies its authoritarian and malicious behavior around the world, it is critical that the United States provide the free world with alternatives to China’s dangerous state-owned technology,” said Rep. Reschenthaler, a Republican and member of the Congressional China Working Group.
The Trump administration has imposed a ban on Chinese telecom giant huawei, including cutting off supplies, and has launched a “clean network initiative” to lobby allies and partners not to use telecom equipment from Chinese companies such as Huawei.
On March 12, the Federal Communications Commission’s Bureau of Public and Homeland Security issued a statement naming five Chinese companies, including Huawei and ZTE, whose communications equipment and services pose a threat to U.S. national security. In addition, the U.S. Department of Commerce this week revised its license to sell products to Huawei, further restricting related companies from providing products to Huawei.
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