Six Republicans are recommending that an office within the U.S. Commerce Department investigate adversary products in critical and emerging industries to help protect Americans from technological threats.
“Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-backed companies have proven time and again to be direct threats to U.S. infrastructure,” said U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), chairman of the Select Committee on the CCP, who led the members. “Investigating these sectors will combat the threats head-on and ensure that everyday Americans are protected from Beijing’s authoritarian ambitions.”
Rep. Moolenaar joined U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee; Rick Crawford (R-AR), chairman of the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), chairman of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee; and U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) in sending an Oct. 30 letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick requesting an investigation by the department’s Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services (OICTS).
“In addition to making the U.S. more secure, doing so will help power America’s future technological and economic prosperity,” the members wrote.
Specifically, the lawmakers included a list of industries and the Chinese entity or Chinese-controlled entity operating in the United States in Appendix I of the letter, noting that the entities require immediate consideration of potential OICTS restrictions to protect against malign Chinese entities that are attempting to infiltrate the U.S. market.
“American national security increasingly depends on the entities that control the data, software, and digital systems that power national infrastructure,” wrote the lawmakers. “We have already seen through a variety of cyberattacks against the United States that China views information technology as a battlefield.
“A compromised power grid, an infiltrated telecommunications network, or a manipulated industrial control system can pose as great a threat as a kinetic military strike,” they added.
Without a concerted effort to create a secure technology ecosystem from the very beginning of each supply chain, U.S. adversaries will continue to exploit American dependence on their technology to undermine U.S. economic and military stability, according to their letter.
They requested a briefing from Lutnick as soon as possible, but no later than Nov. 30, on when the Commerce Department plans to evaluate these sectors and publish OICTS guidance to eliminate the threat.
“Chinese companies will exploit every backdoor to compromise America’s technology and infrastructure,” said Rep. Mast in a statement. “Beijing’s infiltration of connected cars, drones, and solar components shows why Congress must urgently codify this critical OICTS authority.”