The U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 9 unanimously passed bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) that would safeguard Americans’ communications networks from foreign-adversary controlled technology.
The Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security (ROUTERS) Act, H.R. 7589, which Rep. Latta sponsored in March with lead original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Mary Sattler Peltola (D-AK), advanced to the U.S. Senate on Sept. 10.
“I’m encouraged my ROUTERS Act was unanimously approved by the U.S. House today because it will protect Americans from cyber threats posed by foreign-adversary controlled technology,” Rep. Latta said on Monday. “As communist China seeks to undermine our people, workforce, and nation, House Republicans are working to curtail their malign influence.”
Before consideration by the full House, H.R. 7589 cleared the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 20 with a 43-0 vote.
“Secure communications networks are crucial for protecting America’s economic competitiveness and national security,” said House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). “I thank Rep. Latta for his bipartisan legislation that will help us better understand potential vulnerabilities in our routers and modems, making our networks more resilient against potential attacks by our adversaries.”
Rep. Latta worked on the ROUTERS Act with U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who introduced companion legislation, the same-named S. 4572, on June 19 in the U.S. Senate alongside cosponsor U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM). The Senate referred the congressman’s H.R. 7589 for consideration to the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, which is also reviewing S. 4572.
“Tens of millions of families and small businesses across the country use wireless routers as their primary access point to the Internet,” Sen. Blackburn said. “Many of these routers are susceptible to infiltration by foreign actors, including China, jeopardizing our national security and exposing our country to serious danger. I am pleased to see that this bill passed the House, and I urge Leader Schumer to quickly take up this bill.”
Specifically, the ROUTERS Act would require the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the U.S. Department of Commerce to conduct a study of the national security risks posed by routers, modems, or devices that combine both, that are designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, or Venezuela.
“I’d like to thank Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Rodgers for her leadership in helping to move this bill through our committee, and I’m proud to work with Sen. Blackburn, who is leading the companion bill in the Senate,” said Rep. Latta. “We now urge Senate leadership to take up our solution to protect Americans and send it to the president’s desk to be signed into law.”