U.S. House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) applauded new rules issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that implement a directive authorized by a bipartisan bill he championed that became law a year ago to safeguard America’s telecommunications networks.
The FCC’s new rules — dictated by Rep. Scalise’s Secure Equipment Act of 2021 — ban the sale of telecom network equipment and services in the United States from several China-based providers, among others, because their use has been deemed a risk to national security, the commission said.
“I applaud the historic action taken by the FCC to properly implement my bipartisan legislation, the Secure Equipment Act, which safeguards our telecommunications networks from threats by China and others so we can strengthen America’s national security,” Rep. Scalise said on Nov. 27. “The FCC’s important action finally starts to confront the significant threat China poses to Americans’ privacy and data security interests.”
The FCC was required to adopt its new rules under the Secure Equipment Act of 2021, which Rep. Scalise introduced in June 2021 with lead original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA). President Joe Biden signed the bill into law in November 2021.
The agency’s new rules apply to future authorizations of equipment identified on its Covered List and make clear that such equipment cannot be authorized or be imported or marketed in the United States. The Covered List, which lists both equipment and services, currently includes communications equipment produced by Huawei Technologies, ZTE Corp., Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, and Dahua Technology, as well as their subsidiaries and affiliates, according to the FCC’s Nov. 25 press release.
“I am pleased to see the FCC take this unprecedented action, and look forward to working with the commission and other partners to address the continued threat China poses to America,” said Rep. Scalise.