House advances bill to secure telecom supply chain

The U.S. House of Representatives advanced a bill Monday designed to secure the nation’s telecommunications supply chain.

The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR 4998) would prohibit the use of federal funds to purchase communications equipment or services from any company that poses a national security risk to American communications networks. Further, it requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish the Secure and Trusted Communications Reimbursement Program to assist small communications providers with the costs of removing prohibited equipment or services from their networks and replacing it. It would also help the federal government better share supply chain security information with carriers to help keep this equipment out of our networks in the future.

The bill is sponsored by Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Greg Walden (R-OR), Doris Matsui (D-CA), and Brett Guthrie (R-KY). Pallone is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, while Walden is the ranking member.

“Securing our networks from malicious foreign interference is critical to America’s wireless future. Companies like Huawei and its affiliates pose a significant threat to America’s commercial and security interests because a lot of communications providers rely heavily on their equipment,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. “This bipartisan legislation will protect our nation’s communications networks from foreign adversaries and help small and rural providers remove and replace suspect network equipment. We look forward to swift action in the Senate so we can send this bill to the President’s desk and protect our national security.”

The bill follows an executive order issued by the White House to prohibit Huawei and other equipment from existing within America’s telecommunications networks.