[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1189 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1189
To require the development of a strategy to eliminate the availability
to foreign adversaries of goods and technologies capable of supporting
undersea cables, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 24, 2023
Mr. Mast (for himself and Mr. Kim of New Jersey) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the development of a strategy to eliminate the availability
to foreign adversaries of goods and technologies capable of supporting
undersea cables, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Undersea Cable Control Act''.
SEC. 2. STRATEGY TO ELIMINATE THE AVAILABILITY TO FOREIGN ADVERSARIES
OF GOODS AND TECHNOLOGIES CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING UNDERSEA
CABLES.
(a) In General.--The President, acting through the Secretary of
State and in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall develop
a strategy to eliminate the availability to foreign adversaries of
goods and technologies capable of supporting undersea cables consistent
with United States policy described in section 1752 of the Export
Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4811).
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The strategy required under subsection
(a) shall include the following:
(1) An identification of goods and technologies capable of
supporting the construction, maintenance, or operation of an
undersea cable project.
(2) An identification of United States and multilateral
export controls and licensing policies for goods and
technologies identified pursuant to paragraph (1) with respect
to foreign adversaries.
(3) An identification of United States allies and partners
that have a share of the global market with respect to the
goods and technologies so identified, including a detailed
description of the availability of such goods and technologies
without restriction in sufficient quantities and comparable in
quality to those produced in the United States.
(4) A description of ongoing negotiations with other
countries to achieve unified export controls and licensing
policies for goods and technologies so identified to eliminate
availability to foreign adversaries.
(5) An identification of all entities under the control,
ownership, or influence of a foreign adversary that support the
construction, operation, or maintenance of undersea cables.
(6) A description of efforts taken to promote United States
leadership at international standards-setting bodies for
equipment, systems, software, and virtually defined networks
relevant to undersea cables, taking into account the different
processes followed by such bodies.
(7) A description of the presence and activities of foreign
adversaries at international standards-setting bodies relevant
to undersea cables, including information on the differences in
the scope and scale of the engagement of foreign adversaries at
such bodies compared to engagement at such bodies by the United
States and its allies and partners, and the security risks
raised by the proposals of foreign adversaries at such bodies.
(c) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter for 3 years,
the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report that contains the strategy required under
subsection (a).
(2) Form.--Each report required under this subsection
shall--
(A) be submitted in unclassified form, but may
contain a classified annex; and
(B) be made available on a publicly accessible
Federal Government website.
(d) Agreement.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall seek to--
(A) establish bilateral or plurilateral agreements
with allies and partners identified pursuant to
subsection (b)(3) to seek to eliminate the availability
to foreign adversaries of goods and technologies
identified pursuant to subsection (b)(1); and
(B) include in such agreements penalty provisions
for non-compliance.
(2) Briefings.--The President shall brief the congressional
committees specified in subsection (c)(1) on negotiations to
establish agreements described in paragraph (1) beginning not
later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act
and every 180 days thereafter until each such agreement is
established.
(e) Actions.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce shall evaluate
the export, reexport, and in-country transfer of the
technologies identified pursuant to subsection (b)(1) for
appropriate controls under the Export Administration
Regulations, including by evaluating, for each technology so
identified, whether to add the technology to the Commerce
Control List maintained under title 15, Code of Federal
Regulations.
(2) Levels of control.--
(A) In general.--In determining the level of
control appropriate for technologies identified
pursuant to subsection (b)(1), including requirements
for a license or other authorization for the export,
reexport, or in-country transfer of any such
technology, the Secretary of Commerce (in coordination
with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State,
and the heads of other Federal agencies, as
appropriate) shall take into account the potential end
uses and end users of the technology.
(B) Statement of policy.--At a minimum, it is the
policy of the United States to work with its allies and
partners to control the export, reexport, or in-country
transfer of technologies identified pursuant to
subsection (b)(1) to or in a country subject to an
embargo, including an arms embargo, imposed by the
United States.
(3) Notification.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 3 years, the
President, acting through the Secretary of Commerce, shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees an
unclassified notification describing the results of actions
taken pursuant to this subsection in the preceding period,
including a description of--
(A) the individual items evaluated for controls;
(B) the rationale, including foreign availability
and economic impact assessments, for adding or not
adding an item to the Commerce Control List maintained
under title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, pursuant
to the evaluation under paragraph (1) with respect to
such item; and
(C) reviews by the End-User Review Committee
specified in Supplement No. 9 to part 748 of title 15,
Code of Federal Regulations, with respect to the use of
items identified pursuant to subsection (b)(1) by
entities under the influence, control, or ownership of
a foreign adversary.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the
Senate.
(2) Foreign adversary.--The term ``foreign adversary''--
(A) has the meaning given such term in section 8(c)
of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act
of 2019 (47 U.S.C. 1607(c)); and
(B) includes the People's Republic of China.
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