[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3519 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3519
To amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to provide for control
of remote access to items, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 17, 2025
Mr. McCormick (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Cotton, and Mr. Coons)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to provide for control
of remote access to items, 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 ``Remote Access Security Act''.
SEC. 2. CONTROL OF REMOTE ACCESS OF ITEMS UNDER THE EXPORT CONTROL
REFORM ACT OF 2018.
(a) Definition of Remote Access.--Section 1742 of the Export
Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4801) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(15) Remote access.--
``(A) In general.--The term `remote access' means
access to an item subject to the jurisdiction of the
United States and included on the Commerce Control List
set forth in Supplement No. 1 to part 774 of the Export
Administration Regulations, by a foreign person of
concern through a cloud infrastructure service from a
location outside the United States and other than where
the item is physically located, if the Secretary
determines that the use of the item has demonstrated a
serious risk to the national security or foreign policy
of the United States through the use of software, such
as by--
``(i) training an artificial intelligence
dual-use model that--
``(I) substantially lowers the
barrier of entry for experts or
nonexperts to design, synthesize,
acquire, or use chemical, biological,
radiological, or nuclear weapons or
other weapons of mass destruction;
``(II) conducts offensive cyber
operations through automated
vulnerability discovery and
exploitation against a wide range of
potential targets of cyber attacks (not
including for defensive purposes such
vulnerability reporting or mitigation);
or
``(III) evades human control or
oversight of automated systems through
means of deception or obfuscation;
``(ii) accessing capabilities primarily
designed for offensive cyberspace operations
(not including accessing such capabilities for
network defense activities); or
``(iii) conducting surveillance primarily
designed to undermine human rights, such as by
using spyware (as defined in section 1102A of
the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C.
3232a(a))), location tracking technology, or
biometric identification technology primarily
designed for such surveillance.
``(B) Cloud infrastructure service defined.--For
purposes of subparagraph (A), the term `cloud
infrastructure service' has the meaning given the term
`Infrastructure as a Service' by the National Institute
of Standards and Technology in Special Publication 800-
145 (or any successor publication).
``(16) Foreign person of concern.--The term `foreign person
of concern' means--
``(A) the government of--
``(i) a country specified in section
4872(f)(2) of title 10, United States Code; or
``(ii) any region within such a country,
including the Macau Special Administrative
Region and the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region of the People's Republic of China;
``(B) an entity located or headquartered in, or the
ultimate parent company of which is headquartered in,
such a country or region; or
``(C) a person subject to the jurisdiction of a
government described in subparagraph (A).''.
(b) Statement of Policy.--Section 1752 of the Export Control Reform
Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4811) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``, and
provision of remote access to,'' after ``export of'';
and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``, and
provision of remote access to,'' after ``export of'';
and
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by
inserting ``, and provision of remote access to,''
after ``transfer of''; and
(B) in subparagraph (A), in the matter preceding
clause (i), by inserting ``, or provision of remote
access to,'' after ``release of''.
(c) Authority of President.--Section 1753 of the Export Control
Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4812) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (2)(F), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) the provision of remote access to items subject to
the jurisdiction of the United States to foreign persons of
concern.'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (6), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) regulate the provision of remote access to items
described in subsection (a)(3).''; and
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) by inserting ``, or provision of remote access
to,'' after ``in-country transfer of'';
(B) by striking ``subsections (b)(1) or (b)(2)''
and inserting ``paragraphs (1), (2), and (8) of
subsection (b), as applicable,''; and
(C) by striking ``or in-country transfer occurs''
and inserting ``in-country transfer, or provision of
remote access occurs''.
(d) Additional Authorities.--Section 1754 of the Export Control
Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4813) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (3), by inserting ``, and
provision of remote access to,'' after ``transfers
of'';
(B) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``, and
provision of remote access to,'' after ``transfers
of'';
(C) in paragraph (5), in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A), by inserting ``, and provision of
remote access to,'' after ``transfers of'';
(D) in paragraph (6), by striking ``United States
export control'' and inserting ``United States
control'';
(E) in paragraph (7), by striking ``export
controls'' and inserting ``controls'';
(F) in paragraph (10), by striking ``or in-country
transferred'' and inserting ``in-country transferred,
or accessed remotely'';
(G) in paragraph (11), by adding at the end before
the semicolon the following: ``or remote access''; and
(H) in paragraph (15), by striking ``to export''
and inserting ``for export, reexport, in-country
transfer, or provision of remote access'';
(2) in subsection (b), by inserting ``, or provision of
remote access to,'' after ``transfer of''; and
(3) in subsection (d)(1)(A), by inserting ``, or provision
of remote access to,'' after ``in country-transfer of''.
(e) Administration of Controls.--Section 1755 of the Export Control
Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4814) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(2)--
(A) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``, and
provision of remote access to,'' after ``in-country
transfers of''; and
(B) in subparagraph (E), by inserting ``, and
remote access to,'' after ``in-country transfers of'';
and
(2) in subsection (c), by striking ``export controls'' and
inserting ``controls''.
(f) Licensing.--Section 1756 of the Export Control Reform Act of
2018 (50 U.S.C. 4815) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by inserting ``, and provision of remote access to,''
after ``in-country transfer of''; and
(2) in subsection (b), by inserting ``, or provide remote
access to,'' after ``in-country transfer''.
(g) Compliance Assistance.--Section 1757 of the Export Control
Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4816) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``, or provision of
remote access to,'' after ``in-country transfer of''; and
(2) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ``export controls''
and inserting ``controls''.
(h) Penalties.--Section 1760 of the Export Control Reform Act of
2018 (50 U.S.C. 4819) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(2)(F)--
(A) in clause (ii), by striking ``any export
control document or any report'' and inserting ``any
document or report''; and
(B) in clause (iii), by inserting ``, or provision
of remote access to,'' after ``in-country transfer
of'';
(2) in subsection (c)(1)(C), by striking ``or in-country
transfer'' and inserting ``in-country transfer, or remotely
access''; and
(3) in subsection (e)(1)(A)--
(A) in clause (i), by inserting ``, or remotely
access or provide remote access to,'' after ``United
States''; and
(B) in clause (ii), by striking ``or in-country
transfer'' and inserting ``in-country transfer, or
remotely access, or provide remote access to,''.
(i) Enforcement.--Section 1761 of the Export Control Reform Act of
2018 (50 U.S.C. 4820) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(5), by striking ``or in-country
transferred'' and inserting ``in-country transferred, or
remotely accessed''; and
(2) in subsection (h)(1)(B), by inserting ``, or provide
remote access to,'' after ``in-country transfer''.
(j) Annual Report.--Section 1765(a)(1) of the Export Control Reform
Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4824(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ``, and
provision of remote access to,'' after ``in-country transfers of''.
(k) Effect on Other Acts.--Section 1767 of the Export Control
Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4825) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``, or remote access
to,'' after ``reexport of''; and
(2) in subsection (b)(2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``, and
remote access by and provision of remote access to such
persons to,'' after ``persons of''; and
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``or in-
country transferred'' and inserting ``in-country
transferred, or remotely accessed''.
(l) Termination.--The authority under part I of the Export Control
Reform Act of 2018, as amended by this section, to impose controls on
remote access to items terminates on the date that is 10 years after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. CONSULTATIONS WITH CONGRESS.
The Secretary of Commerce shall ensure Congress is kept fully and
currently informed of any anticipated promulgation of regulations to
control remote access to items under the Export Control Reform Act of
2018, as amended by section 2, including ensuring that Congress is
informed, in a classified setting as necessary, on--
(1) the national security or foreign policy risk that would
be addressed by the regulations;
(2) how the method of the regulations addresses that risk;
and
(3) how the regulations may impact the economy of the
United States, including the impact on the competitiveness of
United States industry in cloud services and related industries
as a result of the regulations.
SEC. 4. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to
Congress and make available to the public a report assessing and making
recommendations with respect to--
(1) the implementation of this Act and the amendments made
by this Act;
(2) maximizing the level of privacy, and minimizing
compliance costs, for entities seeking licenses relating to
remote access to items under the Export Control Reform Act of
2018, as amended by section 2;
(3) improving the speed at which and consistency with which
applications for such licenses are reviewed;
(4) identifying relevant national security and foreign
policy concerns related to remote access to items in the
interest of improving certainty for United States businesses;
(5) increasing cooperation with international partners with
respect to remote access to items;
(6) ensuring export controls relating to remote access to
items are consistent, clear, and up to date; and
(7) recommending amendments to the Export Control Reform
Act of 2018 to strengthen the provisions of that Act relating
to remote access.
(b) Consultations.--In developing the report required by subsection
(a), the Secretary shall seek input from the public, including holding
a public roundtable with industry participants.
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