Stefanik Wants FCC to Publish List of Foreign-Owned Communications Firms
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., filed the Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act on Tuesday on bid to counter the influence of the Chinese government and other foreign governments on U.S. telecom infrastructure. Stefanik’s office cited the U.S. government’s Monday filing of charges against two Chinese intelligence officers with attempting to obstruct the DOJ’s criminal investigation into Huawei (see 2210240059) as an impetus for filing the measure now. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and House Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., separately raised concerns about the Chinese government’s interference.
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The Fact Act would require the FCC to publish a list of communications companies with FCC licenses or other authorizations in which China and other foreign adversaries’ governments hold a 10% or more ownership. “I’m working to shine a light on the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party and our other foreign adversaries,” Stefanik said in a statement: “Allowing companies owned by China and our other foreign adversaries to have access to our critical infrastructure is playing with fire, and we must have transparency over the influence they can have over the lives of American citizens.”
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr praised Stefanik and Gallagher for filing the Fact Act. “It is vital that we provide a full and transparent accounting of every entity with ties back to” the Chinese government and other adversaries that “are operating inside America’s tech and telecom markets, yet there has never been a public disclosure when it comes to those networks of relationships,” he said: “This only makes it more difficult for the public and private sector alike to assess the likelihood that those connections can be leveraged to harm America’s national security interests.”
The DOJ’s charges “further illustrate Huawei’s inextricable ties to" the CCP and “its brazen but unsurprising disregard for the rule of law,” Warner said: “The Intelligence Community has repeatedly warned about the economic and national security threats posed by Chinese telecommunications companies like Huawei, which are backed by the CCP and exploited in the interest of authoritarian goals and ambitions.”
Rodgers urged President Joe Biden to “learn from” China’s actions. The CCP “went to great lengths to dominate the telecom sector, steal they' personal information, and threaten our freedom and security,” Rodgers said. “This is what the future holds if he continues to cede control” of tech and other “supply chains to China. A future that is dependent on China is not a future Americans want nor can afford.” The DOJ’s report also shows the Chinese government “will stop at nothing -- lying, cheating, and stealing -- to undermine America's economy and global competitive edge,” she said: House Commerce Republicans “have been leading efforts to rid Huawei from our communications networks. It is critical that we continue to fund programs like” the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. She said “the Senate must pass” the House-approved Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-7624), which would allocate up to $3.08 billion in future commission auction proceeds to the program (see 2207280052). It’s unclear whether the additional rip-and-replace money will make it into end-of-year legislation amid contentious negotiations over a spectrum package (see 2210130074).