Transatlantic Te­le­com­mu­ni­ca­tions Security Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8899 To prioritize the efforts of and enhance coordination among United States agencies to encourage countries in Central and Eastern Europe to im- prove the security of their telecommunications networks, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 8, 2020 Ms. KAPTUR (for herself, Mr. KINZINGER, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. DIAZ- BALART, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CASE, Mr. STEWART, Mr. MORELLE, and Mr. COSTA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To prioritize the efforts of and enhance coordination among United States agencies to encourage countries in Central and Eastern Europe to improve the security of their telecommunications networks, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transatlantic Telecom- 4 munications Security Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Dec 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8899.IH H8899 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8899 IH SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 1 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 2 gress that— 3 (1) Fifth-generation telecommunications net- 4 works in allied and partner countries based on com- 5 mon, secure, transparent, democratic standards have 6 the potential to increase cultural, political, and eco- 7 nomic exchanges leading to mutual job creation, 8 closer citizen relations, and stronger democratic in- 9 stitutions; 10 (2) the United States has national security and 11 economic interests in assisting Central and Eastern 12 European countries to improve the security of their 13 telecommunications networks by reducing depend- 14 ence on covered telecommunications equipment or 15 services that are often offered with predatory eco- 16 nomic inducements, and replacing them with secure 17 telecommunications equipment or services; 18 (3) China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the 19 17+1 Initiative seek to undermine Central and 20 Eastern Europe’s infrastructure resilience and sov- 21 ereignty through predatory inducements from state- 22 linked providers of telecommunications equipment or 23 services such as Huawei Technologies Company and 24 ZTE Corporation; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Dec 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8899.IH H8899 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8899 IH (4) the United States must assemble a coalition 1 of democratic and like-minded allies and partners to 2 counter the rise of global malign actors such as 3 China and Russia, and build resilience in Central 4 and Eastern Europe against malign influences; and 5 (5) in order to ensure robust military coordina- 6 tion and interoperability with the North Atlantic 7 Treaty Organization (NATO) and transatlantic al- 8 lies and partners, the United States should ensure 9 that allies’ and partners’ telecommunications net- 10 works are secure and free from potential threats in 11 accordance with the 2019 NATO London Declara- 12 tion. 13 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 14 United States— 15 (1) to strengthen the transatlantic alliance 16 based on shared values in the face of rising malign 17 influence from the Russian Federation and the Peo- 18 ple’s Republic of China, nations that seek to under- 19 mine democratic institutions and values; 20 (2) to encourage public and private sector in- 21 vestment in European telecommunications infra- 22 structure projects to ensure secure telecommuni- 23 cations and to catalyze economic advancement 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Dec 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8899.IH H8899 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8899 IH through the highest standards of transparency, ac- 1 cessibility, and competition; 2 (3) to provide economically feasible alternatives 3 to financing from providers of covered telecommuni- 4 cations equipment or services; 5 (4) to engage in diplomacy with European allies 6 and partners to strengthen United States and Euro- 7 pean private sector efforts to develop common tele- 8 communications technology and industry standards, 9 and in turn promote them globally; 10 (5) to support the Three Seas Initiative orga- 11 nized by twelve Central and Eastern European coun- 12 tries of the European Union to increase infrastruc- 13 ture resiliency and reduce reliance on malign actors, 14 including in the telecommunications space; and 15 (6) to support the people of Ukraine, Moldova, 16 Georgia, and the Western Balkan countries in their 17 desire for integration into euro-Atlantic institutions 18 and economies through enhanced cross-border tele- 19 communications infrastructure connectivity. 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Dec 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8899.IH H8899 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8899 IH SEC. 3. PRIORITIZATION OF EFFORTS AND ASSISTANCE 1 FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUC- 2 TURE PROJECTS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN 3 EUROPE. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—In pursuing the policy described 5 in section 2, the Secretary of State, in consultation with 6 the Secretary of Commerce, the Chief Executive Officer 7 of the United States International Development Finance 8 Corporation, the Director of the Trade and Development 9 Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, and 10 heads of other relevant United States agencies, shall, as 11 appropriate, prioritize and expedite the efforts of the De- 12 partment of State and those agencies in supporting the 13 efforts of the European Commission and the governments 14 of Central and Eastern European countries to improve the 15 security of their telecommunications networks, including 16 through providing diplomatic and political support to the 17 European Commission and Central and Eastern Europe 18 countries, as necessary— 19 (1) to support enhancement of European tele- 20 communications markets, including through early- 21 stage project support and late-stage project support 22 for the construction or improvement of telecommuni- 23 cations and related infrastructure; 24 (2) to remove covered telecommunications 25 equipment or services and replace such equipment or 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Dec 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8899.IH H8899 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8899 IH services with secure telecommunications equipment 1 or services; 2 (3) to support the development of telecommuni- 3 cations networks that are inclusive, transparent, eco- 4 nomically viable, financially, environmentally, and 5 socially sustainable, compliant with international 6 standards, laws, and regulations, and supplied by 7 providers of secure telecommunications equipment or 8 services; and 9 (4) to facilitate international coordination on 10 cross-border telecommunications infrastructure con- 11 struction and security standards to ensure cross-bor- 12 der telecommunications are secure. 13 (b) PROJECT SELECTION.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, the 15 Chief Executive Officer of the United States Inter- 16 national Development Finance Corporation, and the 17 Director of the Trade and Development Agency shall 18 identify telecommunications infrastructure projects 19 that would advance United States national security 20 and be appropriate for United States assistance 21 under this section. 22 (2) PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.—A project is eligible 23 for United States assistance under this section if— 24 (A) the project— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Dec 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8899.IH H8899 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8899 IH (i) improves telecommunications net- 1 works through either hard infrastructure 2 such as telecommunications lines or equip- 3 ment or soft infrastructure such as innova- 4 tive software development or cloud serv- 5 ices; 6 (ii) is inclusive, transparent, economi- 7 cally viable, financially, environmentally, 8 and socially sustainable, compliant with 9 international standards, laws, and regula- 10 tions, and supplied with secure telecommu- 11 nications equipment or services solely by 12 providers of secure telecommunications 13 equipment or services; 14 (iii) does not use covered telecommu- 15 nications equipment or services or removes 16 covered telecommunications equipment or 17 services and replaces such equipment or 18 services with secure telecommunications 19 equipment or services; and 20 (iv) enhances telecommunications 21 market integration across the Central or 22 Eastern European region that is secure 23 from exploitation by malign actors; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Dec 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8899.IH H8899 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8899 IH (B) the project is located in a Central or 1 Eastern European country. 2 (3) PREFERENCE.—In selecting among projects 3 that are eligible under paragraph (2), the agencies 4 described in subsection (a) shall give preference to 5 projects that— 6 (A) can attract funding from the private 7 sector, an international financial institution, the 8 government of the country in which the project 9 will be carried out, or the European Commis- 10 sion; 11 (B) have been designated as available for 12 funding through the Three Seas Initiative In- 13 vestment Fund; 14 (C) are to be carried out in the Three Seas 15 Initiative member nations; 16 (D) are to be carried out in NATO mem- 17 ber nations that meet or are making progress 18 toward meeting their commitments to upholding 19 the rule of law and preserving democratic insti- 20 tutions in accordance with the preamble and 21 Article 2 of the NATO Treaty; 22 (E) are to be carried out in NATO mem- 23 ber nations that meet or are making demon- 24 strable progress toward meeting their defense 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Dec 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8899.IH H8899 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8899 IH spending commitments in accordance with the 1 2014 NATO Wales Summit Declaration; or 2 (F) have the potential to advance United 3 States economic interests. 4 (c) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.— 5 (1) DIPLOMATIC AND POLITICAL SUPPORT.— 6 The Secretary of State shall provide diplomatic and 7 political support to the European Commission and 8 Central and Eastern European countries, as nec- 9 essary, including by using the diplomatic and polit- 10 ical influence and expertise of the Department of 11 State to build the capacity of Central and Eastern 12 European countries to resolve any impediments to 13 the development of projects selected under sub- 14 section (b). 15 (2) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 16 SUPPORT.—The Secretary of State shall seek to en- 17 courage international financial institutions, including 18 the European Bank for Reconstruction and Develop- 19 ment, the European Investment Bank, and the 20 International Monetary Fund, the Foreign, Com- 21 monwealth, and Development Office of the Govern- 22 ment of the United Kingdom, the Agency for Inter- 23 national Cooperation of the Government of Ger- 24 many, and the Development Agency of the Govern- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Dec 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8899.IH H8899 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8899 IH ment of France to invest in telecommunications in- 1 frastructure resilience in Central and Eastern Eu- 2 rope. 3 (3) EARLY-STAGE PROJECT SUPPORT.—The Di- 4 rector of the Trade and Development Agency shall 5 provide early-stage project support with respect to 6 projects selected under subsection (b), as necessary, 7 including project support in middle- and upper-in- 8 come countries. 9 (4) LATE-STAGE PROJECT SUPPORT.—Agencies 10 described in subsection (a) that provide late-stage 11 project support shall do so with respect to projects 12 selected under subsection (b), as necessary. 13 (5) UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL DEVELOP- 14 MENT FINANCE CORPORATION SUPPORT.—The 15 United States International Development Finance 16 Corporation is authorized to provide support for 17 projects under this section in Central and Eastern 18 European countries that are countries with upper- 19 middle-income economies or high-income economies 20 (as those terms are defined by the International 21 Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the 22 International Development Association (collectively 23 referred to as the ‘‘World Bank’’)) notwithstanding 24 the restriction under section 1412(c)(2) of the Bet- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Dec 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8899.IH H8899 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8899 IH ter Utilization of Investments Leading to Develop- 1 ment Act of 2018 (22 U.S.C. 9612(c)(2)). 2 SEC. 4. PROGRESS REPORTS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 4 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 5 the President shall submit to the appropriate congres- 6 sional committees a report on the progress made in pro- 7 viding assistance for projects under section 3 that in- 8 cludes— 9 (1) a description of the telecommunications in- 10 frastructure projects the United States has identi- 11 fied for such assistance; and 12 (2) for each such project— 13 (A) a description of the role of the United 14 States in the project, including in early-stage 15 project support and late-stage project support; 16 (B) the amount and form of debt financ- 17 ing, equity financing, and insurance provided by 18 the United States Government, the Three Seas 19 Initiative Investment Fund, international finan- 20 cial institutions, including the European Bank 21 for Reconstruction and Development, the Euro- 22 pean Investment Bank, and the International 23 Monetary Fund, the Foreign, Commonwealth, 24 and Development Office of the Government of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:46 Dec 28, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8899.IH H8899 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8899 IH the United Kingdom, the Agency for Inter- 1 national Cooperation of the Government of Ger- 2 many, and the Development Agency of the Gov- 3 ernment of France for the project; 4 (C) the contractual terms of the project 5 that preclude the use of covered telecommuni- 6 cations equipment or services and steps taken 7 to ensure providers of telecommunications 8 equipment or services meet such contractual 9 terms; and 10 (D) an update on the progress made on 11 the project as of the date of the report. 12 (b) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMI [Text truncated for display. 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