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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10860 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10860
To prohibit the Department of Defense from acquiring or using certain
robotic systems from People's Republic of China, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 22, 2026
Mrs. Biggs of South Carolina introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Armed Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the Department of Defense from acquiring or using certain
robotic systems from People's Republic of China, 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 ``Stop Beijing's Bots Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON PROCUREMENT AND OPERATION OF COVERED ROBOTIC
SYSTEMS.
(a) Prohibition on Procurement.--Not later than one year after the
date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Defense may not
enter into or renew a contract for--
(1) the procurement of any covered robotic system; or
(2) equipment or service that includes any covered robotic
system.
(b) Prohibition on Operation.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this section, an element of the Department of
Defense may not operate a covered robotic system in any sensitive
operational environment.
(c) Limitation Relating to Lease or Operation of a Covered Robotic
System.--
(1) In general.--No funds made available by the Department
of Defense may be obligated or expended for the lease or
operation of a covered robotic system.
(2) Effective date.--The prohibition under paragraph (1)
shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this
section with respect to new leases, and 3 years after the date
of enactment of this section with respect to the continued
operation of covered robotic systems already in service.
(d) Waiver Authority.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense may waive the
prohibition in subsection (a) or (b) on a case-by-case basis
for renewable periods not to exceed 180 days if the Secretary
determines that--
(A) there are no currently available and
technically acceptable alternatives to the covered
robotic system;
(B) the covered robotic system is essential to an
ongoing mission-critical operation;
(C) the cost of replacement would result in an
undue burden on the agency;
(D) the Secretary has implemented risk-mitigation
measures to address the national security risks
presented by continued operation of the covered robotic
system;
(E) the covered robotic system can no longer
transfer data to, or download data from, a covered
foreign entity; and
(F) the Secretary has determined that the covered
robotic system posed no national security cybersecurity
risk.
(2) Notification.--Not later than 30 days after exercising
a waiver under paragraph (1), Secretary of Defense shall notify
the congressional defense committees of--
(A) the specific covered robotic system for which
the waiver is granted;
(B) the justification for the waiver;
(C) the risk-mitigation measures being implemented;
and
(D) the plan and timeline for removing and
replacing the covered robotic system.
(e) Annual Review.--
(1) Definition.--The Secretary of Defense shall conduct an
annual review of the definition of covered robotic systems to
update or modify such definition.
(2) List.--The Secretary of Defense shall conduct an annual
review of Chinese entities operating in the United States that
produce or sell covered robotic systems to determine if such
entities should be included on the list maintained by the
Secretary under section 1260H of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (10 U.S.C. 113 note).
(3) Notification.--The Secretary shall notify Congress not
later than 30 days before making any modification to the list
described in paragraph (2).
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``covered Chinese entity'' means an entity--
(A) that is a foreign person domiciled in, is
headquartered in, has its principal place of business
in, or is organized under the laws of the People's
Republic of China;
(B) with respect to which a foreign person or
combination of foreign persons described in
subparagraph (A) directly or indirectly own at least a
20 percent stake; or
(C) that is a person subject to the direction or
control of a foreign person or entity described in
subparagraph (A) or (B).
(2) The term ``covered robotic systems'' includes the
following:
(A) Quadrupedal robotic platforms produced by
entities incorporated in the People's Republic of
China.
(B) LiDAR sensors and modules produced by entities
on the Entity List set forth in Supplement No. 4 to
part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations or
entities identified in reports of the intelligence
community as contributing to the sensing and targeting
capabilities of the People's Republic of China.
(C) Wheeled and tracked unmanned ground vehicles
produced by entities incorporated in the People's
Republic of China.
(D) Any system or subcomponent that Secretary of
Defense determines--
(i) is produced by or substantially
incorporates technology from a covered Chinese
entity;
(ii) poses an unacceptable risk to the
national security of the United States based on
the potential for unauthorized access to
sensitive data, susceptibility to remote
exploitation, or contribution to the PLA
robotic systems ecosystem; or
(iii) has been identified in a report of
the intelligence community as presenting
national security risks when deployed in
sensitive operational environments.
(3) The term ``PLA robotic systems ecosystem'' means a
person that contributes, either directly or indirectly, to the
development, operation, or provision (including through a
parent company, subsidiary, or affiliate) of any covered
robotic systems owned or operated by the People's Liberation
Army.
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