Text of Senate Amendment 6513

On 2026-06-24, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) delivered a floor speech titled "Text Of Senate Amendment 6513" in the Senate.

Text of Senate Amendment 6513

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S3625-S3627] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 6513. Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Mr. Ricketts) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the end of title XII, add the following: Subtitle F--U.S. Technology Procurement and Access to Trusted Hardware SEC. 1281. SHORT TITLE. This subtitle may be cited as the ``U.S. Technology Procurement and Access to Trusted Hardware Act'' or the ``U.S. Tech PATH Act''. SEC. 1282. DEFINITIONS. In this subtitle: (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means-- (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives. (2) Foreign country of concern.--The term ``foreign country of concern'' has the meaning given the term ``covered nation'' in section 4872(f) of title 10, United States Code. (3) Foreign government partner.--The term ``foreign government partner'' includes international organizations. (4) International organizations.--The term ``international organizations'' has the meaning given the term in section 1 of the International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288). (5) Trusted cyber and digital technologies.--The term ``trusted cyber and digital technologies'' means technologies, including equipment, services, hardware, or software used in information and communications technology networks, for which the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, has determined-- (A) the provider, supplier, or manufacturer is not owned by, controlled by, or subject to the influence of a foreign country of concern; and (B) do not pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons. (6) Pax silica initiative.--The term ``Pax Silica initiative'' refers to the Department of State-led diplomatic, economic security, and supply chain initiative, announced on December 11, 2025, to strengthen cooperation among the United States, allied countries, partner countries, industry, and other relevant stakeholders for the purpose of developing and securing trusted supply chains and infrastructure necessary for artificial intelligence, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and other technologies determined by the Secretary of State to be essential to United States national security, economic security, and technological competitiveness. SEC. 1283. SENSE OF CONGRESS. It is the sense of Congress that-- (1) foreign government partners are increasingly turning towards strategic competitors like the People's Republic of China to procure cyber and digital technologies due to their low-cost, acceptable efficacy, ease and speed of acquisition, and support for associated training and maintenance; (2) foreign government partner procurement of cyber and digital technologies from suppliers aligned with strategic competitors of the United States poses significant and distinct risks, including-- (A) supply chain vulnerabilities created by dependence on strategic competitors whose governments may compel access to data, networks, or systems, undermining the cybersecurity and strategic autonomy of the procuring government; (B) the erosion of interoperability and alignment with United States cybersecurity frameworks, standards, and best practices, reducing the ability of foreign government partners to operate securely alongside United States systems and those of United States allies; and (C) the adoption of digital governance practices that are inconsistent with United States economic and national security interests; (3) United States foreign government partners consistently signal strong demand for trusted cyber and digital technologies from United States suppliers; (4) United States initiatives such as Pax Silica should facilitate technology procurements by building enduring technology partnerships between foreign government partners and United States suppliers, including by-- (A) assisting foreign government partners in navigating regulatory, logistical, and technical hurdles to trusted cyber and digital technology procurement; (B) providing foreign government partners with strategic direction from the United States Government; (C) incorporating foreign government partner needs into program development from the outset; and (D) maintaining long-term engagement with foreign government partners throughout the procurement cycle of trusted cyber and digital technologies; and (5) as the United States seeks to maintain its global competitive edge in critical and emerging technologies, including advanced cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, advanced telecommunications, and robotics, it is in the interest of the United States Government to establish policies and procedures that streamline foreign government partners' ability to procure trusted and reliable technologies from the United States and United States allies and partners. SEC. 1284. UNITED STATES TECHNOLOGY PROCUREMENT PROGRAM. (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Department of State the United States Cyber and Digital Technology Procurement Program (referred to in this subtitle as the ``Program''), which shall be administered by the Bureau for Cyberspace and Digital Policy, and which may support Pax Silica and other related initiatives. To the maximum extent practicable, the Program shall seek to serve as a demand- driven mechanism in response to cyber and digital technology needs as determined by the participating foreign government partner. (b) Purposes.--The purposes of the Program shall include the following: (1) To streamline foreign government partner procurement of trusted cyber and digital technologies, including commercial off-the-shelf technologies, consistent with United States export control laws, including cybersecurity standards appropriate to relevant policy goals of the United States. (2) To establish long-term cyber and digital technology procurement pipelines with United States providers, including after the termination of the Program. (3) To identify the appropriate United States Government financing mechanisms to address challenges associated with affordability of trusted cyber and digital technologies. (4) To provide a comprehensive package to foreign government partners, with the support of and in coordination with United States industry technical experts, as appropriate, to navigate trusted cyber and digital technology procurement requirements, to understand technical and system complexity, to assess absorptive capacity, and to identify foreign government partner-specific logistical and export control challenges, including by-- (A) designing and implementing procurement, deployment, and technical knowledge transfer that enable the participating foreign government partner to modernize and secure systems; (B) providing clear guidelines for United States and trusted foreign supplier entry and eligibility; (C) conducting assessments related to the participating foreign government partner's workforce or technological requirements, including any gaps in absorptive capacity, including-- (i) feasibility studies to identify, design, and implement the deployment of trusted cyber and digital technology solutions; and (ii) sustainability assessments to determine the participating foreign government partner's ability to procure and invest in trusted cyber and digital technologies, including the ability to sustain such investments in the long-term; (D) providing capacity building to ensure that the participating foreign government partner obtains the relevant skills for requirements identification and assessment, integration of United States procurements into existing operating environments, research and procurement, logistics, deployment, and configuration to ensure a long-term arrangement with United States suppliers; and (E) assisting the participating foreign government partner in developing a long-term strategy to procure and budget for trusted cyber and digital technology procurements, including beyond the end of the Program's lifecycle. (5) To assess the risks and tradeoffs of foreign government partners adopting cyber and digital technologies from foreign countries of concern and prioritize foreign government partners for outreach efforts based on that risk assessment. (c) Covered Cyber and Digital Technologies.--In implementing the Program, the Secretary of State shall, in coordination with the participating foreign government partner and United States industry technical experts, as appropriate, prioritize the following trusted cyber and digital technologies, as well as any other trusted cyber and digital technologies designated by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (d): (1) Software and its associated subscriptions and licensing, including-- (A) operating systems; [[Page S3626]] (B) enterprise management software; (C) cloud-based storage solutions and compute access; (D) industrial control and automation software, including Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), distributed control systems (DCS), and programmable logic controller (PLC) programming environments; (E) digital twin, simulation, and modeling software; and (F) cloud and edge orchestration platforms for robotic and operational technology (OT) device management. (2) Hardw