REMOVING OUR UNSECURE TECHNOLOGIES TO ENSURE RELIABILITY AND SECURITY ACT

On 2025-04-28, Representative Robert E. Latta (R-OH-5) delivered a floor speech titled "REMOVING OUR UNSECURE TECHNOLOGIES TO ENSURE RELIABILITY AND SECURITY ACT" in the House.

REMOVING OUR UNSECURE TECHNOLOGIES TO ENSURE RELIABILITY AND SECURITY ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 70 (Monday, April 28, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 70 (Monday, April 28, 2025)] [House] [Pages H1661-H1662] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] REMOVING OUR UNSECURE TECHNOLOGIES TO ENSURE RELIABILITY AND SECURITY ACT Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 866) to direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, to conduct a study of the national security risks posed by consumer routers, modems, and devices that combine a modem and router, and for other purposes, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 866 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 ``Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security Act'' or the ``ROUTERS Act''. SEC. 2. STUDY OF RISKS POSED BY CERTAIN ROUTERS AND MODEMS. (a) In General.--The Secretary shall conduct a study of the national security risks and cybersecurity vulnerabilities posed by consumer routers, modems, and devices that combine a modem and router that are designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the influence of a covered country. (b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the results of the study conducted under subsection (a). (c) Consultation Within Department.--In conducting the study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with appropriate bureaus and offices within the Department of Commerce. (d) Definitions.--In this section: (1) Covered country.--The term ``covered country'' means a country specified in section 4872(f)(2) of title 10, United States Code. (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) and the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida. General Leave Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on this particular bill. [[Page H1662]] The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Florida? There was no objection. Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 866, the ROUTERS Act, led by Chairman Latta, my good friend. Nearly everyone in America has a router or a modem in their home, but these devices can have security vulnerabilities that can be exploited by our adversaries, unfortunately. The ROUTERS Act would direct the Department of Commerce to study the national security risks and cybersecurity vulnerabilities posed by routers and modems produced by companies with ties to foreign adversaries. This study will help Congress understand the security of these devices. This legislation passed by voice vote last Congress, and I urge my colleagues to support it once again. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 866, the Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security Act, or the ROUTERS Act. This legislation is an important step to provide Americans with the confidence to trust that the devices they use in their homes to connect to the internet are free from the influence of our foreign adversaries. H.R. 866 accomplishes this objective by requiring the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, to study the national security risks and cybersecurity vulnerabilities in American homes posed by routers and modems manufactured or sold by entities with ties to our foreign adversary countries. The Secretary must also deliver a report to Congress of this study within 1 year. It is crucial that we understand the cybersecurity and national security risks networks face from equipment that originates from our foreign adversaries. This is especially true given that our Nation's communication networks are an integral component of nearly every facet of American life, which also makes them prime targets for attack. This legislation will help us better protect American families and our country from bad actors who want to carry out malicious attacks. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Kelly and Latta for their bipartisan work on this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 866, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta). Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, the chair of the subcommittee, for yielding. I rise today in support of my legislation, H.R. 866, the ROUTERS Act. Routers and modems play a key role in communications networks. They are the entry point through which the public accesses the internet. Thus, we make sure that they are secure. Bad actors can exploit vulnerabilities in routers to infect users' computers, access their information, or disrupt their network. National security agencies, including the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security, have reported on the threat posed by vulnerabilities in routers and how some Chinese Communist Party-sponsored hackers have used these vulnerabilities to launch attacks. We should take these reports seriously. Further, we know that companies with ties to the CCP could be forced to support Chinese intelligence activities. We can imagine how they could use vulnerabilities in their equipment to aid these efforts. That is why I am pleased to sponsor the ROUTERS Act, which would direct the Secretary of Commerce through the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information to study the national security risk posed by routers and modems produced by companies with ties to foreign adversaries. This study will help Congress understand the scope and risk of this threat and will inform whether we need to remove this equipment from our networks. The legislation builds on our bipartisan efforts to remove untrusted equipment from our communications ecosystem. In the past 5 years, we passed the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act to remove Huawei and ZTE equipment from our networks and the Secure Equipment Act, which prohibits the Federal Communications Commission from authorizing equipment from untrusted vendors. It is imperative we move forward with these efforts to mitigate the widespread availability of this equipment. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 866, and I yield back the balance of my time. {time} 1630 Mrs. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to protect American citizens and support the ROUTERS Act. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this particular vote, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 866, as amended. The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________

Referenced legislation: HR866, HR866