The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 5515, NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Commerce was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1128 on Aug. 7, 2018.
The Department includes the Census Bureau, which is used to determine many factors about American life. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the Department is involved in misguided foreign trade policies and is home to many unneeded programs.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 5515, NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2019
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speech of
HON. BRENDAN F. BOYLE
of pennsylvania
in the house of representatives
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank the FY19 NDAA conferees for their hard work on this important piece of legislation. There are many good, important provisions in this bill, including several of my own amendments. However, I am here today to express my disappointment that the Senate provision which would have reinstated penalties against ZTE was stripped out of the final conference report.
No nation steals American intellectual property or spies on America more than China, and Chinese telecommunication companies are among the most powerful tools they use to do this. In April 2018, the Commerce Department issued a seven-year ban on U.S. companies working with ZTE due to its illegal sales to North Korea and Iran. Following President Trump's negotiations on trade with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Secretary Wilbur Ross announced an alternative set of penalties that would allow the company to keep operating in the U.S. market. The Senate provision would have required the President to certify that Chinese telecoms had not violated U.S. laws and cooperated with U.S. investigators for a full year before granting relief from civil penalties.
ZTE is a notorious ``bad actor'' on several policy fronts, and has blatantly violated and ignored U.S. law. The Chinese telecom company is a consistent violator of U.S. intellectual property rights, sued multiple times by U.S. companies for intellectual property violations. The vast majority of these lawsuits have been successful.
Our intellectual property laws set us apart from the rest of the world. They have been and remain critical to fostering American innovation. As the Administration develops its policies on China and ZTE, it cannot forget that ZTE's rogue behavior with regard to intellectual property is a critical element of the problem and must be addressed in any solution.
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