Last week, several House Republican leaders sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick urging the Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services (OICTS) to investigate products from companies linked to the Chinese Communist Party. The letter was signed by Chairman Andrew R. Garbarino of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford, and Congressman Bill Huizenga.
The lawmakers raised concerns about Chinese companies operating in the United States or owned by Chinese entities. They argued that these businesses could be used as tools for China's government to advance its interests.
In their letter, they stated: “As you know, the Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services (OICTS) has broad authority to protect the domestic United States’ information and communications technology against foreign adversary attempts to undermine American national security. OICTS’s authority can and should be used to eliminate products and services created by China and other foreign adversaries from domestic supply chains that are shown to have the potential to introduce security vulnerabilities. In multiple statements of policy, the President has called for more aggressive OICTS actions.”
The Chairmen continued: “We recommend OICTS investigate and restrict adversary products in other critical and emerging industries to protect the U.S. market from technology threats. In addition to making the U.S. more secure, doing so will help power America’s future technological and economic prosperity. The industries in Appendix I require immediate consideration of potential OICTS restrictions to protect against malign Chinese entities that are attempting to infiltrate the U.S. market. American national security increasingly depends on the entities that control the data, software, and digital systems that power national infrastructure.”
They concluded: “We have already seen through a variety of cyber-attacks against the United States that China views information technology as a battlefield. A compromised power grid, an infiltrated telecommunications network, or a manipulated industrial control system can pose as great a threat as a kinetic military strike. The fusion of digital capabilities with critical infrastructure has whittled away geographic borders, as connected infrastructure or products can be controlled or updated by entities in another country. Without a concerted effort to create a secure technology ecosystem from the very beginning of each supply chain, our adversaries will continue to exploit our dependence on their technology to undermine U.S. economic and military stability.”
The full text of their letter is available online along with additional information from recent committee reports.
