Countering CCP Drones Act

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bipartisan legislation, the Countering CCP Drones Act.

First, I thank Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Chairman Latta, Ranking Member Pallone, and the Energy and Commerce Committee for their bipartisan support of this legislation and others that seek to end Communist China's malign influence in America.

Additionally, I will thank my colleague, Majority Leader Scalise, for bringing these bills to the floor that clearly demonstrate that House Republicans will continue to lead in countering Communist China.

The Chinese Communist Party is working to undermine American sovereignty by forcing Americans to rely and depend on unsecure Communist Chinese technology.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the drone industry.

In 2015, the CCP launched the ``Made in China 2025'' initiative, which leveraged aggressive subsidies, direct CCP investment, and unfair trade practices to artificially drive down the cost of Chinese- manufactured drones undercutting American companies and ensuring the rest of the world was forced to rely on Communist China for unsecured drone technology.

Due to these authoritarian policies, America has been flooded with drones manufactured by the CCP-controlled drone company DJI.

Allowing artificially cheap DJI drones to monopolize our skies has decimated American drone manufacturing and given our greatest strategic adversary eyes in our skies.

Over the last 7 years, the U.S. Government has publicly confirmed time and time again that DJI drones are being used to collect information on U.S. critical infrastructure and pose significant risks to U.S. national security.

Moreover, DJI is on the U.S. Department of Defense's list of Chinese military companies because it directly advances the modernization efforts of the People's Liberation Army. Not only does DJI improve the equipment of our greatest strategic adversary, which could one day be used against U.S. servicemembers, they also actively aid the CCP in carrying out genocidal crimes against ethnic minorities.

It is past time we end Communist China's role as the world's drone factory.

My legislation, the Countering CCP Drones Act, will place DJI on the FCC's covered list, which will prohibit new models of DJI drones from operating in America. This will initiate a much-needed transition period to improve the competitiveness of U.S. drone companies, remove Chinese spy drones from our skies, and end our reliance on CCP- manufactured drones.

For too long, we have allowed Communist China leverage over our critical industries through their malign drone monopoly. As drones become increasingly integrated into our military, law enforcement, agriculture, and critical infrastructure, the U.S. must build our domestic manufacturing capabilities.

Make no mistake, Communist China will use the successes of its ``Made in China 2025'' initiative to undercut American global leadership and domestic security. We have 3 months to reverse the course of these successes. The passage of my Countering CCP Drones Act is a critical step in that direction.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2864, the Countering CCP Drones Act. Our country's communications networks help support many parts of our daily lives and play an essential role across almost every sector of our economy. Robust networks allow Americans to have easier access to doctors, teachers, and job opportunities, and they are also vital to our Nation's critical infrastructure, public safety systems, supply chains, and government functions.

This is unlikely to change anytime soon. In fact, as technology advances, our networks are only expected to become even more embedded in everyday life.

This growing reach has made our communications networks targets that face constant threats from adversarial nations and others. In the last few months, we have seen reports that hacking groups linked to China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran are gaining access to our communications networks to conduct surveillance, collect massive amounts of data, and manipulate our elections.

As a result, there is a real risk that the information that they collect could be used to launch cyberattacks on our critical infrastructure and undermine our democratic values of free speech and expression, as well as civil and human rights.

Fortunately, Congress has acted with strong bipartisan support to bolster the defense of our communications networks. My bipartisan Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, which became law in 2020, established a list of equipment and services that pose a national security risk and prevent their use in our communications networks.

H.R. 2864 builds on that bipartisan work by adding the telecommunications and video surveillance equipment and services provided by so-called DJI Technologies, better recognized as the equipment and services used in their drones, to the Federal Communications Commission's covered list. With this action, Congress will ensure that future versions of DJI drones cannot be imported, marketed, or sold in the United States.

DJI Technologies and its drones have repeatedly been flagged by the Federal Government as a national security risk. Since DJI is the global leader in drone manufacturing and has ties to the Chinese Communist Party, its drone technology and the data it collects could be exploited by the CCP to enable the theft of sensitive American data and compromise critical infrastructure in the United States.

This is especially true given that recent figures indicate that DJI controls almost 90 percent of the consumer drone market in North America, and DJI drones are often used by local law enforcement agencies for public safety operations.

With this bill, we continue our vigilance in protecting American data as well as our communications networks and other critical infrastructure from rogue nation-states.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2864, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I simply urge support for this legislation on a bipartisan basis, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2864) to amend the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 to provide for the addition of certain equipment and services produced or provided by DJI Technologies to the list of covered communications equipment or services published under such Act, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation, H.R. 2864, the Countering CCP Drones Act, led by the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Stefanik).

DJI Technologies is the largest drone manufacturer in the world. Their drones are used by hobbyists, public safety agencies, and private companies to capture images from above, protect the public, and monitor critical infrastructure. Despite its significant presence, DJI is based in China, and it has known ties with the Chinese Communist Party, which represents a national security risk to the United States.

As we know, companies with ties to the CCP operate in an environment tightly intertwined with the Chinese Communist Government, raising serious concerns about the level of influence and potential for exploitation by the CCP.

For example, under China's 2017 National Intelligence Law, these companies are required to support, provide assistance to, and cooperate with China's national intelligence work, wherever they operate, which would and could jeopardize Americans. This threat is especially significant with DJI given how their drones are used within the United States, and we must act to address this threat.

H.R. 2864 adds telecommunications or video surveillance equipment and surveillance services produced or provided

by DJI Technologies to the FCC's covered list, which is a list of communications equipment or services that pose an unacceptable risk to national security. As a result of being placed on this list, the FCC could no longer authorize DJI drones going forward.

This legislation is forward looking. It only applies to drones that DJI seeks FCC authorization for after this bill becomes law. It would not affect the authorization of drones already in use today. It is imperative we move forward with these efforts to remove the threat posed by DJI.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2864, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Stefanik), the bill's sponsor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Moolenaar).

Mr. Speaker, I further urge support of H.R. 2864. This bill, again, came out of the Energy and Commerce Committee 43-0, and I urge passage of the legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of Conference Chair Stefanik's bill, the Countering CCP Drones Act. This bill would add Chinese drone company DJI to the FCC covered list, meaning that any future models of DJI drones would be prohibited from operating on U.S. telecommunications infrastructure.

DJI poses a real national security risk to the United States given its deep partnership with the Chinese military, its expressed allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party, and its surveillance technology operating across U.S. soil. What is more, that very same technology equips the CCP's genocide of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang.

Understanding these risks, the Pentagon placed DJI on its blacklist as a Chinese military company. The Treasury Department forbids Americans from investing in DJI. The Commerce Department restricts U.S. companies

from exporting technology to DJI. It is time for Congress to do its part and to start winding down DJI's presence in the United States.