Sponsors (3)
The bill strengthens national-security resilience and boosts support for trusted domestic ICT suppliers, but does so at the cost of higher federal spending and compliance/transition costs and market limitations that could raise prices and create uncertainty for businesses and consumers.
Federal agencies and the communications networks they oversee will get a coordinated strategy to reduce reliance on 'not trusted' ICT, improving national-security resilience of critical communications infrastructure.
U.S. trusted ICT vendors and suppliers could receive targeted federal support and resources, helping domestic tech firms scale and compete.
Policymakers will get clearer identification of critical ICT and assessments of industrial capacity, informing measures to protect jobs and domestic manufacturing.
Taxpayers and federal budgets will likely face higher costs because developing and implementing the strategy requires new spending or reallocations.
Utilities and other providers that rely on 'not trusted' ICT may incur substantial costs to shift suppliers or replace equipment, raising operating expenses and potential service disruptions.
Businesses and buyers could face higher prices and reduced vendor choice if statutory 'not trusted' designations limit market access for certain foreign vendors.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires Commerce to report on critical ICT dependence and to produce a whole-of-government strategy to strengthen trusted ICT vendors and reduce reliance on "not trusted" ICT.
Official title: To require the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, to report on and develop a whole-of-Government strategy with respect to the economic competitiveness of the information and communication technology supply chain, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 11, 2025 by John Joyce · Last progress March 11, 2025
Requires the Commerce Secretary (through the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information) to produce a report and a whole-of-government strategy to strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness of "trusted" information and communication technology (ICT) vendors and to reduce dependence by U.S. advanced telecommunications providers on ICT that has been designated "not trusted." The bill sets deadlines: a report identifying critical ICT, industrial capacity, dependence on untrusted vendors, and needed federal actions within 1 year of enactment; and a follow-on government strategy with recommended program or legal changes, funding needs, and agency responsibilities within 180 days after that report. The Secretary must consult trusted ICT vendors and relevant national security and regulatory officials and use existing statutory definitions for "advanced telecommunications capability" and for vendors deemed "not trusted." The measure is planning and coordination-focused rather than a funding or regulatory package itself.