79–008 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 115–714 

RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO 

TRANSMIT CERTAIN DOCUMENTS TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

RELATING TO DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY POLICIES AND 

ACTIVITIES RELATING TO HOMELAND SECURITY INFORMATION PRODUCED AND DISSEMINATED REGARDING CYBERSECURITY THREATS 

POSED BY THE ZTE CORPORATION, HEADQUARTERED IN SHENZHEN, 

CHINA 

JUNE 8, 2018.—Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed 

Mr. MCCAUL, from the Committee on Homeland Security, 

submitted the following 

ADVERSE REPORT 

together with 

DISSENTING VIEWS 

[To accompany H. Res. 898] 

The Committee on Homeland Security, to whom was referred the 

resolution (H. Res. 898) directing the Secretary of Homeland Security to transmit certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to Department of Homeland Security policies and 

activities relating to homeland security information produced and 

disseminated regarding cybersecurity threats posed by the ZTE 

Corporation, headquartered in Shenzhen, China, having considered the same, report unfavorably thereon without amendment 

and recommend that the resolution not be agreed to. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 2 

Background and Need for Legislation .................................................................... 2 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 2 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 3 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 3 

New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures ............. 3 

Congressional Budget Office Estimate ................................................................... 4 

Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives .................................... 4 

Duplicative Federal Programs ................................................................................ 4 

Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff Benefits ... 4 


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Federal Mandates Statement ................................................................................. 4 

Preemption Clarification ......................................................................................... 4 

Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings ..................................................................... 5 

Advisory Committee Statement .............................................................................. 5 

Applicability to Legislative Branch ........................................................................ 5 

Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation ...................................................... 5 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ..................................... 5 

Dissenting Views ..................................................................................................... 6 

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

On May 16, 2018, Representative Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi introduced H. Res. 898, a non–binding resolution of inquiry requesting the Secretary of Homeland Security transmit to 

the House of Representatives, homeland security information in the 

possession of the Secretary that refers or relates to the following: 

1. Any documentation related to the use of any ZTE Corporation’s products by the Department of Homeland Security. 

2. Any documentation related to cybersecurity threats or 

vulnerabilities resulting from the use of ZTE Corporation’s 

products by the Department of Homeland Security or the Department’s contractors. 

3. Any documentation related to the cybersecurity threats or 

vulnerabilities resulting from the use of ZTE Corporation’s 

products by State and local governments and first responders. 

4. Any documentation related to any alerts or warnings issued 

by the Department of Homeland Security related to the use of 

ZTE Corporation’s cybersecurity products. 

5. Any documentation related to cybersecurity threats or 

vulnerabilities posed by the use of ZTE Corporation products 

by the Federal Government. 

6. Any documentation related to cybersecurity threats or 

vulnerabilities from state actors, including Iran, or terrorist 

organizations resulting from ZTE Corporation’s activities. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

A resolution of inquiry is a House resolution directing the President or the head of an executive department to provide to the 

House specific information in the possession of the Administration. 

Clause 7 of House Rule XIII provides that, if properly drafted, a 

resolution of inquiry is provided special parliamentary status allowing the Committee to which the measure was referred to be discharged if the Committee has not reported the measure back to the 

House within 14 legislative days after is introduction. 

The Committee notes that the consideration of this resolution of 

inquiry is to have the Committee comply with Rule XIII, it does not 

affect the Committee’s obligation or commitment to investigate and 

require documentation from the Administration on issues within 

the Committee’s jurisdictional authorities. 

This Committee has several ongoing, bipartisan oversight 

projects related to Department of Homeland Security supply chain 

risk management, threats posed by Chinese telecommunications, 

and other related counterintelligence threats. 

HEARINGS

No hearings were held on H. Res. 898 in the 115th Congress. 


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COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

The Committee met on June 6, 2018, to consider H. Res. 898, 

and ordered the measure to be reported to the House with an unfavorable recommendation, without amendment, by a recorded vote 

of 16 yeas and 11 nays (Roll Call Vote No. 37). 

COMMITTEE VOTES

Clause 3(b) of Rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments thereto. 

The Committee on Homeland Security considered H. Res. 898 

on June 6, 2018, and took the following vote: 

On ordering the resolution to be reported to the House of Representatives 

with an unfavorable recommendation. 

Not Agreed to: 16 yeas and 11 nays. 

Representative Yea Nay Representative Yea Nay 

Mr. McCaul, 

Chair.

X Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, 

Ranking Member.

X 

Mr. Smith of Texas ........................ Ms. Jackson Lee ...........................

Mr. King of New York .................... X Mr. Langevin ................................. X 

Mr. Rogers of Alabama ................. X Mr. Richmond ............................... X 

Mr. Barletta ................................... X Mr. Keating ................................... X 

Mr. Perry ........................................ X Mr. Payne ...................................... X 

Mr. Katko ....................................... X Mr. Vela ........................................ X 

Mr. Hurd ........................................ X Mrs. Watson Coleman .................. X 

Ms. McSally ................................... X Miss Rice of New York ................. X 

Mr. Ratcliffe .................................. Mr. Correa ..................................... X 

Mr. Donovan .................................. X Mrs. Demings ............................... X 

Mr. Gallagher ................................. X Ms. Barraga ́ n ................................ X 

Mr. Higgins of Louisiana ............... X 

Mr. Garrett ..................................... X 

Mr. Fitzpatrick ............................... X 

Mr. Estes ....................................... X 

Mr. Bacon ...................................... X 

Mrs. Lesko ..................................... X 

Vote Total: 16 11 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of Rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee has held oversight hearings and 

made findings that are reflected in this report. 

NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX

EXPENDITURES

In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of Rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, the Committee finds that H. Res. 898, 

would result in no new or increased budget authority, entitlement 

authority, or tax expenditures or revenues. 


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CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE ESTIMATE

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of Rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, a cost estimate provided by the Congressional 

Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget 

Act of 1974 was not made available to the Committee in time for 

the filing of this report. The Committee estimates that this non– 

binding resolution would not result in any significant costs. 

STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of Rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, H. Res. 898 requests that Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security transmit documents related to the 

use of any ZTE Corporation’s products by the Department of Homeland Security; cybersecurity threats or vulnerabilities resulting 

from the use of ZTE Corporation’s products by the Department of 

Homeland Security or the Department’s contractors; cybersecurity 

threats or vulnerabilities resulting from the use of ZTE Corporation’s products by State and local governments and first responders; any alerts or warnings issued by the Department of Homeland 

Security related to the use of ZTE Corporation’s cybersecurity products; cybersecurity threats or vulnerabilities posed by the use of 

ZTE Corporation products by the Federal Government; and cybersecurity threats or vulnerabilities from state actors, including Iran, 

or terrorist organizations resulting from ZTE Corporation’s activities. And to provide these documents to the U.S. House of Representatives. 

DUPLICATIVE FEDERAL PROGRAMS

Pursuant to clause 3(c) of Rule XIII, the Committee finds that 

H. Res. 898 does not contain any provision that establishes or reauthorizes a program known to be duplicative of another Federal 

program. 

CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED

TARIFF BENEFITS

In compliance with Rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, this resolution, as reported, contains no congressional 

earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 

in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of the Rule XXI. 

FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

An estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of the 

Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Committee believes 

that no Federal mandates are included in this resolution. 

PREEMPTION CLARIFICATION

In compliance with section 423 of the Congressional Budget Act 

of 1974, requiring the report of any Committee on a bill or joint 

resolution to include a statement on the extent to which the bill or 

joint resolution is intended to preempt State, local, or Tribal law, 


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the Committee finds that H. Res. 898 does not preempt any State, 

local, or Tribal law. 

DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTED RULE MAKINGS

The Committee estimates that H. Res. 898 would require no directed rule makings. 

ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this legislation. 

APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the 

terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or 

accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

H.Res. 898, if passed, would require the Secretary of Homeland 

Security to provide documents to the House of Representatives 

within 14 days of passage. 

The documents requested relate to the ZTE Corporation and its 

relationship to the Department of Homeland Security including: 

the use of any ZTE Corporation’s products by the Department of 

Homeland Security; cybersecurity threats or vulnerabilities resulting from the use of ZTE Corporation’s products by the Department 

of Homeland Security or the Department’s contractors; cybersecurity threats or vulnerabilities resulting from the use of ZTE Corporation’s products by State and local governments and first responders; any alerts or warnings issued by the Department of 

Homeland Security related to the use of ZTE Corporation’s cybersecurity products; cybersecurity threats or vulnerabilities posed by 

the use of ZTE Corporation products by the Federal Government; 

and cybersecurity threats or vulnerabilities from state actors, including Iran, or terrorist organizations resulting from ZTE Corporation’s activities. And to provide these documents to the U.S. 

House of Representatives. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

H. Res. 898 makes no changes to existing law. 


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1 U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Investigative 

Report on the U.S. National Security Issues Posed by Chinese Telecommunications Companies 

Huawei and ZTE, 112th Con. (Oct. 8, 2012), available at https://intelligence.house.gov/sites/intelligence.house.gov/files/dicynets/huawei-zte%20investigative%20report%20(final).pdf. 2 Id. 3 Id. 4 ‘‘Pentagon Orders Stores on Military Bases to Remove Huawei, ZTE Phone,’’ The Wall Street 

Journal (May 2, 2018), available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/pentagon-asking-military-basesto-remove-huawei-zte-phones-1525262076?mod=djemalertNEWS&ns=prod/accountsDISSENTING VIEWS 

On Wednesday, June 6, 2018, the Committee on Homeland Security rejected H. Res. 898, a Resolution of Inquiry directing the Secretary of Homeland Security to transmit certain documents to the 

House of Representatives regarding Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policies and activities relating to homeland security information produced and disseminated regarding cybersecurity 

threats posed by the ZTE Corporation, a telecommunications company headquartered in Shenzhen, China. 

ZTE has a long track record of rejecting international business 

norms, operating in secrecy, and doing the bidding of the Chinese 

government. In 2012, ZTE and another Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer, Huawei, were the subject of a 

high-profile investigation by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which ultimately concluded that ‘‘the risks 

associated with Huawei’s and ZTE’s provision of equipment to U.S. 

critical infrastructure could undermine core U.S. national-security 

interests.’’ 1 The report included sweeping recommendations for the 

U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) to ‘‘remain vigilant and focused 

on this threat . . . [and] actively seek to keep cleared private sector actors as informed of the threat as possible.’’ 2 It also directed 

the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to block 

acquisitions involving ZTE, and urged private entities to ‘‘consider 

the long-security risks’’ of doing business with ZTE.3

In 2016, the Commerce Department imposed stiff penalties on 

ZTE for violating U.S. sanctions by making hundreds of shipments 

of microprocessors, routers, servers and other telecommunications 

equipment that was made with U.S. parts to Iran, Sudan, North 

Korea, Syria, and Cuba. In 2017, the Commerce Department entered into a settlement with ZTE where the company agreed to pay 

fines and punish employees involved in breaching U.S. sanctions or 

have its export privileges denied for seven years. In April, when 

the Commerce Department learned that the settlement had been 

breached, it was forced to bar U.S. companies from exporting to 

Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE for seven years. In May, 

the Department of Defense (DOD) announced that it was banning 

U.S. military bases from selling Huawei and ZTE phones on the 

grounds that the devices ‘‘may pose an unacceptable risk’’ of spying 

on soldiers or revealing troop whereabouts,4 and the Federal ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:45 Jun 10, 2018 Jkt 079008 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6604 Sfmt 6604 E:\HR\OC\HR714.XXX HR714

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wsj&ns=prod/accounts-wsj&ns=prod/accounts-wsj&ns=prod/accounts-wsj&ns=prod/accountswsj&ns=prod/accounts-wsj. 5Federal Communications Commission Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Protecting Against 

National Security Threats to the Communications Supply Chain Through FCC Programs, FCC 

18–42 (Apr. 18, 2018). 6Twitter, Donald J. Trump, @realDonaldTrump (May 13, 2018 at 11:01 AM). 

7Testimony of Daniel R. Coats, Director of National Intelligence, Michael Pompeo, CIA Director, Adm. Michael Rogers, NSA Director, and Chris Wray, FBI Director, before the U.S. Senate 

Select Committee on Intelligence hearing entitled Worldwide Threats (Feb. 13, 2018). 

munications Commission proposed rules barring small, rural carriers from buying Chinese-made telecommunications equipment.5

Then, inexplicably, on May 13, 2018, President Trump tweeted, 

without warning or explanation, that he had spoken with President 

Xi of China and that he was directing the Commerce Department 

to work to save ZTE and Chinese jobs.6 It is unclear whether the 

President familiarized himself with the IC’s significant concerns 

about ZTE or whether there was any engagement with the IC or 

DHS prior to tweeting this new policy on ZTE. What we do know 

is that two days before the announcement, the Chinese government 

agreed to help finance the development of a Trump-branded resort 

property in Indonesia, offering roughly $500 million toward construction of the project. We also know that a day after the President tweeted about easing sanctions on ZTE, the company hired 

Bryan Lanza, a former Trump Campaign staffer to lobby on its behalf. 

I introduced this Resolution of Inquiry in response to urgent 

warnings from national security experts, including the Director of 

National Intelligence and top officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency, among others, that the use of ZTE products could 

create an access point for the Chinese government to conduct espionage.7 Consideration of H. Res. 898 provided Members of the Committee on Homeland Security with the opportunity to send a strong 

statement of concern about the direction the Trump Administration 

is going on this national security matter. 

The Resolution of Inquiry would have forced DHS to provide 

Congress with information to get a better understanding of the implications, particularly the cybersecurity implications, of easing 

sanctions against ZTE. Given that the Pentagon was in the process 

of barring the sale of ZTE devices on military bases, it seems reasonable that DHS would have conducted its own investigations and 

arrived at its own national security conclusions. Unfortunately, the 

Majority chose to stay silent on this urgent national security issue 

and unanimously voted to report the measure unfavorably to the 

House of Representatives. With this vote, the Majority essentially 

decided to look away as the Trump Administration pursued efforts 

to relax its punishment of ZTE, discounting the significant national 

security concerns voiced by DOD, the IC, security experts and U.S. 

allies. The day after the markup, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur 

Ross announced that the seven-year ban on ZTE buying American 

parts would be relaxed, as the company had agreed to pay a $1 billion fine and adopt a new compliance regime. 

Congress has a responsibility to be a check on the Administration. By voting down H. Res. 898, the Majority chose to sit on the 

sidelines and let the Trump Administration ease sanctions on a 

company that DOD, the IC, security experts and U.S. allies believe 


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to be a threat to our national security. As such, I dissent against 

the Committee’s decision to stand in the way of oversight of this 

urgent national security matter. 

BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Ranking Member. 

Æ 


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