II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2876 

To prioritize the efforts of, and to enhance coordination among, United 

States agencies to encourage countries in Central and Eastern Europe 

to improve the security of their telecommunications networks, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Mr. PORTMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To prioritize the efforts of, and to enhance coordination 

among, United States agencies to encourage countries 

in Central and Eastern Europe to improve the security 

of their telecommunications networks, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transatlantic Tele5 communications Security Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS; STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

2 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con3 gress that— 

4 (1) fifth generation (5G) telecommunications 

5 networks in allied and partner countries based on 

6 common, secure, transparent, democratic standards 

7 have the potential to increase cultural, political, and 

8 economic exchanges leading to mutual job creation, 

9 closer citizen relations, and stronger democratic in10 stitutions; 

11 (2) the United States has national security and 

12 economic interests in assisting Central and Eastern 

13 European countries to improve the security of their 

14 telecommunications networks by— 

15 (A) reducing their dependence on covered 

16 telecommunications equipment or services that 

17 are often offered with predatory economic in18 ducements; and 

19 (B) replacing such equipment or services 

20 with secure telecommunications equipment or 

21 services; 

22 (3) the People’s Republic of China’s Belt and 

23 Road Initiative and the 17+1 Initiative seek to un24 dermine Central and Eastern Europe’s infrastruc25 ture resilience and sovereignty through predatory in26 ducements from state-linked providers of teleVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Sep 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2876.IS S2876

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1 communications equipment or services, such as 

2 Huawei Technologies Company and ZTE Corpora3 tion; 

4 (4) the United States must assemble a coalition 

5 of democratic and like-minded allies and partners— 

6 (A) to counter the rise of global malign ac7 tors, such as the People’s Republic of China 

8 and the Russian Federation; and 

9 (B) to build resilience in Central and East10 ern Europe against malign influences; and 

11 (5) in order to ensure robust military coordina12 tion and interoperability with the North Atlantic 

13 Treaty Organization (referred to in this Act as 

14 ‘‘NATO’’) and transatlantic allies and partners, the 

15 United States should ensure that allies’ and part16 ners’ telecommunications networks are secure and 

17 free from potential threats in accordance with 

18 NATO’s December 2019 London Declaration. 

19 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

20 United States— 

21 (1) to strengthen the transatlantic alliance 

22 based on shared values in the face of rising malign 

23 influence from the Russian Federation and the Peo24 ple’s Republic of China, which seek to undermine 

25 democratic institutions and values; 


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1 (2) to encourage public and private sector in2 vestment in European telecommunications infra3 structure projects— 

4 (A) to ensure secure telecommunications; 

5 and 

6 (B) to catalyze economic advancement 

7 through the highest standards of transparency, 

8 accessibility, and competition; 

9 (3) to provide economically feasible alternatives 

10 to financing from providers of covered telecommuni11 cations equipment or services; 

12 (4) to engage in diplomacy with European allies 

13 and partners to strengthen United States and Euro14 pean private sector efforts— 

15 (A) to develop common telecommunications 

16 technology and industry standards; and 

17 (B) to promote them globally; 

18 (5) to support the Three Seas Initiative orga19 nized by 12 Central and Eastern European countries 

20 of the European Union to increase infrastructure re21 siliency and reduce reliance on malign actors, includ22 ing in the telecommunications space; and 

23 (6) to support the people of Ukraine, Moldova, 

24 and the Western Balkan countries in their desire for 

25 integration into euro-Atlantic institutions and econoVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Sep 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2876.IS S2876

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1 mies through enhanced cross-border telecommuni2 cations infrastructure connectivity. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) CENTRAL OR EASTERN EUROPEAN COUN6 TRY.—The term ‘‘Central or Eastern European 

7 country’’ includes— 

8 (A) Albania; 

9 (B) Austria 

10 (C) Bosnia and Herzegovina; 

11 (D) Bulgaria; 

12 (E) Croatia; 

13 (F) Cyprus; 

14 (G) Czechia; 

15 (H) Estonia; 

16 (I) Greece; 

17 (J) Hungary; 

18 (K) Kosovo; 

19 (L) Latvia; 

20 (M) Lithuania; 

21 (N) Moldova; 

22 (O) Montenegro; 

23 (P) North Macedonia; 

24 (Q) Poland; 

25 (R) Romania; 


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1 (S) Serbia; 

2 (T) Slovakia; 

3 (U) Slovenia; and 

4 (V) Ukraine. 

5 (2) COVERED FOREIGN COUNTRY.—The term 

6 ‘‘covered foreign country’’ means the People’s Re7 public of China. 

8 (3) COVERED TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIP9 MENT OR SERVICES.—The term ‘‘covered tele10 communications equipment or services’’ means— 

11 (A) telecommunications equipment or serv12 ices produced or provided by Huawei Tech13 nologies Company or ZTE Corporation (or any 

14 subsidiary or affiliate of such entities); and 

15 (B) telecommunications equipment or serv16 ices produced or provided by an entity that the 

17 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Di18 rector of National Intelligence, reasonably be19 lieves to be an entity owned or controlled by, or 

20 otherwise connected to, the government of a 

21 covered foreign country. 

22 (4) EARLY-STAGE PROJECT SUPPORT.—The 

23 term ‘‘early-stage project support’’ includes— 

24 (A) feasibility studies; 

25 (B) resource evaluations; 


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1 (C) project appraisal and costing; 

2 (D) pilot projects; 

3 (E) commercial support, such as trade 

4 missions, reverse trade missions, technical 

5 workshops, international buyer programs, and 

6 international partner searchers to link suppliers 

7 to projects; 

8 (F) technical assistance and other guid9 ance to improve the local regulatory environ10 ment and market frameworks to encourage 

11 transparent competition and enhance tele12 communications security; and 

13 (G) long-term telecommunications sector 

14 planning. 

15 (5) LATE-STAGE PROJECT SUPPORT.—The term 

16 ‘‘late-stage project support’’ includes debt financing, 

17 equity financing, insurance, and transaction advisory 

18 services. 

19 (6) MALIGN INFLUENCE.—The term ‘‘malign 

20 influence’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘foreign 

21 malign influence’’ in section 119C(e)(2) of the Na22 tional Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3059(e)(2)). 

23 (7) SECURE TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIP24 MENT OR SERVICES.—The term ‘‘secure tele25 communications equipment or services’’ means teleVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:09 Sep 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2876.IS S2876

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1 communications equipment or services that are not, 

2 and do not contain, covered telecommunications 

3 equipment or services. 

4 SEC. 4. PRIORITIZATION OF EFFORTS AND ASSISTANCE 

5 FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUC6 TURE PROJECTS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN 

7 EUROPE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—In pursuing the policy described 

9 in section 2(b), the Secretary of State, in consultation with 

10 the Secretary of Commerce, the Chief Executive Officer 

11 of the United States International Development Finance 

12 Corporation, the Director of the United States Trade and 

13 Development Agency, the Federal Communications Com14 mission, and heads of other relevant United States agen15 cies, shall, as appropriate, prioritize and expedite the ef16 forts of the Department of State and the aforementioned 

17 agencies in supporting the efforts of the European Com18 mission and the governments of Central and Eastern Eu19 ropean countries to improve the security of their tele20 communications networks, including through providing 

21 diplomatic and political support to the European Commis22 sion and Central and Eastern Europe countries, as nec23 essary— 

24 (1) to support the enhancement of European 

25 telecommunications markets, including through 


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1 early-stage project support and late-stage project 

2 support for the construction or improvement of tele3 communications and related infrastructure; 

4 (2) to remove covered telecommunications 

5 equipment or services and replace such equipment or 

6 services with secure telecommunications equipment 

7 or services; 

8 (3) to support the development of telecommuni9 cations networks that are inclusive, transparent, eco10 nomically viable, financially, environmentally, and 

11 socially sustainable, compliant with international 

12 standards, laws, and regulations, and supplied by 

13 providers of secure telecommunications equipment or 

14 services; and 

15 (4) to facilitate international coordination on 

16 cross-border telecommunications infrastructure con17 struction and security standards to ensure cross-bor18 der telecommunications are secure. 

19 (b) PROJECT SELECTION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, the 

21 Chief Executive Officer of the United States Inter22 national Development Finance Corporation, and the 

23 Director of the United States Trade and Develop24 ment Agency should identify telecommunications in25 frastructure projects that would— 


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1 (A) advance United States national secu2 rity; and 

3 (B) be appropriate for United States as4 sistance under this section. 

5 (2) PROJECT ELIGIBILITY.—A project is eligible 

6 for United States assistance under this section if the 

7 project— 

8 (A)(i) improves, modernizes, or expands 

9 telecommunications networks with secure tele10 communications equipment or services 

11 through— 

12 (I) an investment in hard infrastruc13 ture, such as telecommunications lines or 

14 equipment; or 

15 (II) an investment in soft infrastruc16 ture, such as innovative software develop17 ment or cloud services; 

18 (ii) removes covered telecommunications 

19 equipment or services and replaces such equip20 ment or services with secure telecommuni21 cations equipment or services; or 

22 (iii) enhances telecommunications market 

23 integration across the Central or Eastern Euro24 pean region that is secure from exploitation by 

25 malign actors; and 


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1 (B) is located in a Central European or 

2 Eastern European country. 

3 (3) PREFERENCE.—In selecting among eligible 

4 projects, the agencies described in subsection (a) 

5 should give preference to projects that— 

6 (A) can attract funding from the private 

7 sector, an international financial institution, the 

8 government of the country in which the project 

9 will be carried out, or the European Commis10 sion; 

11 (B) have been designated as available for 

12 funding through the Three Seas Initiative In13 vestment Fund; 

14 (C) are to be carried out in 1 or more of 

15 the Three Seas Initiative member nations; 

16 (D) are to be carried out in NATO mem17 ber nations that— 

18 (i) meet or are making progress to19 ward meeting their commitments to up20 holding the rule of law and preserving 

21 democratic institutions in accordance with 

22 the preamble and Article 2 of the North 

23 Atlantic Treaty, done at Washington April 

24 4, 1949; or 


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1 (ii) meet or are making demonstrable 

2 progress toward meeting their defense 

3 spending commitments in accordance with 

4 the NATO Wales Summit Declaration 

5 issued on September 5, 2014; or 

6 (E) have the potential to advance United 

7 States economic interests. 

8 (c) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.— 

9 (1) DIPLOMATIC AND POLITICAL SUPPORT.— 

10 The Secretary of State shall provide diplomatic and 

11 political support to the European Commission and to 

12 Central and Eastern European countries, as nec13 essary, including by using the diplomatic and polit14 ical influence and expertise of the Department of 

15 State to build the capacity of Central and Eastern 

16 European countries to resolve any impediments to 

17 the development of projects selected pursuant to 

18 subsection (b). 

19 (2) INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

20 SUPPORT.—The Secretary of State shall encourage 

21 international financial institutions, including the Eu22 ropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 

23 the European Investment Bank, and the Inter24 national Monetary Fund, the Foreign, Common25 wealth, and Development Office of the Government 


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1 of the United Kingdom, the Agency for International 

2 Cooperation of the Government of Germany, and the 

3 Development Agency of the Government of France 

4 to invest in telecommunications infrastructure resil5 ience in Central and Eastern Europe. 

6 (3) EARLY-STAGE PROJECT SUPPORT.—The Di7 rector of the United States Trade and Development 

8 Agency shall provide early-stage project support with 

9 respect to projects selected pursuant to subsection 

10 (b), as necessary, including project support in 

11 middle- and upper-income countries. 

12 (4) LATE-STAGE PROJECT SUPPORT.—Agencies 

13 described in subsection (a) that provide late-stage 

14 project support shall provide such support with re15 spect to projects selected pursuant to subsection (b), 

16 as necessary. 

17 (5) UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL DEVELOP18 MENT FINANCE CORPORATION SUPPORT.—Notwith19 standing the restriction under section 1412(c)(2) of 

20 the BUILD Act of 2018 (22 U.S.C. 9612(c)(2)), the 

21 United States International Development Finance 

22 Corporation is authorized to provide support for 

23 projects under this section in Central and Eastern 

24 European countries that are countries with upper25 middle-income economies or high-income economies 


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1 (as such terms are defined by the International 

2 Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the 

3 International Development Association (collectively 

4 referred to as the ‘‘World Bank’’)). 

5 SEC. 5. PROGRESS REPORTS. 

6 (a) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES

7 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con8 gressional committees’’ means— 

9 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

10 Senate; 

11 (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

12 Senate; 

13 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

14 House of Representatives; and 

15 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

16 House of Representatives. 

17 (b) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

19 the President shall submit a report to the appropriate con20 gressional committees that describes the progress made in 

21 providing assistance for projects selected pursuant to sec22 tion 4(b), including— 

23 (1) a description of the telecommunications in24 frastructure projects the United States has assisted; 

25 and 


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1 (2) for each such project— 

2 (A) a description of the role of the United 

3 States in the project, including in early-stage 

4 project support and late-stage project support; 

5 (B) the amount and form of debt financ6 ing, equity financing, and insurance provided 

7 for the project by— 

8 (i) the United States Government; 

9 (ii) the Three Seas Initiative Invest10 ment Fund; 

11 (iii) international financial institu12 tions, including the European Bank for 

13 Reconstruction and Development, the Eu14 ropean Investment Bank, and the Inter15 national Monetary Fund; 

16 (iv) the Foreign, Commonwealth, and 

17 Development Office of the Government of 

18 the United Kingdom; 

19 (v) the Agency for International Co20 operation of the Government of Germany; 

21 or 

22 (vi) the Development Agency of the 

23 Government of France; 


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1 (C) the public summary disclosure of the 

2 project that preclude the use of covered tele3 communications equipment or services; and 

4 (D) an update on the progress made on 

5 the project as of the date of the report. 

Æ 


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