II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1625 

To promote the deployment of commercial fifth-generation mobile networks 

and the sharing of information with communications providers in the 

United States regarding security risks to the networks of those providers, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 22, 2019 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. COTTON, Mr. WARNER, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To promote the deployment of commercial fifth-generation 

mobile networks and the sharing of information with 

communications providers in the United States regarding 

security risks to the networks of those providers, 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 ‘‘United States 5G 

5 Leadership Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) 3GPP.—The term ‘‘3GPP’’ means the 

2 Third Generation Partnership Project. 

3 (2) 5G NETWORK.—The term ‘‘5G network’’ 

4 means a fifth-generation mobile network as de5 scribed by 3GPP Release 15 or higher. 

6 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’’ means— 

9 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

10 and Transportation of the Senate; 

11 (B) the Committee on Armed Services of 

12 the Senate; 

13 (C) the Select Committee on Intelligence of 

14 the Senate; 

15 (D) the Committee on Homeland Security 

16 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

17 (E) the Committee on Energy and Com18 merce of the House of Representatives; 

19 (F) the Committee on Armed Services of 

20 the House of Representatives; 

21 (G) the Permanent Select Committee on 

22 Intelligence of the House of Representatives; 

23 and 

24 (H) the Committee on Homeland Security 

25 of the House of Representatives. 


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1 (4) APPROPRIATE NATIONAL SECURITY AGEN2 CY.—The term ‘‘appropriate national security agen3 cy’’ means— 

4 (A) the Department of Homeland Security; 

5 (B) the Department of Defense; 

6 (C) the Office of the Director of National 

7 Intelligence; 

8 (D) the National Security Agency; and 

9 (E) the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

10 (5) CLOUD COMPUTING.—The term ‘‘cloud 

11 computing’’ has the meaning given the term in Spe12 cial Publication 800–145 of the National Institute of 

13 Standards and Technology, entitled ‘‘The NIST Def14 inition of Cloud Computing’’, published September 

15 2011, or any successor publication. 

16 (6) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

17 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

18 (7) COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK.—The term 

19 ‘‘communications network’’ means— 

20 (A) a system enabling the transmission, 

21 between or among points specified by the user, 

22 of information of the user’s choosing; 

23 (B) cloud computing resources; and 

24 (C) a network or system used to access 

25 cloud computing resources. 


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1 (8) COMMUNICATIONS PROVIDER.—The term 

2 ‘‘communications provider’’— 

3 (A) means any provider of interstate or 

4 international communication by wire or radio; 

5 and 

6 (B) includes a telecommunications carrier. 

7 (9) COVERED COMPANY.—The term ‘‘covered 

8 company’’ means— 

9 (A) Huawei Technologies Co., Limited; 

10 (B) Zhongxing Telecommunications Equip11 ment Corporation; 

12 (C) a subsidiary or affiliate of a company 

13 described in subparagraph (A) or (B); 

14 (D) any communications provider domi15 ciled in the People’s Republic of China (or a 

16 subsidiary or affiliate of such a company), ex17 cluding a communications provider that— 

18 (i) is domiciled in the People’s Repub19 lic of China; and 

20 (ii) is a subsidiary of a company that 

21 is not domiciled in the People’s Republic of 

22 China; and 

23 (E) any entity posing a national security 

24 risk. 


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1 (10) ENTITY POSING A NATIONAL SECURITY

2 RISK.—The term ‘‘entity posing a national security 

3 risk’’ means an entity that the Commission deter4 mines poses a national security risk under section 

5 4(c). 

6 (11) SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY TRUST FUND.— 

7 The term ‘‘Supply Chain Security Trust Fund’’ 

8 means the trust fund established under section 6. 

9 (12) TELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIER.—The 

10 term ‘‘telecommunications carrier’’ has the meaning 

11 given the term in section 3 of the Communications 

12 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153). 

13 (13) TRUSTED SUPPLIER.—The term ‘‘trusted 

14 supplier’’ means a supplier of equipment and serv15 ices for communications networks that the Secretary 

16 of Homeland Security determines would be appro17 priate to further the purposes of section 8. 

18 (14) UNITED STATES COMMUNICATIONS PRO19 VIDER.—The term ‘‘United States communications 

20 provider’’— 

21 (A) means a communications provider 

22 domiciled in the United States; and 

23 (B) does not include a covered company. 


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1 SEC. 3. POLICY STATEMENT ON 5G NETWORK DEPLOYMENT 

2 AND SECURITY. 

3 It is the policy of the United States— 

4 (1) to promote the timely deployment of robust, 

5 secure, and resilient commercial 5G networks; 

6 (2) to promote the development of the informa7 tion and communications technology industry of the 

8 United States in order to supply technology and 

9 equipment to deploy commercial 5G networks; 

10 (3) that the Federal Government should— 

11 (A) support but not build or operate 5G 

12 networks; and 

13 (B) identify additional capacity in the low14 bands, mid-bands, and high-bands of the elec15 tromagnetic spectrum for licensed and unli16 censed use, emphasizing harmonization with 

17 global allocations; and 

18 (4) that communications networks deployed in 

19 the United States should not incorporate any hard20 ware or software produced by, or any services of21 fered by— 

22 (A) a covered company; or 

23 (B) any other company that is subject to 

24 extrajudicial direction from a foreign govern25 ment. 


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1 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION OF COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT 

2 AND SERVICES POSING NATIONAL SECURITY 

3 RISKS. 

4 (a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided in subsection 

5 (b)(2), funds from a universal service support program es6 tablished under section 254 of the Communications Act 

7 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254) may not be used to purchase 

8 communications equipment and services from— 

9 (1) a covered company; or 

10 (2) any other company that is subject to 

11 extrajudicial direction from a foreign government. 

12 (b) COMPLETION OF PENDING PROCEEDING.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission 

15 shall adopt a Report and Order in the proceeding 

16 captioned ‘‘Protecting Against National Security 

17 Threats to the Communications Supply Chain 

18 Through FCC Programs’’ (WC Docket No. 18–89). 

19 (2) EXEMPTIONS.—In implementing paragraph 

20 (1), the Commission may exempt types or categories 

21 of equipment, services, or components thereof that 

22 do not pose an undue risk of sabotage to or subver23 sion of the design, integrity, manufacturing, produc24 tion, distribution, installation, operation, or mainte25 nance of communications networks in the United 

26 States. 


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1 (c) ENTITIES POSING A NATIONAL SECURITY

2 RISK.—In determining, for purposes of subparagraph (E) 

3 of the definition of the term ‘‘covered company’’, which 

4 entities are entities posing a national security risk, the 

5 Commission shall rely solely upon a determination made— 

6 (1) by— 

7 (A) an appropriate national security agen8 cy; 

9 (B) an interagency body that includes ap10 propriate national security expertise, including 

11 the Federal Acquisition Security Council estab12 lished under section 1322 of title 41, United 

13 States Code; or 

14 (C) Congress; or 

15 (2) under Executive Order 13873 (84 Fed. Reg. 

16 22689; relating to securing the information and 

17 communications technology and services supply 

18 chain) or any implementing regulations. 

19 SEC. 5. EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT GRANTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall make 

21 grants to United States communications providers using 

22 amounts— 

23 (1) made available from the Supply Chain Secu24 rity Trust Fund; or 


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1 (2) borrowed under subsection (d) of this sec2 tion. 

3 (b) EQUIPMENT TO BE REPLACED.—Amounts from 

4 a grant under subsection (a)— 

5 (1) may be used only to replace communications 

6 equipment and services obtained from a covered 

7 company or another entity posing a national security 

8 risk, under such terms and conditions as the Com9 mission shall establish; and 

10 (2) may not be used to replace any equipment 

11 purchased on or after August 14, 2018. 

12 (c) GRANT ELIGIBILITY.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—A communications provider 

14 with not more than 6,000,000 customers shall be eli15 gible to receive a grant under subsection (a). 

16 (2) DEFINITION OF CUSTOMER.—For purposes 

17 of paragraph (1), the term ‘‘customer’’, with respect 

18 to a communications provider, means the United 

19 States customers of— 

20 (A) the communications provider; or 

21 (B) any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of 

22 the communications provider. 

23 (d) BORROWING AUTHORITY.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the deposit of funds 

25 into the Supply Chain Security Trust Fund, the 


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1 Commission may borrow from the Treasury such 

2 sums as may be necessary, but not to exceed the 

3 amount specified in section 6(b)(1), to implement 

4 this section. 

5 (2) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Commission shall 

6 reimburse the Treasury for any amounts borrowed 

7 under paragraph (1), without interest, from funds 

8 deposited into the Supply Chain Security Trust 

9 Fund. 

10 SEC. 6. SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY TRUST FUND. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

12 Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known 

13 as the ‘‘Supply Chain Security Trust Fund’’. 

14 (b) USE OF FUND.—As amounts are deposited into 

15 the Supply Chain Security Trust Fund, such amounts 

16 shall be used to make the following deposits or payments: 

17 (1) REPAYMENT OF AMOUNT BORROWED FOR

18 EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT.—An amount not to ex19 ceed $700,000,000 shall be available to the Commis20 sion to reimburse the general fund of the Treasury 

21 for any amounts borrowed under section 5. 

22 (2) EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT.— 

23 $700,000,000, reduced by the amount borrowed 

24 under section 5, shall be available to the Commission 

25 to carry out that section. 


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1 (c) DEPOSITS INTO FUND.—Section 309(j)(8) of the 

2 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(j)(8)) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and (G)’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘(G), and (H)’’; 

6 (2) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking ‘‘and 

7 (G)’’ and inserting ‘‘(G), and (H)’’; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(H) CERTAIN PROCEEDS DESIGNATED

10 FOR SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY TRUST FUND.— 

11 Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) and except 

12 as provided in subparagraph (B), the proceeds 

13 (including deposits and upfront payments from 

14 successful bidders), not to exceed 

15 $700,000,000, from the use of a system of com16 petitive bidding under this subsection shall be 

17 deposited in the Supply Chain Security Trust 

18 Fund established under section 6 of the United 

19 States 5G Leadership Act of 2019.’’. 

20 SEC. 7. REPORT ON DEPLOYMENT AND AVAILABILITY OF 

21 5G NETWORKS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, 

24 the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications 

25 and Information, in consultation with the Secretary of 


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1 Homeland Security, the Chairman of the Commission, the 

2 Secretary of Defense, and the Director of National Intel3 ligence, after providing notice and an opportunity for pub4 lic comment, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

5 committees a report that identifies— 

6 (1) steps to ensure the secure deployment and 

7 availability of 5G networks, with a particular focus 

8 on the threat posed by equipment and services pro9 duced or provided by covered companies; and 

10 (2) any new statutory authority required to en11 sure the security of 5G networks in the United 

12 States. 

13 SEC. 8. INFORMATION SHARING WITH COMMUNICATIONS 

14 PROVIDERS AND TRUSTED SUPPLIERS. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT PROGRAM.—Not 

16 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

17 the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 

18 the Director of National Intelligence, the Director of the 

19 Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Secretary of Com20 merce, and the Chairman of the Commission, shall estab21 lish a joint program to share information regarding secu22 rity, risks, and vulnerabilities with United States commu23 nication providers and trusted suppliers. 

24 (b) DUTIES OF PROGRAM.—The program established 

25 under subsection (a) shall— 


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1 (1) conduct regular briefings and other events 

2 to share information with United States communica3 tions providers and trusted suppliers; 

4 (2) prioritize engagement with communications 

5 providers that— 

6 (A) are small businesses; or 

7 (B) primarily serve rural areas; 

8 (3) as determined appropriate by the Secretary 

9 of Homeland Security, facilitate information sharing 

10 with United States communications providers and 

11 trusted suppliers by providing temporary security 

12 clearances to selected citizens of the United States; 

13 (4) develop recommendations for United States 

14 communications providers to better secure their net15 works; and 

16 (5) as determined appropriate by the Commis17 sion, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of 

18 Commerce for Communications and Information, 

19 convene a working group of communications pro20 viders to engage in regular briefings and other 

21 events regarding national security risks posed to 

22 communications networks. 


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1 SEC. 9. PROMOTING UNITED STATES LEADERSHIP IN COM2 MUNICATIONS STANDARDS-SETTING BODIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, the Sec4 retary of Commerce, and the Chairman of the Commission 

5 shall prioritize the use of Federal funds to enhance rep6 resentation of the United States at international forums 

7 that set standards for 5G networks and for future genera8 tions of wireless communications networks, including— 

9 (1) the International Telecommunication Union 

10 (commonly known as ‘‘ITU’’); 

11 (2) the International Organization for Stand12 ardization (commonly known as ‘‘ISO’’); and 

13 (3) the voluntary standards organizations that 

14 develop protocols for wireless devices and other 

15 equipment, such as the 3GPP and the Institute of 

16 Electrical and Electronics Engineers. 

17 (b) BRIEFING.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, the Sec19 retary of Commerce, and the Chairman of the Commission 

20 shall brief the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

21 Transportation of the Senate, the Select Committee on In22 telligence of the Senate, the Committee on Energy and 

23 Commerce of the House of Representatives, and the Per24 manent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of 

25 Representatives on a strategy to carry out subsection (a). 

Æ 


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