IIB 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6624 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
NOVEMBER 18, 2020 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation 
AN ACT 
To support supply chain innovation and multilateral security, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Utilizing Strategic Al-
lied Telecommunications Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘USA Tele-
communications Act’’. 
SEC. 2. WIRELESS SUPPLY CHAIN INNOVATION GRANT PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available 
under subsection (d), the Assistant Secretary shall, begin-
ning not later than 18 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, make grants on a competitive basis to 
support the deployment and use of Open RAN 5G Net-
works throughout the United States by— 
(1) promoting the use of technology, including 
software, hardware, and microprocessing technology, 
that will enhance competitiveness in the supply 
chains of Open RAN 5G Networks; 
(2) accelerating the deployment of Open Net-
work Equipment; 
(3) promoting the use of Open Network Equip-
ment; 
(4) establishing objective criteria that can be 
used to determine if equipment meets the definition 
of Open Network Equipment; 
(5) promoting the inclusion of security features 
that enhance the integrity and availability of Open 
Network Equipment; or 
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(6) promoting the application of network func-
tion virtualization to facilitate the deployment of 
Open RAN 5G Networks and a more diverse vendor 
market. 
(b) GRANT CRITERIA.—The Assistant Secretary, in 
consultation with the Commission, the Director of the Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology, the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security, the Director of the Defense 
Advanced Research Projects Agency (commonly known as 
‘‘DARPA’’), and the Director of the Intelligence Advanced 
Research Projects Activity of the Office of the Director 
of National Intelligence (commonly known as ‘‘IARPA’’), 
shall establish the criteria under which the Assistant Sec-
retary shall award a grant under subsection (a). 
(c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 
(1) ANNUAL REPORT ON GRANTS MADE.—For 
each fiscal year for which amounts are available to 
make grants under subsection (a), the Assistant Sec-
retary shall submit to the relevant committees of 
Congress a report that includes, with respect to that 
fiscal year— 
(A) a description of— 
(i) to whom grants under subsection 
(a) were made, the amount thereof, and 
criteria used to award such grants; and 
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(ii) the progress the Assistant Sec-
retary has made in meeting the objectives 
described in subsection (a) of the grant 
program under this section; and 
(B) any additional information that the 
Assistant Secretary determines appropriate. 
(2) REPORT ON 5G NETWORK SUPPLY CHAIN.— 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall sub-
mit to the relevant committees of Congress a written 
report— 
(A) that includes recommendations on pro-
moting the competitiveness and sustainability of 
trusted Open RAN 5G Networks; and 
(B) identifying whether any additional au-
thorities are needed by the Assistant Secretary 
to facilitate the timely adoption of Open Net-
work Equipment, including the authority to 
provide loans, loan guarantees, and other forms 
of credit extension that would maximize the use 
of grant amounts awarded under this section. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) AMOUNT AUTHORIZED.—There is author-
ized to be appropriated to make grants under sub-
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section (a) $750,000,000 for fiscal years 2021 
through 2031. 
(2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available 
under paragraph (1) shall remain available through 
fiscal year 2031. 
SEC. 3. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Assistant Secretary shall 
establish an Advisory Committee to advise the Assistant 
Secretary in the manner described in subsection (c). 
(b) COMPOSITION.—The Advisory Committee estab-
lished under subsection (a) shall be composed of— 
(1) representatives from— 
(A) the Commission; 
(B) 
the 
Defense 
Advanced 
Research 
Projects 
Agency 
(commonly 
known 
as 
‘‘DARPA’’); 
(C) the Intelligence Advanced Research 
Projects Activity of the Office of the Director of 
National Intelligence (commonly known as 
‘‘IARPA’’); 
(D) the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology; 
(E) the Department of State; 
(F) the National Science Foundation; and 
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(G) the Department of Homeland Security; 
and 
(2) other representatives from the private and 
public sectors, at the discretion of the Assistant Sec-
retary. 
(c) DUTIES.—The Advisory Committee established 
under subsection (a) shall be used to advise the Assistant 
Secretary on technology developments to help inform— 
(1) the strategic direction of the grant program 
established under section 2; and 
(2) efforts of the Federal Government to pro-
mote a more secure, diverse, sustainable, and com-
petitive supply chain for Open RAN 5G Networks. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) 3GPP.—The term ‘‘3GPP’’ means the Third 
Generation Partnership Project. 
(2) 5G
NETWORK.—The term ‘‘5G network’’ 
means a radio network as described by 3GPP Re-
lease 15 or higher, or any successor network. 
(3) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist-
ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 
Commerce for Communications and Information. 
(4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Federal Communications Commission. 
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(5) OPEN
NETWORK
EQUIPMENT.—The term 
‘‘Open Network Equipment’’ means equipment that 
follows a set of open standards (such as O–RAN 
standards or the Open Radio Access Network ap-
proach to standardization, adopted by the O–RAN 
Alliance, 3GPP, or other organization) and open 
interfaces for multi-vendor network equipment inter-
operability, such that the equipment may be inte-
grated into the Radio Access Networks of an Open 
RAN 5G Network. 
(6) OPEN RAN 5G NETWORK.—The term ‘‘Open 
RAN 5G Network’’ means a 5G network that follows 
a set of open standards (such as O–RAN standards 
or the Open Radio Access Network approach to 
standardization, adopted by the O–RAN Alliance, 
3GPP, or other organizations) and open interfaces 
for multi-vendor network equipment interoperability. 
(7) RELEVANT COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 
The term ‘‘relevant committees of Congress’’ 
means— 
(A) the Committee on Energy and Com-
merce of the House of Representatives; 
(B) the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence of the House of Representatives; 
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(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
the House of Representatives; 
(D) the Committee on Homeland Security 
of the House of Representatives; 
(E) the Committee on Armed Services of 
the House of Representatives; 
(F) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate; 
(G) the Select Committee on Intelligence of 
the Senate; 
(H) the Committee on Foreign Relations 
of the Senate; 
(I) the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 
(J) the Committee on Armed Services of 
the Senate. 
Passed the House of Representatives November 17, 
2020. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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