TEAM TELECOM Act
Bill: H.R.4029 | Sponsor: Rep. Johnson, Bill (R-OH)
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Timely Evaluation of Acquisitions, Mergers, or Transactions with External, Lawful Entities to Clear Owners and Management Act or the TEAM TELECOM Act
This bill provides statutory authority for the interagency working group at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration that assesses and addresses the law enforcement and national security policy implications arising from foreign ownership in an applicant for certain telecommunications licenses and permits.
Such applications are those for (1) authorization to construct or extend, acquire or operate, or engage in transmission by means of a line (i.e., any channel of communication established by the use of appropriate equipment); (2) a submarine cable landing license or its assignment or transfer; or (3) a new construction permit or station license (or for the transfer, assignment, or disposal of an existing permit or license).

To amend the National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
 Organization Act to establish an interagency national security review 
                    process, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Timely Evaluation of Acquisitions, 
Mergers, or Transactions with External, Lawful Entities to Clear Owners 
and Management Act'' or the ``TEAM TELECOM Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERAGENCY NATIONAL SECURITY REVIEW PROCESS.

    (a) In General.--Part A of the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 106. ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERAGENCY NATIONAL SECURITY REVIEW 
              PROCESS.

    ``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Assistant Secretary, in coordination 
with the head of each appropriate Federal entity, shall develop and 
issue procedures for, and establish, an interagency review process 
(which shall include each appropriate Federal entity) that considers 
the law enforcement and national security policy implications of the 
approval of a covered application that may arise from the foreign 
ownership interests held in the covered applicant that submitted the 
covered application.
    ``(b) Applicability.--Any covered application pending before the 
Commission that was submitted by a covered applicant with more than the 
threshold foreign ownership limit, after the covered applicant declines 
an opportunity to remedy the foreign ownership of the covered 
applicant, is subject to review under the review process established 
pursuant to subsection (a).
    ``(c) Process and Procedural Requirements.--
            ``(1) Referral for review.--
                    ``(A) Requirement for fcc to refer complete 
                application.--The Commission shall refer any covered 
                application subject to the review process established 
                pursuant to subsection (a) to the Assistant Secretary 
                promptly after the Commission determines that the 
                covered application, under the rules and regulations of 
                the Commission, is complete.
                    ``(B) Referral of other requests.--The Commission 
                may refer for review under the review process 
                established pursuant to subsection (a) any other 
                request for action by the Commission for which the 
                Commission determines review is necessary under such 
                process.
            ``(2) Interagency review deadline; determination.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Not later than 120 days after 
                the date on which the Assistant Secretary receives a 
                referral from the Commission pursuant to paragraph 
                (1)--
                            ``(i) the review of the covered application 
                        or other request under the review process 
                        established pursuant to subsection (a) shall be 
                        completed;
                            ``(ii) the Assistant Secretary, in 
                        coordination with the head of each appropriate 
                        Federal entity, shall make a determination--
                                    ``(I) to recommend to the 
                                Commission that the Commission grant, 
                                grant conditioned on mitigation, or 
                                deny the application or other request; 
                                or
                                    ``(II) that the Assistant Secretary 
                                cannot make a recommendation with 
                                respect to the covered application or 
                                other request; and
                            ``(iii) if the Assistant Secretary 
                        determines under clause (ii) that the Assistant 
                        Secretary cannot make a recommendation with 
                        respect to the covered application or other 
                        request, the President shall make a 
                        determination to recommend to the Commission 
                        that the Commission grant, grant conditioned on 
                        mitigation, or deny the covered application or 
                        other request.
                    ``(B) Extension.--The Assistant Secretary, in 
                coordination with the head of each appropriate Federal 
                entity, may extend the deadline described in 
                subparagraph (A) an additional 45 days.
                    ``(C) Notification of extension.--If the Assistant 
                Secretary, in coordination with the head of each 
                appropriate Federal entity, extends the deadline 
                pursuant to subparagraph (B), the Assistant Secretary 
                shall notify the covered applicant or other requesting 
                party of the extension.
            ``(3) Notification of determination.--Not later than 3 days 
        (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after the 
        Assistant Secretary or the President (as the case may be) makes 
        a determination under paragraph (2)(A) to recommend that the 
        Commission grant, grant conditioned on mitigation, or deny the 
        application or other request, the Assistant Secretary shall 
        notify the Commission and the covered applicant or other 
        requesting party of the determination.
            ``(4) Disclosure of status of review.--Not later than 5 
        days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after 
        receiving an inquiry from a covered applicant or other 
        requesting party for an update with respect to the status of 
        review of the covered application or other request of the 
        covered applicant or other requesting party that was referred 
        by the Commission for review under the review process 
        established pursuant to subsection (a), the Assistant 
        Secretary, in coordination with the head of each appropriate 
        Federal entity, shall provide, consistent with the protection 
        of classified information and intelligence sources and methods, 
        a complete and accurate response to the covered applicant or 
        other requesting party, the Commission, and the appropriate 
        congressional committees.
            ``(5) Standardization of information required.--In the 
        review process established pursuant to subsection (a), the 
        Assistant Secretary, in coordination with the head of each 
        appropriate Federal entity, shall establish a list of questions 
        requesting information from a covered applicant or other 
        requesting party that shall be made publicly available and 
        posted on the internet website of NTIA. Such questions shall, 
        to the maximum extent possible, be standardized for any 
        potential covered applicant or other requesting party.
            ``(6) Deadline for provision of information requested.--Not 
        later than 10 days after the date on which the Assistant 
        Secretary, in coordination with the head of each appropriate 
        Federal entity, requests information from a covered applicant 
        or other requesting party, the covered applicant or other 
        requesting party shall submit to the NTIA complete and accurate 
        responses.
    ``(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
construed as limiting, superseding, or preventing the invocation of any 
privileges or defenses that are otherwise available at law or in equity 
to protect against the disclosure of information.
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        `appropriate congressional committees' means the Committee on 
        Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
        Senate.
            ``(2) Appropriate federal entities.--The term `appropriate 
        Federal entities' means the following:
                    ``(A) The Department of Commerce.
                    ``(B) The Department of Defense.
                    ``(C) The Department of Energy.
                    ``(D) The Department of Homeland Security.
                    ``(E) The Department of Justice.
                    ``(F) The Department of the Treasury.
                    ``(G) The Department of State.
                    ``(H) The United States Trade Representative.
                    ``(I) The Federal Bureau of Investigation.
                    ``(J) The Executive Office of the President.
            ``(3) Classified information.--The term `classified 
        information' means any information or material that has been 
        determined by the Federal Government pursuant to an Executive 
        order, statute, or regulation, to require protection against 
        unauthorized disclosure for reasons of national security.
            ``(4) Covered applicant.--The term `covered applicant' 
        means an entity seeking approval of a covered application from 
        the Commission.
            ``(5) Covered application.--The term `covered application' 
        means--
                    ``(A) an application under section 214(a) of the 
                Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 214(a)) for 
                authorization to undertake the construction of a new 
                line or of an extension of any line, or to acquire or 
                operate any line, or extension thereof, or to engage in 
                transmission over or by means of such additional or 
                extended line;
                    ``(B) an application under the Act entitled `An Act 
                relating to the landing and operation of submarine 
                cables in the United States,' approved May 27, 1921 (47 
                U.S.C. 34 et seq.; 42 Stat. 8) for--
                            ``(i) a submarine cable landing license; or
                            ``(ii) an assignment or transfer of control 
                        of a submarine cable landing license; or
                    ``(C) an application for a new license, or for the 
                transfer, assignment, or disposal of an existing 
                license under section 310(d) of the Communications Act 
                of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 310(d)), that is--
                            ``(i) subject to approval by the Commission 
                        under section 310(b)(4) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 
                        310(b)(4)); or
                            ``(ii) eligible, under the rules of the 
                        Commission, for forbearance under section 10 of 
                        such Act (47 U.S.C. 160) from the application 
                        of paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 310(b) 
                        of such Act (47 U.S.C. 310(b)).
            ``(6) Threshold foreign ownership limit.--The term 
        `threshold foreign ownership limit' means foreign ownership of, 
        as applicable--
                    ``(A) at least the amount determined by the 
                Commission under section 214(a) of the Communications 
                Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 214(a)), in the case of an 
                application described in paragraph (5)(A) of this 
                subsection;
                    ``(B) any amount, in the case of an application 
                described in paragraph (5)(B) of this subsection; or
                    ``(C) at least an amount sufficient for section 
                310(b) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 310(b)) to apply, in the 
                case of an application described in paragraph (5)(C) of 
                this subsection.''.
    (b) Applicability.--This section, and the amendment made by this 
section, shall apply to any covered application (as such term is 
defined in section 106 of the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration Organization Act, as added by subsection 
(a)) filed on or after the date on which the review process is 
established pursuant to such section 106.
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