On the recordJuly 26, 2018
I thank my friend from Massachusetts for yielding time to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with serious concerns about the missed opportunity in this legislation to take strong action against the Chinese firm, ZTE. Our telecommunications systems are the backbone of our national security operations, and those systems need to be protected to ensure the safety of our citizens. Not only did ZTE violate U.S. sanctions by illegally selling components to North Korea and Iran, it also paid full bonuses to the employees who engaged in illegal conduct, and then lied to U.S. authorities about it. Instead of sending a strong message to ZTE, the NDAA Conference Committee stripped language from the Senate bill to ban ZTE from doing business with all U.S. firms and replaced it with watered-down language that merely prohibits ZTE from doing business with the U.S. Government. This effectively gives ZTE a free pass for its past violations, and prioritizes a foreign company's interests over the security of the American people. This is wrong. Deal-making with ZTE is bad policy, and it sends a clear message to our adversaries that America is not willing to enforce our own sanctions. Earlier this year, I wrote to Secretary Ross raising my concerns with reports that the administration was backtracking on its recently imposed 7-year ban on ZTE. To my dismay, and I think to many others, the administration lifted the ban.…
