WASHINGTON – Wednesday, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer’s (R-Neb.) legislation to strengthen American telecommunications against foreign adversaries passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee. The Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency (FACT) Act now awaits consideration on the Senate floor. Fischer introduced the bill in January of this year.
If signed into law, the FACT Act would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to publicly identify entities that hold FCC licenses, authorizations, or other grants of authority that are owned, wholly or partially, by foreign adversarial governments. This includes the governments of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. In addition to Fischer, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.).
“We cannot let authoritarian and adversarial regimes like China and Russia continue to have silent footholds in our tech and telecommunications markets. My bill will direct the FCC to evaluate the communications risks foreign ownership ties pose to America’s national security and ensure that we can respond to these threats. I’m grateful a bipartisan group of my colleagues voted yes on this legislation, and I look forward to its passage on the Senate Floor,” said Fischer.
“We must protect our nation in every way we can from global adversaries who are trying to hack our systems and access our information,” said Rosen. “I’m glad to see that our bipartisan bill to help protect our telecommunications systems from adversarial nations, including China, Russia, and Iran, passed out of committee today. I’ll keep pushing to secure our networks and strengthen our national security.”
Click here to view Fischer’s remarks in support of her FACT Act in today’s hearing.
