Source: United States House of Representatives – Julia Brownley (D-CA)
Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA), Congressman Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), and Congressman John Moolenaar (R-MI) announced the reintroduction of the Securing Infrastructure from Adversaries Act, bipartisan legislation that would prohibit the U.S. Department of Transportation from using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology produced by foreign adversaries.
LiDAR technology produces highly detailed 3-D maps used to manage transportation infrastructure, improve traffic safety, and support airport and disaster response operations. However, companies from foreign adversaries, like China, are expanding their footprint in this critical industry. Given Chinese laws requiring companies to share data with their government, this technology poses a growing risk of foreign surveillance and interference with U.S. infrastructure. This bipartisan bill would ensure taxpayer dollars are not used to purchase equipment that could compromise, disrupt, or manipulate our nation’s critical infrastructure.
“While LiDAR technology is widely employed in our nation’s transit infrastructure, including in airports, autonomous vehicles, and traffic control systems, it is increasingly being produced by Chinese companies that are required to hand over any data collected by their equipment to the Chinese government upon request. This raises serious concerns that China could not only access sensitive data mapping U.S. infrastructure, but also use it to disrupt the systems that rely on their technology,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “Now more than ever, we must remain vigilant and proactive in safeguarding the infrastructure that Americans depend on every day.”
“LiDAR technology creates incredibly detailed maps of its surroundings. Allowing our adversaries like China to have access to these maps of critical infrastructure like ports, railways, airports, roads, and bridges could allow them to disrupt our supply chains and cause a national security crisis,” said Congressman Johnson. “My bill ensures our nation’s critical infrastructure is protected from the malign interests of the Chinese Communist Party.”
“LiDAR is essential to modern infrastructure, but when it’s controlled by companies linked to the Chinese Communist Party, it becomes a security risk,” said Select Committee on China Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi. “We can’t allow adversaries to gather sensitive data or disrupt our systems. This bill takes a necessary step to keep our infrastructure secure and our technology supply chains trusted.”
“Taxpayer dollars should never be used to fund technology from our adversaries,” said Select Committee on China Chairman Moolenaar (R-MI). “This bill makes America’s critical infrastructure more secure from foreign surveillance and influence by ensuring the Department of Transportation is not supporting the growing market share of Chinese-made LiDAR equipment. It’s a common-sense step to put American security first.”
“Trucks reach every corner of the country and routinely access some of our nation’s most sensitive sites—such as ports, border crossings, and military installations. That is why supply chain and infrastructure security are very important to our industry,” said Henry Hanscom, Senior Vice President of Legislative Affairs at the American Trucking Associations. “The American Trucking Associations commends Reps. Johnson, Brownley, Moolenaar, and Krishnamoorthi for taking this issue seriously by working to block potential national security threats from foreign-owned LiDAR technology.”
“This legislation marks an important step forward in strengthening the security of America’s transportation systems and critical infrastructure. As LiDAR technology becomes increasingly central to the future of transportation, including autonomous systems, it’s essential that the technology used to build and operate our national infrastructure is safe, secure, and protected against adversarial interference,” said Michael Robbins, President and CEO of the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International.
Read the full text of the bill here.
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Issues: 119th Congress, National Security, Transportation and Infrastructure