Washinton, D.C.- Today, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 8631 - Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act, introduced by Congressman Carlos Gimenez with unanimous and bipartisan support. 

“The United States must decouple from Communist China in all facets of our lives. The Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from procuring batteries from companies with ties to the Peoples Republic of China,” said Rep. Carlos Gimenez. “With the passage of this bill we reaffirm and continue to decouple ourselves from Communist China but also call on our own domestic industries to produce critically important materials. We must proactively stay ahead and address these threats that undermine the US supply chain and leave our national security at risk. We were already late to recognize the PRC’s battery threat, and we cannot afford to do it again. I urge my Senate colleagues to pass this bill so we can get it to the President's desk as soon as possible.”

Read the full bill text HERE.

Watch my video on the passage of H.R. 8631 HERE.

 

Read my statement from the House floor below:

I RISE IN SUPPORT OF MY BILL, THE DECOUPLING FROM FOREIGN ADVERSARIAL BATTERY FENDENCE ACT. OUR WORLD IS RELYING ON BATTERY TECHNOLOGY FROM THE SMART PHONES IN OUR POCKETS TO THE ENERGY STORAGE EQUIPMENT THAT POWERS OUR HOMES AND BUSINESSES AND THIS DEPENDENCE UNDERSCORES A LARGER ISSUE THAT OUR NATION IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY RELIANT ON MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGIES THAT POWER THESE DEVICES WHICH POSES GRAVE RISK TO OUR NATION'S SECURITY AND ECONOMIC STABILITY. AS IT STANDS, COMMUNIST CHINA PRODUCES APPROXIMATE 80% OF THE WORLD'S BATTERIES AND ROUGHLY 70% OF THE WORLD'S LITHIUM ION BATTERIES. THESE STAGGERING NUMBERS LEAVE U.S. SUPPLY CHAINS VULNERABLE AND OUR NATION'S SECURITY AT RISK. RECENTLY THE UNITED STATES HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE ON STRATEGIC COMPETITION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND COMMERCE CHINESE PARTY, A COMMITTEE I'M A MEMBER OF, REVEALED INFORMATION THAT AT LEAST TWO OF THE WORLD'S TOP BATTERY MANUFACTURERS, CATL AND GOTTEN HIGH-TECH ARE AFFILIATED WITH A PARAMILITARY AND CCP OWNED ENTITY THAT IS STRESSLY NAMED IN THE WEAKER FORCED -- WEEGAR FORCED LABORER ACT DUE TO THE FORCED LABOR PRACTICES. THEY'VE BEEN IMPLEMENTING SURVEILLANCE AND DOCUMENTED WEEGAR MUSLIMS AND OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS THAT THE CCP IS ATTEMPTING TO ERADICATE. SPPC IS USING FORCED LABOR TO MANUFACTURE THEIR PRODUCTS. AND DEPENDENT OF BATTERIES MADE IN THE CCP POSE SIGNIFICANT RISK TO US. AND THE FACT THAT OTHER CHINESE ENTITIES COULD INSTALL MALWARE OR OTHER INTELLIGENCE GATHERING SENSORS ON THESE PRODUCTS WHICH COULD RESULT IN GATHERING SENSITIVE INFORMATION OR EXECUTE A SHUTDOWN ON E.V. OF NETWORKS OR EVEN DISABLE TARGETED VEHICLES THROUGH HARDWARE INFILTRATION. LAST YEAR, REPORTS INDICATED THAT THE PRC ALIGNED ACTL INSTALLED BATTERIES IN FLORIDA, VIRGINIA, NEVADA, CALIFORNIA AS WELL AS A SOLAR FARM ON LEASED LAND INSIDE THE U.S. MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE IN NORTH CAROLINA. ENERGY STORAGE BATTERIES PLOWED BY THE CCP AT CAMP LEJEUNE HAVE BEEN DECOMMISSIONED FOLLOWING INCREASED PRESSURE FROM CONGRESS. THE PENTAGON'S DECISION TO NOT ONLY REMOVE THE CTAL BATTERY FROM CAMP LEJEUNE BUT MAKE IT CLEAR IT WOULD NOT BUY PRC ALIGNED BATTERIES BECAUSE OF CONCERN IS MORE THAN ADEQUATE TO DEMONSTRATE WHY WE SHOULD NOT HAVE THESE BATTERIES IN OTHER PARTS OF OUR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE. OUR GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT BE SPENDING TAX DOLLARS TO PROCURE BATTERIES FROM COMPANIES THAT PROFIT FROM SLAVE LABOR OR PROVIDE ANOTHER AVENUE FOR THE CCP TO EXPAND THEIR SURVEILLANCE APPARATUS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES HOMELAND. MY LEGISLATION H.R. 8631, THE DECUMMING FROM FOREIGN ADVERSARIAL BATTERY DEPENDENCE ACT IS A FIRST STEP IN BATTLING THIS ISSUE AND MODELED AFTER PREVIOUS PROVISIONS MODELED IN THE FISCAL 2024NDAA, MY LEGISLATION BUILDS OFF THESE EFFORTS AND PROHIBITS THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY FROM PROCURING BATTERY TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES THAT HAVE DEEP TIES TO THE CCP AND ENGAGE IN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES. IN DOING SO, THIS BILL HELPS OUR NATION TAKE A STEP TO ADVANCE EFFORTS TO DECOUPLE FROM THE PRC AND SAFEGUARD CRITICAL SUPPLY CHAINS FROM EXPLOITATION. I'M PROUD TO SEE THIS BILL PASS OUT OF COMMITTEE IN A BIPARTISAN NATURE AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING IT PASS THE FULL HOUSE WITH A BIPARTISAN VOTE. THANK YOU AND I RESERVE THE BALANCE OF MY TIME.

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Congressman Carlos Giménez represents Miami-Dade County and the beautiful Florida Keys. He is the only Cuban-born Member of the 118th Congress, having fled his homeland shortly after the Communist takeover of the island. He is the first career firefighter paramedic elected to the House of Representatives and served as the former Fire Chief of the City of Miami and Mayor of Miami-Dade County. He serves as the Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, the Armed Services Committee, and the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.