June 30, 2026
Mr. Bilirakis (for himself and Mr. Soto) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
To prohibit certain Federal funds from being provided to individuals and entities that purchase fiber-optic cable from countries of concern, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Federal Investment Restrictions on Equipment from Worrisome Authoritarian Linked Locations Act
or the FIREWALL Act
.
Sec. 2. Prohibition on providing certain Federal funds to individuals and entities that purchase fiber-optic cable from countries of concern
(a) Prohibition
No Federal funds provided through any program, project, or activity administered by the Federal Communications Commission or the National Telecommunications and Information Administration may be provided to an individual or entity that purchases fiber-optic cable from a company that is owned, in whole or in part, by—
(1)
a country of concern;
(2)
an official of a country of concern government, including in an individual capacity; or
(3)
an individual, business, or agency under significant control of such country of concern.
(b) Application
Subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the purchase of fiber-optic cable on or after the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Definition
In this Act:
(1) Country of concern
The term country of concern has the meaning given the term covered nation in section 4872(f) of title 10, United States Code.
(2) Fiber-optic cable
The term fiber-opic cable includes solid-core fiber and hollow core fiber.