February 6 (legislative day, February 5), 2025
Mr. Scott of Florida (for himself and Ms. Hassan) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
To prohibit the Secretary of Homeland Security from procuring certain foreign-made batteries, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act
.
Sec. 2. Prohibition on availability of funds for procurement of certain batteries
(a) In general
Beginning on October 1, 2027, none of the funds authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available for the Department of Homeland Security may be obligated to procure a battery produced by an entity specified in subsection (b).
(b) Entities specified
The entities specified in this subsection are the following:
(1)
Contemporary Amperex Technology Company, Limited (also known as CATL
).
(2)
BYD Company, Limited.
(3)
Envision Energy, Limited.
(4)
EVE Energy Company, Limited.
(5)
Gotion High-tech Company, Limited.
(6)
Hithium Energy Storage Technology company, Limited.
(7)
Any entity on any list required under clauses (i), (ii), (iv), or (v) of section 2(d)(2)(B) of the Act entitled An Act to ensure that goods made with forced labor in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China do not enter the United States market, and for other purposes
, approved December 23, 2021 (Public Law 117–78; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note) (commonly referred to as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act
).
(8)
Any entity identified by the Secretary of Defense as a Chinese military company pursuant to section 1260H of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (10 U.S.C. 113 note).
(9)
Any entity included in Supplement No. 4 to part 744 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation.
(10)
Any subsidiary or successor to an entity specified in paragraphs (1) through (9).
(c) Treatment of production
For purposes of this section, a battery shall be treated as produced by an entity specified in subsection (b) if such entity—
(1)
assembles or manufactures the final product that uses such battery; or
(2)
creates or otherwise provides a majority of the components used in such battery.
(d) Waivers
(1) Relating to assessment
The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the limitation under subsection (a) if the Secretary assesses in the affirmative all of the following:
(A)
The batteries to be procured do not pose a national security, data, or infrastructure risk to the United States.
(B)
There is no available alternative to procure batteries that are—
(i)
of similar or better cost and quality; and
(ii)
produced by an entity not specified in subsection (b).
(2) Relating To research
The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the limitation under subsection (a) if the Secretary determines that the batteries to be procured are for the sole purpose of research, evaluation, training, testing, or analysis.
(3) Congressional notification
Not later than 15 days after granting a waiver under this subsection, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a notification relating thereto.
(e) Report
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives a report on the anticipated impacts on mission and costs on the Department of Homeland Security associated with carrying out this section, including with respect to the following components of the Department:
(1)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including the U.S. Border Patrol.
(2)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including Homeland Security Investigations.
(3)
The United States Secret Service.
(4)
The Transportation Security Administration.
(5)
The United States Coast Guard.
(6)
The Federal Protective Service.
(7)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(8)
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers.
(9)
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.