Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) have introduced a bill (S.29), that if made into law, would help combat tech-specific threats to national security posed by foreign actors like China and ensure U.S. technological supremacy by improving interagency coordination across the U.S. government. According to the bill’s sponsors, the primary purpose of the bill is to create an Office of Critical Technologies and Security at the White House responsible for coordinating across agencies and developing a long-term, whole-of-government strategy to protect against state-sponsored technology theft and risks to critical supply chains. In a press release Sen. Warner stated that the U.S. needs “a whole-of-government technology strategy to protect U.S. competitiveness in emerging and dual-use technologies and address the Chinese threat by combating technology transfer from the United States.” In a separate statement, Sen. Rubio stressed that “China continues to conduct a coordinated assault on U.S. intellectual property, U.S. businesses, and our government networks and information with the full backing of the Chinese Communist Party” and that this new executive-branch office “will help protect the United States by streamlining efforts across the government.” Late in 2018, the two senators sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging America’s ally to the north to reconsider any inclusion of Chinese manufacturer Huawei in any 5G development and deployment plans. The two senators are also the authors of S.3455 in September 2018, which specifically targeted ZTE, another Chinese manufacturer. The text for S.29, which has referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for further deliberation, has yet to be released.
