With bipartisan support, Florida Senator Rick Scott (R) co-introduced a bill with Sen. Maggie Hassan, (D – NH) to reduce America’s reliance on China for batteries.
“America is entering its Golden Age with President Trump back in the White House, and that means prioritizing American manufacturing and self-reliance,” Sen. Scott said in an official statement.
Sen. Hassan echoed Scott’s national security concerns.
“Our national security should not require reliance on components made by adversaries like China,” Sen. Hassan said. “This bipartisan legislation will help safeguard both our supply chains and our national security by preventing the Department of Homeland Security from purchasing Chinese batteries for the devices and technology that keep Americans safe.”
If passed and signed into law, then Scott and Hassan’s bill, the Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act, would “prohibit the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from procuring batteries from six specific companies owned and operated in Communist China.”
In the House of Representatives, South Florida Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez is leading the US House version of the bill.
“Communist China is doing everything it can to achieve global dominance and is willing to harm Americans and businesses, manipulate our supply chains and breach our cybersecurity in the process,” Scott said. “With our nation currently sourcing a majority of its batteries from Chinese-linked manufacturers, we’re subject to a major, unnecessary risk to our national security. I am proud to introduce the Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act to help secure our national security and take a stand against Communist China looking to take advantage of American consumers. I look forward to this critical legislation becoming law.”
Scott’s bill comes two years after former Senator, current US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Congress of China-Linked Batteries at U.S. military bases.
