Krishnamoorthi Joins Bipartisan Effort to Block Chinese Surveillance Tech from U.S. Infrastructure
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), joined Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI), Congressman Dusty Johnson (R-SD), and Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA) to reintroduce the Securing Infrastructure from Adversaries Act, legislation to prohibit the U.S. Department of Transportation from using digital 3-D mapping technology, LiDAR.
LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, generates millimeter-precision 3-D maps of physical environments and is widely used in modern transportation systems. Growing market dominance by CCP-linked firms poses a serious risk to the security of American infrastructure. The legislation targets the growing national security threat posed by foreign-produced LiDAR equipment used in ports, railways, airports, roads, and bridges – locations where U.S. adversaries could exploit vulnerabilities.
“LiDAR is essential to modern infrastructure, but when it’s controlled by companies linked to the Chinese Communist Party, it becomes a security risk,” said Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi. “We can’t allow adversaries to gather sensitive data or disrupt our systems. This bill takes a necessary step to keep our infrastructure secure and our technology supply chains trusted.”
“Taxpayer dollars should never be used to fund technology from our adversaries,” said Chairman Moolenaar. “This bill makes America’s critical infrastructure more secure from foreign surveillance and influence... It’s a common-sense step to put American security first.”
“LiDAR technology creates incredibly detailed maps of its surroundings. Allowing our adversaries like China to have access to these maps of critical infrastructure… could allow them to disrupt our supply chains and cause a national security crisis,” said Rep. Johnson, who serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
“While LiDAR technology is widely employed in our nation’s transit infrastructure… it is increasingly being produced by Chinese companies that are required to hand over any data collected… to the Chinese government,” said Rep. Brownley. “This raises serious concerns that China could not only access sensitive data mapping U.S. infrastructure, but also use it to disrupt the systems that rely on their technology.”
Industry leaders echoed support for the legislation. “The American Trucking Associations commends Reps. Johnson, Brownley, Moolenaar, and Krishnamoorthi for taking this issue seriously by working to block potential national security threats from foreign-owned LiDAR technology,” said Henry Hanscom, Senior VP at ATA.
“This legislation marks an important step forward in strengthening the security of America’s transportation systems and critical infrastructure,” added Michael Robbins, President and CEO of the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International.
Krishnamoorthi, Moolenaar, Johnson, and Brownley will continue working in a bipartisan fashion to ensure America’s infrastructure remains secure from adversarial interference.
Read the bill text HERE.
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