House Republicans Seek to Ban DHS From Buying Chinese Batteries

A group of House Republicans has introduced additional legislation aimed at preventing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from procuring batteries from six China-based companies.

“We cannot continue ceding dominance over our critical supply chains to our greatest geopolitical rival. I am proud to introduce this legislation to ensure the Chinese Communist Party can’t exploit economic or security vulnerabilities that could be created through DHS reliance on lithium-ion batteries,” Mr. Gimenez said in a statement.

The legislation resembles a provision in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which bans the Department of Defense from buying batteries from the same six China-based companies.

“The West was far too late to recognize the threat of Huawei, TikTok, and PRC-manufactured cranes installed at America’s seaports,” Mr. Gimenez said, referring to China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

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“We know that doing business in China means enriching the CCP—and that comes at a steep cost, even if there are perceived short-term benefits. America must be proactive in addressing the threats posed by the CCP to our technology, information, and way of life,” Mr. Gimenez said.

“The Department of Defense has rightfully ended the use of these PRC-manufactured batteries, and it is past time for DHS to follow suit.”

Mr. Gimenez’s bill targeting the battery markets of foreign adversaries was cosponsored by Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chairman of the Select Committee on the CCP; House Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.); and Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence chairman August Pfluger (R-Texas).

Gotion High Tech’s U.S. subsidiary, Gotion Inc., is developing battery plants in Michigan and Illinois.

“Regarding security vulnerabilities, CATL could install malware on EVs, which could result in gathering sensitive information about their owners, as well as execute a shutdown of EV charging networks, or battery-energy storage systems or even disable targeted vehicles through hardware infiltration,” the the Select Committee on the CCP stated June 7. “It is critical to proactively work to prevent these and other vulnerabilities.”

The CCP has locked up more than 1 million Uyghurs in its far-western region of Xinjiang, where detainees are subjected to forced labor, torture, political indoctrination, forced abortion, and other inhuman treatments in internment camps.

“Chinese electric vehicles are an existential threat to the American auto industry,” Mr. Brown wrote. “Ohio knows all too well how China illegally subsidizes its companies, putting our workers out of jobs and undermining entire industries, from steel to solar manufacturing. We cannot allow China to bring its government-backed cheating to the American auto industry.”