HR 866 Reported in the House – ROUTER Act

Earlier this month the House Energy and Commerce Committee took up HR 866, the Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security (ROUTERS) Act, in a business meeting along with 25 other pieces of legislation. Substitute language for the bill was considered and adopted by the Committee by a voice vote. On Thursday the Committee published their report (H Rept 119-75) and the reported version of the bill. The bill is scheduled to be considered by the Full House tomorrow under the suspension of the rules.

The amendment expanded the scope of the required study to specifically include ‘cybersecurity vulnerabilities’; “study of the national security risks and cybersecurity vulnerabilities posed by consumer routers, modems, and devices”. The other significant change was the insertion of a new §2(c) that requires consulting “with appropriate bureaus and offices within the Department of Commerce” during the conduct of the study.

The bill would still require the Department of Commerce to conduct a study on the national security risks of consumer routers and modems manufactured in China. No new funding is authorized by the legislation.