HR 866 Passed in House – ROUTER Act

This afternoon the House took up HR 866 the Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security (ROUTERS) Act, under the suspension of the rules process. With just a little over six minutes of debate, the House passed the bill by a voice vote. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

Last session the House passed a similar bill, HR 7589, but the Senate did not have time to take up the bill during the end of the 118th session. This bill is not politically important enough be considered under regular order, particularly early in a new administration. This bill might be a good candidate for the Senate’s unanimous consent process, but it may be easier to add the language to a spending or authorization bill.

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.

Review - HR 866 Introduced – ROUTERS Act

Last month Rep Latta (R,OH) introduced HR 866, the Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security (ROUTERS) Act. The bill would 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.

The bill is essentially identical to HR 7589, that was introduced by Latta in March of 2024. On March 20^th, 2024, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a business meeting that included consideration of HR 7589. The Committee adopted the bill, without amendments, by a vote of 43 to 0. The Committee Report was published on May 19^th, 2024. HR 7589 was considered by the Full House on September 9^th, 2024, under the suspension of the rules process and was passed by a voice vote. No action was taken on the bill in the Senate.

Moving Forward

Both Latta, and his sole cosponsor {Rep Kelly, (D,IL)} are members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to which this bill was referred for consideration. This means that there may be sufficient influence to see the bill considered in Committee. As with HR 7589 last session, I would expect the bill to receive strong bipartisan support, both in Committee and on the floor of the House.

Commentary

Since the requirements of this bill are specifically focused on “consumer” routers and similar devices, this bill would be unlikely to provide anyone with actionable information. Congress is unlikely to make the sale of Chinese routers illegal in this country. Even if it were to do so, there would be no practical way for them to eliminate those already here. This is another case of Congress trying to look like it is doing something about a problem over which it has no control.

 

For more information on the provisions of this bill, including an expanded commentary, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-866-introduced - subscription required.

 

Review – Bills Introduced – 1-31-25

Yesterday, with the House meeting in pro forma session and the Senate taking a break, there were 93 bills introduced. Four of those bills will receive additional coverage in this newsletter:

HR 853 To authorize the declaration of a hazardous train event, and for other purposes. Deluzio, Christopher R. [Rep.-D-PA-17]

HR 854 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue certain regulations to define high-hazard flammable train, and for other purposes. Deluzio, Christopher R. [Rep.-D-PA-17]

HR 866 To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, to conduct a study of the national security risks posed by consumer routers, modems, and devices that combine a modem and router, and for other purposes. Latta, Robert E. [Rep.-R-OH-5]

HR 872 To require covered contractors implement a vulnerability disclosure policy consistent with NIST guidelines, and for other purposes. Mace, Nancy [Rep.-R-SC-1]

 

For more information on these bills, and a brief history of similar bills in the 118^th Congress, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/bills-introduced-1-31-25 - subscription required.