Review – S 244 Introduced - ROUTERS Act

Last month Sen Blackburn (R,TN) introduced S 244, 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 routers and modems manufactured in China. No new funding is authorized by the legislation.

The bill is very similar to S 4572 that was introduced by Blackburn in June of 2024. No action was taken on that bill. The language in this bill is more similar to the reported version of HR 7589 that was passed in the House on September 9^th, 2024 by a voice vote. While the bills described above are technically different, they would all have required the same actions to be taken.

Moving Forward

Both Blackburn and one of her two cosponsors {Sen Lujan (D,CO)} are members of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. This means that there may be sufficient influence to see the bill considered in Committee. I see nothing in this bill that would engender any organized opposition to the provisions of the bill.

 

For more information on the provisions of the bill and a discussion about the process by which the bill could be passed in the Senate, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/s-244-introduced - subscription required.

Review – Bills Introduced – 1-24-25

Yesterday, with the Senate in Washington, and the House meeting in pro forma session, there were 49 bills introduced. Three of those bills will receive additional coverage in this blog:

HJ Res 30 Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons: Management of Certain Hydrofluorocarbons and Substitutes Under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020". Dunn, Neal P. [Rep.-R-FL-2]

S 244 A bill 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. Blackburn, Marsha [Sen.-R-TN]

S 245 A bill to require the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to establish a working group on cyber insurance, to require dissemination of informative resources for issuers and customers of cyber insurance, and for other purposes. Hickenlooper, John W. [Sen.-D-CO]

 

For more information on these bills, including discussions about similar bills introduced in the 118^th, Congress, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/bills-introduced-1-24-25 - subscription required.