WASHINGTON, D.C. –– This week, Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security, introduced the Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act, legislation to prohibit the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from procuring batteries from six companies owned and operated in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and advance efforts to decouple the supply chain from the United States’ geopolitical adversary. 
 
Cosponsors include Committee Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN), Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX), and Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI). This commonsense legislation resembles a provision signed into law in last year’s National Defense Authorization Act, which prevented the Department of Defense from procuring batteries from these PRC-aligned Chinese companies. 
 
Subcommittee Chairman Gimenez said, “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, especially amid this administration’s ill-conceived push for electric vehicles. 
 
“The West was far too late to recognize the threat of Huawei, TikTok, and PRC-manufactured cranes installed at America’s seaports. 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. The Department of Defense has rightfully ended the use of these PRC-manufactured batteries, and it is past time for DHS to follow suit.”
 
Chairman Green said, “The United States cannot give the Chinese Communist Party the opportunity to undermine our homeland security by relying on China for crucial components to our economy and security. I am proud to join Chairmen Gimenez, Pfluger, and Moolenaar on this bill to end any DHS reliance on batteries made by six dominant Chinese companies. We must defend against the CCP’s growing malign influence and protect the supply chains that are critical to securing our homeland.”
 
Chairman Moolenaar said, “American tax dollars should never be used to further the Chinese Communist Party’s hopes to dominate key technologies at our expense. That’s why I am proud to co-sponsor the Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act which would stop the Department of Homeland Security from using American taxpayer dollars to purchase Gotion, CATL, or other Chinese batteries. Our military has already banned these batteries and DHS should do the same.”  
 
Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger said, “I am proud to support this legislation which builds upon prior work to reduce American dependence on China by barring the Department of Homeland Security from procuring batteries from six Chinese companies. It is imperative that we reduce reliance on the CCP and secure our supply chains to strengthen the Homeland.”
 
Background:
 
The PRC produces approximately 80 percent of the world’s batteries and around 70 percent of the world’s lithium-ion batteries. The Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act would prevent DHS from procuring batteries from six Chinese companies that are closely linked to the CCP, including: Contemporary Amperex Technology Company, Ltd. (CATL); BYD Company, Ltd; Envision Energy, Ltd; EVE Energy Company, Ltd; Hithium Energy Storage Technology company, Ltd; and Gotion High-Tech Company, Ltd. 

Gotion High-Tech has spent $1.2 million on lobbying efforts just this year. The company is also being supported by the Swiss company ABB Ltd., a key piece of the Committee’s ongoing investigation into a PRC-owned company that dominates the seaport crane manufacturing industry. CATL is the world’s largest manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries and a foremost actor in the global electric vehicle (EV) market. Through CATL and other similar Chinese entities, China aims to create and exploit technological dependencies to achieve its goals. 
 
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. It is critical to proactively work to prevent these and other vulnerabilities.
 
Last year, reports indicated that the PRC-aligned CATL installed its batteries at facilities in Florida, Virginia, Nevada, and California, as well as a solar farm on leased land inside the U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Energy-storage batteries produced by CATL at Camp Lejeune have been decommissioned, following increased pressure from Congress.  

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