Timely Evaluation of Acquisitions, Mergers, or Transactions with External, Lawful Entities to Clear Owners and Management Act or the TEAM TELECOM Act
This bill provides statutory authority for the interagency working group at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration that assesses and addresses the law enforcement and national security policy implications arising from foreign ownership in an applicant for certain telecommunications licenses and permits.
Such applications are those for (1) authorization to construct or extend, acquire or operate, or engage in transmission by means of a line (i.e., any channel of communication established by the use of appropriate equipment); (2) a submarine cable landing license or its assignment or transfer; or (3) a new construction permit or station license (or for the transfer, assignment, or disposal of an existing permit or license).
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4029 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4029
To amend the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Organization Act to establish an interagency national security review
process, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 22, 2021
Mr. Johnson of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Organization Act to establish an interagency national security review
process, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Timely Evaluation of Acquisitions,
Mergers, or Transactions with External, Lawful Entities to Clear Owners
and Management Act'' or the ``TEAM TELECOM Act''.
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERAGENCY NATIONAL SECURITY REVIEW PROCESS.
(a) In General.--Part A of the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 106. ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERAGENCY NATIONAL SECURITY REVIEW
PROCESS.
``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this section, the Assistant Secretary, in coordination
with the head of each appropriate Federal entity, shall develop and
issue procedures for, and establish, an interagency review process
(which shall include each appropriate Federal entity) that considers
the law enforcement and national security policy implications of the
approval of a covered application that may arise from the foreign
ownership interests held in the covered applicant that submitted the
covered application.
``(b) Applicability.--Any covered application pending before the
Commission that was submitted by a covered applicant with more than the
threshold foreign ownership limit, after the covered applicant declines
an opportunity to remedy the foreign ownership of the covered
applicant, is subject to review under the review process established
pursuant to subsection (a).
``(c) Process and Procedural Requirements.--
``(1) Referral for review.--
``(A) Requirement for fcc to refer complete
application.--The Commission shall refer any covered
application subject to the review process established
pursuant to subsection (a) to the Assistant Secretary
promptly after the Commission determines that the
covered application, under the rules and regulations of
the Commission, is complete.
``(B) Referral of other requests.--The Commission
may refer for review under the review process
established pursuant to subsection (a) any other
request for action by the Commission for which the
Commission determines review is necessary under such
process.
``(2) Interagency review deadline; determination.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 120 days after
the date on which the Assistant Secretary receives a
referral from the Commission pursuant to paragraph
(1)--
``(i) the review of the covered application
or other request under the review process
established pursuant to subsection (a) shall be
completed;
``(ii) the Assistant Secretary, in
coordination with the head of each appropriate
Federal entity, shall make a determination--
``(I) to recommend to the
Commission that the Commission grant,
grant conditioned on mitigation, or
deny the application or other request;
or
``(II) that the Assistant Secretary
cannot make a recommendation with
respect to the covered application or
other request; and
``(iii) if the Assistant Secretary
determines under clause (ii) that the Assistant
Secretary cannot make a recommendation with
respect to the covered application or other
request, the President shall make a
determination to recommend to the Commission
that the Commission grant, grant conditioned on
mitigation, or deny the covered application or
other request.
``(B) Extension.--The Assistant Secretary, in
coordination with the head of each appropriate Federal
entity, may extend the deadline described in
subparagraph (A) an additional 45 days.
``(C) Notification of extension.--If the Assistant
Secretary, in coordination with the head of each
appropriate Federal entity, extends the deadline
pursuant to subparagraph (B), the Assistant Secretary
shall notify the covered applicant or other requesting
party of the extension.
``(3) Notification of determination.--Not later than 3 days
(excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after the
Assistant Secretary or the President (as the case may be) makes
a determination under paragraph (2)(A) to recommend that the
Commission grant, grant conditioned on mitigation, or deny the
application or other request, the Assistant Secretary shall
notify the Commission and the covered applicant or other
requesting party of the determination.
``(4) Disclosure of status of review.--Not later than 5
days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) after
receiving an inquiry from a covered applicant or other
requesting party for an update with respect to the status of
review of the covered application or other request of the
covered applicant or other requesting party that was referred
by the Commission for review under the review process
established pursuant to subsection (a), the Assistant
Secretary, in coordination with the head of each appropriate
Federal entity, shall provide, consistent with the protection
of classified information and intelligence sources and methods,
a complete and accurate response to the covered applicant or
other requesting party, the Commission, and the appropriate
congressional committees.
``(5) Standardization of information required.--In the
review process established pursuant to subsection (a), the
Assistant Secretary, in coordination with the head of each
appropriate Federal entity, shall establish a list of questions
requesting information from a covered applicant or other
requesting party that shall be made publicly available and
posted on the internet website of NTIA. Such questions shall,
to the maximum extent possible, be standardized for any
potential covered applicant or other requesting party.
``(6) Deadline for provision of information requested.--Not
later than 10 days after the date on which the Assistant
Secretary, in coordination with the head of each appropriate
Federal entity, requests information from a covered applicant
or other requesting party, the covered applicant or other
requesting party shall submit to the NTIA complete and accurate
responses.
``(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be
construed as limiting, superseding, or preventing the invocation of any
privileges or defenses that are otherwise available at law or in equity
to protect against the disclosure of information.
``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
`appropriate congressional committees' means the Committee on
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate.
``(2) Appropriate federal entities.--The term `appropriate
Federal entities' means the following:
``(A) The Department of Commerce.
``(B) The Department of Defense.
``(C) The Department of Energy.
``(D) The Department of Homeland Security.
``(E) The Department of Justice.
``(F) The Department of the Treasury.
``(G) The Department of State.
``(H) The United States Trade Representative.
``(I) The Federal Bureau of Investigation.
``(J) The Executive Office of the President.
``(3) Classified information.--The term `classified
information' means any information or material that has been
determined by the Federal Government pursuant to an Executive
order, statute, or regulation, to require protection against
unauthorized disclosure for reasons of national security.
``(4) Covered applicant.--The term `covered applicant'
means an entity seeking approval of a covered application from
the Commission.
``(5) Covered application.--The term `covered application'
means--
``(A) an application under section 214(a) of the
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 214(a)) for
authorization to undertake the construction of a new
line or of an extension of any line, or to acquire or
operate any line, or extension thereof, or to engage in
transmission over or by means of such additional or
extended line;
``(B) an application under the Act entitled `An Act
relating to the landing and operation of submarine
cables in the United States,' approved May 27, 1921 (47
U.S.C. 34 et seq.; 42 Stat. 8) for--
``(i) a submarine cable landing license; or
``(ii) an assignment or transfer of control
of a submarine cable landing license; or
``(C) an application for a new license, or for the
transfer, assignment, or disposal of an existing
license under section 310(d) of the Communications Act
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 310(d)), that is--
``(i) subject to approval by the Commission
under section 310(b)(4) of such Act (47 U.S.C.
310(b)(4)); or
``(ii) eligible, under the rules of the
Commission, for forbearance under section 10 of
such Act (47 U.S.C. 160) from the application
of paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 310(b)
of such Act (47 U.S.C. 310(b)).
``(6) Threshold foreign ownership limit.--The term
`threshold foreign ownership limit' means foreign ownership of,
as applicable--
``(A) at least the amount determined by the
Commission under section 214(a) of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 214(a)), in the case of an
application described in paragraph (5)(A) of this
subsection;
``(B) any amount, in the case of an application
described in paragraph (5)(B) of this subsection; or
``(C) at least an amount sufficient for section
310(b) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 310(b)) to apply, in the
case of an application described in paragraph (5)(C) of
this subsection.''.
(b) Applicability.--This section, and the amendment made by this
section, shall apply to any covered application (as such term is
defined in section 106 of the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration Organization Act, as added by subsection
(a)) filed on or after the date on which the review process is
established pursuant to such section 106.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
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