House Passes FY 2019 Defense Appropriations Bill With Anti-ZTE Procurement Language

The House voted 359-49 Thursday to pass the FY 2019 DOD appropriations bill, which includes language that would bar the military from buying products made by ZTE and fellow Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei. HR-6157 passage follows more than a month of congressional debate about the President Donald Trump-led push to lift a Department of Commerce-imposed ban on U.S. companies selling telecom software and equipment to ZTE (see 1806260031). The Senate voted 85-10 to pass a version of the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5515) that would reinstate the ZTE ban (see 1806190051). “Broad majorities of Democrats and Republicans in Congress know that China has led a dedicated and long-term campaign to steal American secrets, techniques and know-how,” said Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who authored the ZTE amendment: The language is “a small step in a larger fight to build a comprehensive strategy to defeat and deter Chinese attacks.”