NOTICIAS

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Mark Warner (D-VA) secured a provision (Sec. 9202) in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 (H.R. 6395) conference report that passed the Senate to support the development of a 5G wireless network by establishing the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund and the Multilateral Telecommunications Security Fund. The Senate’s action sends the final conference report to the President.
 
“It is in our national security interests to support American competition in the 5G market and take action to counter efforts by Chinese state-directed telecommunications companies to dominate wireless technology supply chains,” Rubio said. “I was proud to secure this critical provision in the FY21 NDAA conference report that will support the development of an innovative 5G wireless network that leverages American strengths and creates American jobs in the industries of the future without relying on malign Chinese state-directed actors like Huawei and ZTE.”
 
“For too long we’ve called for our allies and trading partners to reject Huawei digital infrastructure – without providing competitively-priced, innovative alternatives that address their needs. I’m pleased to see my bipartisan, bicameral legislation included in this year’s defense funding bill,” Warner said. “I look forward to working with Senate Appropriators next year to ensure that these programs – which advance major national security priorities – receive full funding in the coming year.” 
 
Rubio and Warner’s provision builds upon the bipartisan legislation they introduced earlier this year to encourage and support U.S. innovation in the race for 5G by providing more than $1 billion to invest in Western-based alternatives to Chinese equipment providers Huawei and ZTE, malign state-directed telecommunications companies that pose a clear and growing threat to the economic and national security of the U.S. and our allies.
 
In July, Rubio and Warner supported an amendment that was adopted to the Senate passed FY 2021 NDAA that supports the development of secure 5G networks in open-standards to compete with our adversaries.
 
In a CNBC op-ed earlier this year, Rubio highlighted the importance of why the United States and its allies must reject China’s Huawei and lead on 5G development: