The House on Wednesday passed a $675 billion bill funding the Pentagon and blocking the military from any dealings with Chinese telecom companies ZTE and Huawei. The vote was 359-49.
The prohibition, sponsored by Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., is the latest move by Congress that could press President Trump to take a tougher stance against the companies as he negotiates with China. ZTE violated sanctions related to Iran and North Korea and both companies are widely considered a national security risk by lawmakers.
The White House strongly objected after the Senate passed an annual defense policy bill last week that re-imposes penalties on ZTE as Trump is seeking a deal to revive the telecom giant.
“Time and time again, we have seen that these companies, along with many others, use and manipulate their placement in the market to attack sensitive American communications, the technology sector as a whole and our national critical infrastructure,” Gallego said.
His amendment, which was passed by voice vote, bars any money being used to buy goods or services or enter into any contract with ZTE and Huawei. It must still be reconciled with a Senate version of 2019 defense spending bill, which so far does not include a similar provision.
The Pentagon has already banned the company’s products from its base stores, and the House approved a similar provision in its National Defense Authorization Act last month.
The appropriations bill provides $607 billion for the Pentagon’s base budget and $68 billion for overseas contingency operations, and aims to hike purchases of the F-35 joint strike fighter.
The Trump administration requested 77 of the aircraft, known as the world’s most advanced fighter jets, but the House proposes $9.4 billion to buy 93 in the coming year.
The House rejected 267-144 an amendment to ramp up purchases of Navy attack submarines amid opposition from the Pentagon and appropriators.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee tried unsuccessfully to reshuffle $1 billion to increase the number of Virginia-class subs bought annually from two to three beginning in 2022.
The amendment was supported by a bipartisan group of 20 lawmakers and was co-sponsored by Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., the chairman of the Armed Services seapower subcommittee, and Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., the ranking member of the subcommittee.
“The Chinese, the Chinese, just the Chinese, in 2020 will have 70 submarines. They are building them at a rate of six per year. So by 2029, when we have 42, they’ll have 124,” Wittman said.
But Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan wrote a “heartburn” letter to House appropriators on Monday asking them to scuttle the amendment.
He argued in the letter that setting the Navy up to buy three of the Virginia-class subs per year instead of two would siphon money from other needed shipbuilding programs.
The move would have required the Navy to cut $6 billion in the coming years from its destroyer, frigate, and oiler programs, according to Shanahan.
“Not only does this amendment cut $1 billion from vital programs in FY19, it will leave future Congresses with at least a $6 billion shortfall. That is not the appropriate way to spend our taxpayers’ dollars,” said Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, who chairs the House Appropriations defense subcommittee.
