HR9541Referred to Committee

FIREWALL Act

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-06-30
Introduced
1
Cosponsors
HR
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Gus M. Bilirakis
Gus M. Bilirakis
Republican · FL · Representative
Votes with party: 98.6% (577 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/B001257

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (1)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

2026-06-30

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

Currently in

Plain-English Summary

The legislation would prevent federal funding from going to individuals and companies that buy fiber-optic cables from countries considered security risks, such as China. This would affect telecommunications companies, internet service providers, and other businesses that receive federal grants or contracts if they use cables from these restricted countries. The goal is to reduce dependence on foreign sources for critical communications infrastructure.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 9541 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 9541 To prohibit certain Federal funds from being provided to individuals and entities that purchase fiber-optic cable from countries of concern, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 30, 2026 Mr. Bilirakis (for himself and Mr. Soto) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To prohibit certain Federal funds from being provided to individuals and entities that purchase fiber-optic cable from countries of concern, 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 ``Federal Investment Restrictions on Equipment from Worrisome Authoritarian Linked Locations Act'' or the ``FIREWALL Act''. SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON PROVIDING CERTAIN FEDERAL FUNDS TO INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES THAT PURCHASE FIBER-OPTIC CABLE FROM COUNTRIES OF CONCERN. (a) Prohibition.--No Federal funds provided through any program, project, or activity administered by the Federal Communications Commission or the National Telecommunications and Information Administration may be provided to an individual or entity that purchases fiber-optic cable from a company that is owned, in whole or in part, by-- (1) a country of concern; (2) an official of a country of concern government, including in an individual capacity; or (3) an individual, business, or agency under significant control of such country of concern. (b) Application.--Subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the purchase of fiber-optic cable on or after the date that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. (c) Definition.--In this Act: (1) Country of concern.--The term ``country of concern'' has the meaning given the term ``covered nation'' in section 4872(f) of title 10, United States Code. (2) Fiber-optic cable.--The term ``fiber-opic cable'' includes solid-core fiber and hollow core fiber. <all>
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