Hawley Introduces Bill to Reduce Pentagon’s Reliance on Technology From China and Other ‘Adversary Nations’

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) listens while Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the second day of her Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Oct. 13, 2020. Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has introduced a bill aiming to reduce Chinese control over technology used by the U.S. armed forces.

Called the Protecting Critical Boards and Electronics Through Transparency and Enduring Reinvestment (PCBETTER) Act (pdf), the measure intends “to prevent Beijing from inserting and exploiting vulnerabilities in printed circuit boards (PCBs) that are made in China and used throughout the American military,” Hawley’s office said in an April 28 statement.