Official Summaries

Communications Security Act

This bill provides statutory authority for a council established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide advice regarding the security, reliability, and interoperability of communications networks. (This advice is currently provided by the FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council.)

The bill specifies that the FCC may designate an existing advisory committee to fulfill this role, provided the committee’s membership is modified, as necessary, to comply with membership requirements set forth in the bill. 

Specifically, the bill requires the council to include, to the extent practicable, representatives of companies in the communications industry; public interest organizations or academic institutions; and federal, state, tribal, and local governments (with at least one member representing each level of government). Members are to be selected by the FCC's chair and generally may not include representatives of entities owned or controlled by, or subject to the influence of, a foreign adversary, or otherwise deemed to pose a threat to U.S. national security. 

Under current law, federal advisory committees must generally terminate after two years unless they are renewed or a statute specifies a different termination date. However, the bill exempts the council from this requirement.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1717 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1717


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 16, 2025

    Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To direct the Federal Communications Commission to establish a council 
to make recommendations on ways to increase the security, reliability, 
    and interoperability of communications networks, 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 ``Communications Security Act''.

SEC. 2. COUNCIL ON COMMUNICATIONS SECURITY, RELIABILITY, AND 
              INTEROPERABILITY.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall--
            (1) establish a council to advise the Commission on issues 
        including the security, reliability, and interoperability of 
        communications networks; or
            (2) designate for purposes of this section an advisory 
        committee of the Commission that is operating on the date of 
        the enactment of this Act under a charter for the purpose of 
        addressing the issues described in paragraph (1) and, if the 
        membership of such committee does not comply with subsection 
        (b), modify such membership to comply with such subsection.
    (b) Membership.--
            (1) Appointment.--The members of the council shall be 
        appointed by the Chair.
            (2) Composition.--To the extent practicable, the membership 
        of the council shall be composed of the following:
                    (A) Representatives of companies in the 
                communications industry, except companies that are 
                determined by the Chair to be not trusted.
                    (B) Representatives of public interest 
                organizations or academic institutions, except public 
                interest organizations or academic institutions that 
                are determined by the Chair to be not trusted.
                    (C) Representatives of the Federal Government, 
                State governments, local governments, or Tribal 
                Governments, with at least one member representing each 
                such type of government.
            (3) Knowledge and experience.--Each member of the council 
        shall have knowledge and experience relevant to the purpose and 
        goals of the council.
            (4) Terms.--
                    (A) In general.--Each member of the council shall 
                be appointed for a term of 2 years, except as provided 
                in subparagraph (B).
                    (B) Vacancies.--Any member appointed to fill a 
                vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for 
                which the member's predecessor was appointed shall be 
                appointed only for the remainder of that term. A member 
                may serve after the expiration of that member's term 
                until a successor has taken office.
    (c) Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date on 
        which the council is established or designated (as the case may 
        be) under subsection (a), and every 2 years thereafter, the 
        council shall submit to the Chair each report adopted by the 
        council during the preceding 2-year period, and any report 
        adopted by any working group of the council during such period, 
        including any such report of the council or a working group 
        containing recommendations on ways to increase the security, 
        reliability, and interoperability of communications networks, 
        and on other relevant issues as appropriate.
            (2) Availability on commission website.--The Commission 
        shall make each report submitted under paragraph (1) publicly 
        available on the website of the Commission.
    (d) Duration.--Section 1013(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code 
(relating to the termination of advisory committees) shall not apply to 
the council.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Chair.--The term ``Chair'' means the Chair of the 
        Commission.
            (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal 
        Communications Commission.
            (3) Council.--The term ``council'' means the council 
        established under subsection (a)(1) or the advisory committee 
        designated under subsection (a)(2), as the case may be.
            (4) Not trusted.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``not trusted'' means, 
                with respect to an entity, that--
                            (i) the Chair has made a public 
                        determination that such entity is owned by, 
                        controlled by, or subject to the influence of a 
                        foreign adversary; or
                            (ii) the Chair otherwise determines that 
                        such entity poses a threat to the national 
                        security of the United States.
                    (B) Criteria for determination.--In making a 
                determination under subparagraph (A)(ii), the Chair 
                shall use the criteria described in paragraphs (1) 
                through (4) of section 2(c) of the Secure and Trusted 
                Communications Networks Act of 2019 (47 U.S.C. 
                1601(c)), as appropriate.
            (5) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given such 
        term in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
        153).

            Passed the House of Representatives July 15, 2025.

            Attest:

                                             KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

                                                                 Clerk.