Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act

Summary · Congressional Research Service (nonpartisan)

This bill prohibits the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from using appropriated funds to procure a battery produced by certain Chinese entities. This prohibition begins on October 1, 2027. The bill allows DHS to waive the prohibition if DHS assesses in the affirmative all of the following: the batteries to be procured do not pose a risk to U.S. national security, data, or infrastructure; the entity that produced such batteries does not satisfy the criteria for listing under Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (i.e., designation as a Chinese military company) or Public Law 117-78 (i.e., goods produced using forced labor in China, especially the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region); and there is no available alternative to procure batteries that are of similar or better cost and quality and that are produced by an entity not specified in this bill. DHS may also waive the prohibition upon a determination that the batteries to be procured are for the sole purpose of research, evaluation, training, testing, or analysis. The bill requires DHS to notify Congress within 15 days after granting a waiver under this bill.