Gallagher, Krishnamoorthi, Colleagues Request Investigation of All PRC LiDAR Technology Companies
Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), sent a letter to Secretaries Gina Raimondo, Lloyd Austin, and Janet Yellen requesting an investigation of all People’s Republic of China (PRC) Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology companies to determine whether their activities justify inclusion on three U.S. government-restricted entities lists: the Defense Department’s Chinese Military Companies List, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security Entity List, and the Treasury Department’s Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List.
In addition to Chairman Gallagher and Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi, the letter was also signed by Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Reps. Rob Wittman (R-VA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), John Moolenaar (R-MI), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Jim Banks (R-IN), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Trent Kelly (R-MS), Don Bacon (R-NE), Blake Moore (R-UT), Ben Cline (R-VA), and Brad Wenstrup (R-OH).
LiDAR, which is currently not subject to U.S. export controls or government procurement restrictions, is a critical technology used in autonomous systems and robotics. Because the U.S. government currently has no security requirements for the procurement of LiDAR technology, there is significant risk that PRC-made LiDAR technologies are already present in U.S. defense systems and platforms that the U.S. military and its contractors are unaware of. This presents a serious national security risk due to the PRC’s National Security Law, which requires all PRC LiDAR companies to provide any available data collected by their products and systems to the CCP, when requested.