Rep. Fallon Introduces SAFE Supply Chains Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Pat Fallon (TX-04) this week introduced H.R.9500, the Securing America's Federal Equipment (SAFE) Supply Chains Actwhich will fortify America's cybersecurity by requiring government agencies to purchase electronics solely from original equipment manufacturers or authorized sellers to avoid the risk of procuring harmful products.

Adversaries such as Russia, China, and Iran are increasingly exploiting our vulnerabilities, largely in the cyber domain, where the U.S. government is subject to millions of attacks daily.

"The proliferation of artificial intelligence has allowed our enemies to conduct offensive cyber-operations at an enormous rate, creating the possibility of a devastating attack on this country's most sensitive networks," said Rep. Fallon. "Simultaneously, our adversaries have been targeting our hardware and software systems by selling the US government counterfeit products through what are known as 'grey market' sellers. These products, although marketed as genuine hardware, allow our adversaries to gain access to US government systems, making it far easier to conduct subsequent cyber-attacks. This is unacceptable."

Rep. Fallon continued, "I have partnered with Senators Cornyn and Peters in a bi-partisan and bi-cameral manner to prevent the federal government from even being at risk of being duped into procuring these harmful products. This bill would mandate that the federal government purchase hardware from trusted sources, which are designated as Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). The world is at peak instability and danger. Simply put, we are at an inflection point, which means we must do everything in our power to protect our vulnerable systems from cyber-attack and intrusion from our adversaries."

The SAFE Supply Chains Act also has support from industry leaders. "The risk of counterfeit components compromising our federal IT systems is a clear and present danger that must be addressed," said Jeff Campbell, Cisco's Chief Government Strategy Officer. "At Cisco, we know that the security of technology is intrinsically linked to the trustworthiness of its source and support the SAFE Supply Chain Act's efforts to ensure that the lifeblood of our government's digital infrastructure is drawn from secure and reputable sources. We applaud Representative Fallon for introducing this measure in the House and look forward to engaging both chambers as members continue work on this critical issue."