Committee hearings highlight rip‑and‑replace funding, standards and need for U.S. chip and router manufacturing
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Summary
Members and witnesses urged sustained funding for the rip‑and‑replace program, adoption of supply‑chain standards, and long‑term investment in domestic semiconductor and router manufacturing to reduce reliance on adversary suppliers.
Members of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee and industry witnesses discussed supply‑chain security, domestic manufacturing and standards as central elements of long‑term telecommunications resilience.
Ranking Member Doris Matsui and others highlighted the Secure and Trusted Communications Network Act and said Congress fully funded the rip‑and‑replace (rip‑and‑replace) reimbursement program in a prior Congress. Matsui told the panel, “Last congress, we secured the last $3,000,000,000 to fully fund the rip and replace program and remove vulnerable Chinese equipment from our telecommunications infrastructure.”
Industry witnesses said supply‑chain assurance requires verification and continuous assessment. David Stalen of the Telecommunications Industry Association described SCS 9,001, a supply chain security management standard his organization developed to operationalize NIST and other guidance and to provide third‑party verifiable controls for the design, development and operations of ICT products.
Panelists said the largest structural challenge is the semiconductor and active component ecosystem, which remains concentrated overseas. Stalen and others said rebuilding a domestic semiconductor ecosystem and related manufacturing will take years and require strategic, multi‑decade investment, including incentives for R&D and verified production processes.
Members also raised the routers and home equipment market. Stalen recommended rapid evaluations to remove “bad choices” and better protect consumers, and witnesses said labeling and standards efforts such as the FCC Cyber Trust Mark could help consumers choose more secure products.
No formal votes were cast at the hearing. Members requested additional written materials describing standards, certification processes and proposed legislative steps to bolster manufacturing and supply‑chain verification.
