U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced legislation that would strengthen national security by preventing the Chinese Community Party from monitoring sensitive military shipment monitoring.
The legislation, Keeping China Off the Rails Act, would extend prohibitions in current law for new rail cars to existing ones by requiring rail carriers to certify that cargo monitoring technologies or AEI tags linked to the Chinese Community Party are not being used on trains carrying U.S. Department of Defense cargo. Ernst said the legislation would provide the rail industry with four years to comply with the legislation.
“No foreign adversary—especially one as hostile as Communist China—should have access to information about sensitive military shipments or activities at some of our nation’s highest-security facilities,” Ernst said. “At a time of growing national security threats, it’s essential that the United States protects critical military infrastructure and maintains our military edge. I am proud to introduce this commonsense legislation to strengthen our national security, close this vulnerability, and help ensure our critical military equipment remains protected from hostile foreign adversaries.”
Currently, rail carriers rely on Automatic Equipment Identification (AEI) tags and other cargo monitoring systems to identify and track rolling stock as they move through the rail network. The DoD relies on rail transportation to move heavy military equipment across the country, Ernst’s office said. The military’s use of the tracking systems makes them critical for military operational security.
The legislation provides rail carriers with time to replace covered technologies, and gives the Secretary of Defense waiver authority for national emergencies, including exemptions for small shipments to the DoD.