U.S. Tech PATH Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4570 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4570

     To incentivize, streamline, and sustain United States foreign
   government partner procurement of United States-origin cyber and
                         digital technologies.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 19, 2026

 Mrs. Shaheen (for herself and Mr. Ricketts) introduced the following
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

     To incentivize, streamline, and sustain United States foreign
   government partner procurement of United States-origin cyber and
                         digital technologies.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``U.S. Technology Procurement and
Access to Trusted Hardware Act'' or the ``U.S. Tech PATH Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations in the
                Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the House
                of Representatives.
            (2) Foreign country of concern.--The term ``foreign country
        of concern'' has the meaning given the term ``covered nation''
        in section 4872(f) of title 10, United States Code.
            (3) Foreign government partner.--The term ``foreign
        government partner'' includes international organizations.
            (4) International organizations.--The term ``international
        organizations'' has the meaning given the term in section 1 of
        the International Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288).
            (5) Trusted cyber and digital technologies.--The term
        ``trusted cyber and digital technologies'' means technologies,
        including equipment, services, hardware, or software used in
        information and communications technology networks, for which
        the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of
        Commerce, has determined--
                    (A) the provider, supplier, or manufacturer is not
                owned by, controlled by, or subject to the influence of
                a foreign country of concern; and
                    (B) do not pose an unacceptable risk to the
                national security of the United States or the security
                and safety of United States persons.
            (6) Pax silica initiative.--The term ``Pax Silica
        initiative'' refers to the Department of State-led diplomatic,
        economic security, and supply chain initiative, announced on
        December 11, 2025, to strengthen cooperation among the United
        States, allied countries, partner countries, industry, and
        other relevant stakeholders for the purpose of developing and
        securing trusted supply chains and infrastructure necessary for
        artificial intelligence, semiconductors, advanced
        manufacturing, and other technologies determined by the
        Secretary of State to be essential to United States national
        security, economic security, and technological competitiveness.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) foreign government partners are increasingly turning
        towards strategic competitors like the People's Republic of
        China to procure cyber and digital technologies due to their
        low-cost, acceptable efficiency, and associated training and
        maintenance;
            (2) foreign government partner procurement of cyber and
        digital technologies from suppliers aligned with strategic
        competitors of the United States poses significant and distinct
        risks, including--
                    (A) supply chain vulnerabilities created by
                dependence on strategic competitors whose governments
                may compel access to data, networks, or systems,
                undermining the cybersecurity and strategic autonomy of
                the procuring government;
                    (B) the erosion of interoperability and alignment
                with United States cybersecurity frameworks, standards,
                and best practices, reducing the ability of foreign
                government partners to operate securely alongside
                United States systems and those of United States
                allies; and
                    (C) the adoption of digital governance practices
                that are inconsistent with United States economic and
                national security interests;
            (3) United States foreign government partners consistently
        signal strong demand for cyber and digital technologies from
        trusted United States suppliers;
            (4) United States initiatives such as Pax Silica should
        facilitate technology procurements by building enduring
        technology partnerships between foreign government partners and
        United States suppliers, including by--
                    (A) assisting foreign government partners in
                navigating regulatory, logistical, and technical
                hurdles to cyber and digital technology procurement;
                    (B) providing foreign government partners with
                strategic direction from the United States Government;
                    (C) incorporating foreign government partner needs
                into program development from the outset; and
                    (D) maintaining long-term engagement with foreign
                government partners throughout the procurement cycle of
                trusted cyber and digital technologies; and
            (5) as the United States seeks to maintain its global
        competitive edge in critical and emerging technologies,
        including artificial intelligence, advanced telecommunications,
        and robotics, it is in the interest of the United States
        Government to establish policies and procedures that streamline
        foreign government partners' ability to procure trusted and
        reliable technologies from the United States and United States
        allies and partners.

SEC. 4. UNITED STATES TECHNOLOGY PROCUREMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Department of State
the United States Cyber and Digital Technology Procurement Program
(referred to in this Act as the ``Program''), which shall be
administered by the Bureau for Cyberspace and Digital Policy, and which
may support Pax Silica and other related initiatives. To the maximum
extent practicable, the Program shall seek to serve as a demand-driven
mechanism in response to cyber and digital technology needs as
determined by the participating foreign government partner.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of the Program shall include the
following:
            (1) To streamline foreign government partner procurement of
        trusted cyber and digital technologies, including commercial
        off-the-shelf technologies, consistent with United States
        export control laws and cybersecurity standards.
            (2) To establish long-term cyber and digital technology
        procurement pipelines with United States providers, including
        after the termination of the Program.
            (3) To identify the appropriate United States Government
        financing mechanisms to address challenges associated with
        affordability.
            (4) To provide a comprehensive package to foreign
        government partners that eases the navigation of cyber and
        digital technology procurement requirements, technical and
        system complexity, absorptive capacity, and foreign government
        partner-specific logistical and export controls, including by--
                    (A) designing and implementing logistics,
                procurement, deployment, and technical knowledge-
                transfer plans that enable the participating foreign
                government partner to modernize and secure systems;
                    (B) providing clear guidelines for United States
                and trusted foreign supplier entry and eligibility;
                    (C) conducting assessments related to the
                participating foreign government partner's workforce or
                technological needs, including any gaps in absorptive
                capacity, including--
                            (i) feasibility studies to identify,
                        design, and implement the deployment of cyber
                        and digital technology solutions; and
                            (ii) sustainability assessments to
                        determine the participating foreign government
                        partner's ability to procure and invest in
                        trusted cyber and digital technologies,
                        including the ability to sustain such
                        investments in the long-term;
                    (D) providing capacity building to ensure that the
                participating foreign government partner obtains the
                relevant skills for requirements identification and
                assessment, integration of United States procurements
                into existing operating environments, research and
                procurement, logistics, deployment, and configuration
                to ensure a long-term arrangement with United States
                suppliers; and
                    (E) assisting the participating foreign government
                partner in developing a long-term strategy to procure
                and budget for trusted cyber and digital technology
                procurements, including beyond the end of the Program's
                lifecycle.
            (5) To assess the risks and tradeoffs of foreign government
        partners adopting cyber and digital technologies from foreign
        countries of concern and prioritize foreign government partners
        for outreach efforts based on that risk assessment.
    (c) Covered Cyber and Digital Technologies.--In implementing the
Program, the Secretary of State shall, in coordination with the
participating foreign government partner, prioritize the following
cyber and digital technologies, as well as any other cyber and digital
technologies designated by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (d):
            (1) Software and its associated subscriptions and
        licensing, including--
                    (A) operating systems;
                    (B) enterprise management software;
                    (C) cloud-based storage solutions and compute
                access;
                    (D) industrial control and automation software,
                including Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
                (SCADA), distributed control systems (DCS), and
                programmable logic controller (PLC) programming
                environments;
                    (E) digital twin, simulation, and modeling
                software; and
                    (F) cloud and edge orchestration platforms for
                robotic and operational technology (OT) device
                management.
            (2) Hardware, including--
                    (A) processors;
                    (B) human-machine interfaces (HMIs) and operator
                consoles;
                    (C) networking equipment, including switches,
                routers, and gateways;
                    (D) industrial networking equipment;
                    (E) biotechnology equipment, including genomic
                sequencers and related hardware; and
                    (F) other related technologies.
            (3) Cybersecurity products, including--
                    (A) firewalls;
                    (B) intrusion detection and prevention systems;
                    (C) Security Information and Event Management
                (SIEM) systems;
                    (D) threat intelligence and monitoring systems;
                    (E) endpoint detection systems;
                    (F) Security Operations Centers (SOC); and
                    (G) secure authentication systems.
            (4) Telecommunications equipment, including--
                    (A) subsea fiber-optic cable and associated
                equipment;
                    (B) cellular equipment, including open radio access
                network (ORAN) equipment; and
                    (C) satellite-enabling infrastructure.
            (5) Equipment and related products to enable the adoption
        of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, including--
                    (A) compute;
                    (B) storage;
                    (C) memory;
                    (D) models, including both closed- and open-weight
                models;
                    (E) AI model licenses;
                    (F) edge AI capabilities, including next-generation
                smartphone technology and relevant mobile operating
                systems; and
                    (G) AI model applications.
    (d) Annual Review of Covered Cyber and Digital Technologies.--The
Secretary of State shall conduct an annual assessment to identify the
inclusion or removal of technologies under subsection (c) based on the
national security risk to the United States of a foreign country of
concern gaining significant market share of such technology within a
foreign government partner country.
    (e) Risk Mitigation Requirements.--Before approving a partnership
under the Program, the Secretary shall--
            (1) conduct an assessment of technology misuse and
        diversion risks, including--
                    (A) the foreign government partner's export control
                enforcement capacity;
                    (B) the foreign government partner's history of
                technology transfer to foreign countries of concern,
                including permitting remote access to technology; and
                    (C) investments by foreign countries of concern in
                the foreign government partner's critical sectors;
            (2) establish monitoring and mitigation requirements
        proportional to the risk assessed under paragraph (1);
            (3) include end-use monitoring provisions in all Program
        agreements; and
            (4) coordinate with the intelligence community and the
        Department of Defense regarding counterintelligence and
        national security risks.
    (f) Foreign Government Partner Contribution.--For any partnership
with a foreign government partner under the Program, the Secretary
shall, to the maximum extent practicable, seek to ensure cost-sharing
with the foreign government partner to facilitate the foreign
government partner's long-term buy-in and sustained procurements of
cyber and digital technologies.
    (g) Additional Interagency Coordination.--In implementing the
Program, to address challenges associated with affordability,
financing, technical evaluations, procurement requirements, and long-
term capacity building, the Secretary of State shall, on a case-by-case
basis, coordinate, as appropriate, with the relevant Federal agencies,
including the Department of Commerce, the Department of Homeland
Security, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the United
States International Development Finance Cooperation, and the United
States Trade and Development Agency.
    (h) Use of Funds.--Funds made available to carry out the Program
shall be used--
            (1) to provide assistance or financing--
                    (A) to foreign government partner civilian
                government agencies; or
                    (B) to law enforcement or military agencies, only
                if such entities are the owners and operators of the
                foreign government partner's civilian critical
                infrastructure; and
            (2) to develop blended finance mechanisms, co-developed
        with the participating foreign government partner, that
        partners with fund managers, project developers, third-party
        investors, infrastructure providers, and other private partners
        to advance the objections outlined in subsection (b).
    (i) Partner Disqualification.--
            (1) Prohibition on the use of funds.--No funds shall be
        made available under this Act to--
                    (A) a foreign country of concern; or
                    (B) any country, entity, or person--
                            (i) upon which sanctions are imposed by the
                        United States Department of the Treasury; or
                            (ii) that is an entity or person on the
                        Entity List maintained by the Bureau of
                        Industry and Security of the Department of
                        Commerce and set forth in Supplement No. 4 to
                        part 744 of title 14, Code of Federal
                        Regulations.
            (2) Vetting.--The Secretary of State shall vet foreign
        government partners to determine whether there is credible
        information that such partner--
                    (A) has committed serious human rights abuses or
                engaged in corruption, as defined by section 1 of
                Executive Order 13818 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to
                blocking the property of persons involved in serious
                human rights abuse or corruption), or is determined to
                be ineligible for assistance pursuant to section 620M
                of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C.
                2378d); and
                    (B) uses or is likely to use technologies outlined
                in subsection (c) and supported by this Act to engage
                in--
                            (i) violations of human rights;
                            (ii) targeted or bulk surveillance in
                        violation of rule of law principles or
                        fundamental freedoms;
                            (iii) the monitoring of journalists,
                        activists, human rights defenders, opposition
                        parties, or political dissidents;
                            (iv) internet shutdowns or to limit or
                        control elections or protests;
                            (v) political censorship or the targeting
                        and suppression of political speech or
                        political opponents;
                            (vi) denial of access to technology or
                        services based on race, ethnicity, gender,
                        religion, or other discriminatory factors; and
                            (vii) acts of transnational repression.
            (3) Disqualification.--Any foreign government partner
        determined by the Secretary of State to engage in the
        activities described in paragraph (2)(B) shall be ineligible
        for support or assistance under this Act.
    (j) Regional Technology Officers.--The Secretary of State shall, to
the maximum extent practicable, leverage the Department of State's
Regional Technology Officer Program, pursuant to section 9508 of the
Department of State Authorization Act of 2022 (22 U.S.C. 10305), to
assist United States overseas missions in identifying foreign
government partners to participate in the Program.
    (k) Foreign Commercial Officers.--As appropriate, the Secretary of
State shall, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, seek to
leverage the Foreign Commercial Officer Program to assist United States
overseas missions in identifying foreign government partners to
participate in the Program.
    (l) Congressional Notification Requirement.--Not later than 15 days
before amounts from the Cyberspace, Digital Connectivity, and Related
Technologies (CDT) Fund are obligated for purposes of carrying out this
section, the Secretary of State shall submit notification of such
obligation to--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations in the Senate;
            (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
            (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the House of
        Representatives; and
            (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
        Representatives.
    (m) Annual Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State,
in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report that includes--
            (1) a complete list of participating foreign government
        partners in the Program;
            (2) progress and results achieved in the previous calendar
        year;
            (3) the overall amount of purchases or investments each
        foreign government partner has made since initial participation
        in the Program;
            (4) specific cyber and digital technologies provided to
        participating foreign government partners, including--
                    (A) the name of the provider company or companies;
                    (B) the total value of the procurements;
                    (C) description of the capability; and
                    (D) how the procured capability addresses the
                original request submitted by the foreign government
                partner, if applicable;
            (5) next steps for each participating foreign government
        partner in their respective Program pipeline;
            (6) any challenges for a foreign government partner's
        participation in the Program, including how those challenges
        are being addressed; and
            (7) how risks related to technology transfer, if
        applicable, are being mitigated.
    (n) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 through fiscal year 2031
to the Cyberspace, Digital Connectivity, and Related Technologies (CDT)
Fund under section 592 of the Foreign Assistance Act for Fiscal Year
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2349cc-1) for purposes of carrying out this section.
    (o) Sunset.--The Program and its associated authorities established
under this section shall terminate on the date that is eight years
after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. OFFICE OF UNITED STATES TECHNOLOGY PROCUREMENT.

    (a) Designation of Responsibility.--The Secretary of State shall
designate an existing office within the Bureau for Cyberspace and
Digital Policy of the Department of State, or newly establish an Office
of United States Technology Procurement (referred to in this Act as the
``Office''), which shall be responsible for administering the Program.
    (b) Personnel.--
            (1) Composition.--The Office shall be comprised of a
        Director, a Deputy Director, and such other staff as the
        Secretary deems appropriate.
            (2) Staffing.--The Office shall include personnel with
        expertise or experience in performing the following functions:
                    (A) Grant design and management.
                    (B) Program monitoring, evaluation, and learning.
            (3) Director.--The Director of the Office shall fulfill the
        following responsibilities:
                    (A) Identify, on an annual basis, specific
                strategic priorities for the Program consistent with
                United States national security priorities and
                objectives.
                    (B) In coordination with the other relevant
                officials, select and approve all partnerships with
                foreign government partners under the Program.
                    (C) Conduct oversight, monitoring, and evaluation
                of the effectiveness of the Program, including long-
                term outcome assessments, to ensure the Program
                advances United States foreign policy and national
                security interests and to ensure monitoring,
                evaluation, and learning results directly inform future
                grant decisions.
                    (D) Ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that
                all Program activities are carried out in coordination
                with other Federal efforts to promote the United States
                technology stack overseas.
                    (E) Compiling and submitting the list required by
                section 4(m).
            (4) Deputy director.--The Deputy Director of the Office may
        have responsibility for policy and programming to assist the
        Director, particularly with respect to coordination with other
        United States departments and agencies.
    (c) Special Hiring Authorities.--For the two years following the
date of the enactment of this Act for the purposes of supporting the
Director in carrying out the responsibilities of the Office as defined
in subsection (b)(3), the Secretary of State may--
            (1) appoint up to 10 employees to positions without regard
        to the provisions of subchapter 1 of chapter 33 of title 5,
        United States Code, regarding appointments in the competitive
        service; and
            (2) fix the rates of basic pay of such employees without
        regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such
        title regarding classification and General Schedule pay rates,
        provided that the rates for such positions do not exceed the
        annual rate of basic pay in effect for a position at level IV
        of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United
        States Code.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated $2,000,000 for fiscal years 2026 through 2028 for the
purposes of implementing the Office.

SEC. 6. EXPANDING NECESSARY TECHNOLOGY AND RELATED EXPERTISE AT UNITED
              STATES OVERSEAS MISSIONS.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, for the
United States Government to successfully implement the Program, it is
vital that the United States recruit and retain the necessary talent to
facilitate such partnerships.
    (b) In General.--The Secretary of State shall, to the maximum
extent possible, take measures to ensure that United States overseas
missions in countries that are participating in the Program host at
least one full-time personnel with demonstrated proficiency in matters
related to cybersecurity, technology, and other related expertise to
sufficiently carry out the Program.

SEC. 7. EXTENDING AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE REGIONAL
              TECHNOLOGY OFFICER PROGRAM.

    Subsection (d) of section 9508 of the Department of State
Authorization Act of 2022 (22 U.S.C. 10305) is amended by striking
``2027'' and inserting ``2032''.

SEC. 8. PRESERVING MARKET-BASED COMPETITION FOR CYBER AND DIGITAL
              TECHNOLOGIES.

    (a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States to
support market-based mechanisms for the export and adoption of United
States cyber and digital technologies abroad, and to oppose state-
directed or state-controlled economic models that risk to displace or
crowd out private-sector competition in cyber and digital technology
markets.
    (b) In General.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to permit
the Secretary of State, in coordination with other relevant Federal
agencies, in carrying out the program outlined in section 4(a)--
            (1) to unduly interfere with, or seek to substitute for,
        market-based competition among United States cyber and digital
        technology providers;
            (2) to condition access to program support on the
        acceptance of commercial terms, partnerships, or business
        arrangements that United States cyber and digital technology
        providers would not voluntarily accept in an arm's length
        commercial transaction; or
            (3) to require foreign government partners to receive
        approval from the United States Government for procurements
        from United States cyber and digital technology providers
        pursued outside the Program, except as otherwise required by
        any other regulations or Federal law.
    (c) Cyber and Digital Technology Small Business Owners.--
Notwithstanding subsection (a), in carrying out the Program, the
Secretary of State may provide targeted assistance, including capacity-
building support and the facilitation of foreign government partner
engagement, to United States small businesses and companies that lack
the global reach, existing relationships, or resources to compete
independently in foreign government partner procurement markets,
provided that such assistance does not confer an unfair competitive
advantage over other United States cyber and digital technology
providers.

SEC. 9. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT.

    Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this
Act, and not less frequently than every two years until the termination
of the Program's authorities, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall conduct and submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a review of the Program. The review shall include an
assessment of the Department of State's implementation of the Program,
including--
            (1) the Department of State's capacity to implement the
        Program, including personnel and budgetary resources;
            (2) whether the Department of State has established the
        necessary processes and procedures to successfully achieve the
        Program objectives outlined in section 4;
            (3) the Department of State's ability to conduct
        appropriate monitoring and evaluation of Program
        implementation;
            (4) any technologies added or removed from the list under
        section 4(c) of covered cyber and digital technologies; and
            (5) any other elements deemed necessary by the Comptroller
        General of the United States.
                                 <all>