Prohibition on the use of Chinese-manufactured optical fiber by the Department of Defense

(a) Prohibition The Secretary of Defense may not procure, obtain, or use optical fiber and optical fiber cable that are produced, manufactured, or assembled by an entity that is owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of the People’s Republic of China for use in Department of Defense information networks or communications systems. (b) Applicability This section applies to— (1) the Department of Defense; and (2) any contractor or subcontractor at any tier that procures or uses covered optical fiber in the performance of a contract with the Department of Defense. (c) Covered optical fiber defined In this section, the term covered optical fiber means single-mode or multi-mode optical fiber and optical fiber cable. (d) Implementation Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement to require contractor certification and supply-chain disclosure with respect to covered optical fiber. (e) Waiver authority (1) In general The Secretary of Defense may grant a waiver to the prohibition under subsection (a) on a case-by-case basis if the Secretary determines that— (A) the waiver is necessary for the national security interests of the United States; and (B) no practicable alternative exists from a source not described in subsection (a). (2) Limitation A waiver granted under this subsection shall be time limited and scoped to the minimum extent necessary. (3) Notice Not later than 30 days after granting a waiver, the Secretary shall submit written notice to the congressional defense committees describing— (A) the justification for the waiver; (B) the duration and scope of the waiver; and (C) the plan to transition to compliant materials. (f) Effective date This section shall apply to contracts awarded on or after October 1 of the first fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.