Moolenaar Cosponsors the SAFE LiDAR Act

Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the Select Committee on China has cosponsored legislation to prohibit the use of remote sensors and imaging equipment from China in American vehicles. The Stopping Adversaries From Exploiting (SAFE) LiDAR Act was introduced by Select Committee member Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and it bans the use of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) from firms based in or controlled from China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea.

“This bipartisan legislation will protect Americans and help secure critical infrastructure from Chinese interference and surveillance. China is always seeking new ways to gather intelligence on our country and Chinese-made LiDAR collects sensitive environmental and operational data. It can also be used to harm critical infrastructure or transportation at the touch of a button, so this crucial legislation will stop that from happening,” said Moolenaar.

Moolenaar is also leading a complementary bipartisan bill on stopping China-linked connected vehicles from entering the United States. His bill with Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) prohibits the importation, manufacture, sale, or introduction into the U.S. of connected vehicles originating from or controlled by a covered foreign adversary country, effective January 1, 2027.

"The American auto industry is vital for jobs, national security, and the future of America’s manufacturing base. China cheats in every industry, and in autos it is overproducing vehicles and components, and selling them for cheap in hopes they will put our companies out of business. In some cases, Chinese companies, including CATL and BYD, use slave labor to undercut the fair wages of hardworking Americans. These companies should not be allowed to do business in America, and their products shouldn’t be in our cars or threatening our infrastructure,” said Moolenaar when the legislation was introduced last month.

Background

The SAFE LiDAR Act bans the use of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology from firms based in or controlled by China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea. LiDAR is a remote sensing method that uses millions of laser pulses to generate precise 3D maps of the Earth's surface characteristics. LiDAR has military uses as well as civilian applications, including self-driving vehicles and traffic monitoring technology.  

Currently, Chinese firms control approximately 80% of the global LiDAR market, and data collected in the U.S. is sent to China. In one instance, Chinese-connected vehicles transmitted approximately 90% of their data packets back to servers in China. Chinese firms involved in the global LiDAR market include Hesai, RoboSense, and Huawei, all identified as Chinese military companies on the Pentagon's 1260H list. At present, only the Department of War has a procurement ban on LiDAR linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Moolenaar also previously cosponsored the Securing Infrastructure from Adversaries Act introduced by Congressman Dusty Johnson (R-SD). The legislation would prohibit the Department of Transportation from using Chinese-manufactured LiDAR.