Senate Advances Connected Vehicle Security Bill Under Deadline

By Sophie Lindqvist

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee advanced a bipartisan connected-vehicle bill on July 22; at publication, it had 57 Senate cosponsors, but the full chamber had yet to vote. The Connected Vehicle Security Act’s committee version would take effect Jan. 1, 2027 if adopted, leaving little time before the current Congress ends Jan. 3.

What would the bill restrict?

Introduced by Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno and Democratic Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, the bill targets connected cars and light trucks—wirelessly connected vehicles—primarily designed, developed, made or supplied by North Korea, China, Russia or Iran.

It would bar importing, building or selling those vehicles. It would also reach automakers where a listed country, or a person or company tied to it, owns or controls more than 15%.

Software from the four countries would be barred from 2027 model-year vehicles, while connectivity hardware would be barred from 2030 models. The commerce secretary could grant exceptions. A model year is the manufacturer’s annual production cycle.

A Biden-era Commerce Department rule, published in the Federal Register and finalized in January 2025, bars Chinese and Russian software from the 2027 model year and hardware from 2030. Automakers tied to either country cannot sell those cars under the rule.

Will the bill reach the Senate floor?

The Senate is expected to reconvene at 3 p.m. Nov. 9. Of the 57 cosponsors, 36 are Republicans and 21 are Democrats.

Reagan McCarthy, a Moreno spokesman, said the senator was talking with colleagues and industry partners during recess and aimed to finalize the product. A House Select Committee on China spokesman called Chinese connected vehicles a national-security and manufacturing threat and said the bill had more than 140 cosponsors.

Without passage before Jan. 3, 2027, sponsors would have to restart the legislative process in a new Congress featuring Democratic majorities in both chambers.

Supporters planned another push after the midterms. On Sept. 24, Moreno said he was confident and hopeful he could return the following week with Slotkin to pass it. His colleagues delayed plans for a vote without a roll call so talks with Rand Paul could continue.

AP reported that Chinese investors hold nearly 20% of the German automaker Mercedes-Benz through passive investments. Rand Paul argued that the bill could unfairly ensnare Mercedes-Benz. Moreno said he did not believe President Trump would sign a measure barring Mercedes-Benz from the United States.

Why are automakers pressing Congress?

John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, urged Congress to enact the ban before adjournment. He wrote: “Given the obvious national security risk and China’s pattern of unfair behavior, Congress should protect our defense and advanced manufacturing base and stop Chinese automakers from doing here what they’ve gotten away with in Europe.”

On Nov. 2, 2026, the alliance repeated its push for a ban on the sale, manufacture and import of Chinese connected vehicles before the year’s adjournment.

In his Sept. 3 letter to congressional leaders, Bozzella said China was capturing market share in Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, Mexico and South America, but not yet inside the United States.

He cited Association of European Vehicle Logistics data showing the European Union imported more than 1.1 million vehicles shipped from China between January and August, exceeding all of 2025. Omdia data put Chinese automakers at 7.8% of Europe’s new-vehicle market in 2025, up from 1.7% about a decade earlier.

Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, called this a rare issue with overwhelming bipartisan agreement. He urged quick passage before Chinese companies established operations in America under President Trump. Hudson Institute senior fellow Will Chou said legislation would provide security safeguards, fair competition and worker protection.

Chou also warned that Beijing could limit critical-mineral access to companies and countries that comply with a U.S. ban. In his view, China seeks overseas markets to export its way out of a weak domestic economy.

In a Tuesday response, He Weiwen of the Center for China and Globalization told the state-run Global Times: “The Alliance’s push is essentially about blocking low-priced, high-value competitors from entering the market — economic protectionism, not a national security concern.” He also claimed no public evidence had supported the surveillance allegation.

What has the House done?

Republican Michigan Rep. John Moolenaar and Democratic Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell introduced a companion House version on May 11. It had 146 cosponsors, 81 Republicans and 65 Democrats, at the time of writing. The measure remained in the three congressional committees that received it for review.

On May 21, the House Energy and Commerce Committee separately voted 48-1 to advance the broader Motor Vehicle Modernization Act. An amendment would bar automakers “controlled by a foreign adversary” from making, selling or importing vehicles in the country. Some companies already building vehicles in the United States would be exempt.

Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, and Dingell said the security act would protect American jobs, national security and the future of U.S. manufacturing.

Can the existing rule do the job?

Chou called the January 2025 Commerce rule robust, while warning that a future administration could enforce it differently and the House Select Committee on China spokesman said rules can be rewritten with the stroke of a pen.

The committee version would add North Korea and Iran to the existing rule’s country list and set a 15% ownership-and-control threshold. Both use the 2027 software date and 2030 hardware date.

What should practitioners track?

For compliance teams, the proposal resembles a supply-chain gate: vehicle origin comes first, then ownership and control, and finally the software or hardware inside. Companies should test each connected car and light truck against those thresholds now, because the existing rule already applies. If Congress acts, they should prepare evidence for any exception request to the commerce secretary.

Until Congress acts, the proposed statutory scope remains unsettled. Counsel should monitor the Nov. 9 floor attempt, House committee movement and any post-midterms restart.

The Commerce Department, the Chinese Embassy, the office of Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Mercedes-Benz USA did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.