Karla Jones Testimony on Addressing Maryland Security Vulnerabilities
States have begun to address these vulnerabilities, often with broad bipartisan support.
Karla Jones, ALEC Vice President of the Center for International Freedom, recently testified before the Maryland Budget and Taxation Committee explaining the impact of HB188, a bill that would ban entities controlled by embargoed governments from state procurement. Read her testimony below and listen here.
Thank you for this invitation. I’m Karla Jones, Vice President of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) Center for International Freedom. This testimony is being submitted on behalf of ALEC, America’s largest non-profit, non-partisan organization of state lawmakers dedicated to the principles of limited government, free markets, and federalism, to offer non-partisan research and analysis on Maryland’s HB188.
First off, use of the ITAR list as a guide is a sound way to identify scrutinized entities. However, it’s important to emphasize that the threat posed by China is unique and more challenging than other ITAR countries due to factors ranging from manufacturing and foreign direct investment capabilities to China’s already significant U.S. market share for technology equipment. Unfortunately, U.S. state governments, including Maryland, have purchased millions of dollars’ worth of technology manufactured by companies beholden to Beijing to spy on Americans and seize data.
Many of these companies have been banned outright by the U.S. federal government or by U.S. military and intelligence agencies, in part because the PRC’s 2017 National Intelligence Law obligates all Chinese companies to cooperate with any Chinese government directive to hand over information in their possession. That means that Beijing can demand any American user data and sensitive knowledge, including health and financial data.
States have begun to address these vulnerabilities, often with broad bipartisan support—and, in the case of Nebraska, the legislation was championed by a Democrat, Senator Elliot Bostar, just last year. States also recognize that not procuring questionable technology in the first place is less expensive than replacing it later when security problems become apparent.
So, as a longtime Maryland resident, I commend you for considering these important policy ideas and applaud you for working to address these security vulnerabilities. Thank you.
Previously, Jones testified on this issue before the Maryland House Health and Government Operations Committee.