The bill
Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act
HR. 1166, 119th Congress — read as touching Electric Vehicles & Batteries.
Sponsored by
Rep. Gimenez, Carlos A. [R-FL-28]
ID: G000593
Follow the money
The bill
HR. 1166, 119th Congress — read as touching Electric Vehicles & Batteries.
The sponsor
Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.
The money
20 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.
The alignment
This bill's text tracks the "Introduction" section, p. 822-824 of the Mandate for Leadership.
Track this bill's progress through the legislative process
Latest Action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
March 10, 2025
📍 Current Status
Next: Both chambers must agree on the same version of the bill.
1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.
2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.
3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.
4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.
5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.
6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.
7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!
Another brilliant example of congressional theater, masquerading as policy. Let's dissect this farce and expose the real disease beneath.
**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The "Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependence Act" (HR 1166) claims to prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from procuring batteries made by certain foreign entities, specifically Chinese companies. The stated goal is to reduce dependence on adversarial nations and mitigate national security risks.
**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill lists specific Chinese companies that are off-limits for battery procurement, including CATL, BYD, and others. It also establishes a waiver process for the Secretary of Homeland Security to bypass these restrictions if certain conditions are met (e.g., no alternative suppliers or research purposes). The bill requires a report on the anticipated impacts on mission and costs within 180 days.
**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The obvious stakeholders are the Chinese companies listed in the bill, which will face reduced business opportunities. However, let's not be naive – this is just a minor inconvenience for these corporations. They'll adapt or find ways to circumvent the restrictions. The real beneficiaries of this bill are American battery manufacturers and their lobbyists, who have successfully convinced Congress to create a protectionist barrier.
**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill is a classic case of "security theater" – it creates the illusion of addressing national security concerns while doing little to actually mitigate them. By restricting procurement from specific Chinese companies, the US government may inadvertently drive up costs and reduce competition in the battery market. This could lead to inefficiencies and decreased innovation.
The real disease beneath this bill is protectionism and crony capitalism. Congress is catering to special interests (American battery manufacturers) while pretending to address national security concerns. The waiver process is a cleverly designed loophole, allowing the Secretary of Homeland Security to bypass restrictions when it's convenient or profitable.
In conclusion, HR 1166 is a masterclass in legislative obfuscation, designed to create the illusion of action while serving the interests of powerful lobbies and special interest groups. It's a symptom of a deeper disease – the corruption and cronyism that plagues our political system.
Rep. Gimenez, Carlos A. [R-FL-28]
Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle
No PAC contributions found
No organization contributions found
No committee contributions found
This bill has 4 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.
ID: G000590
Top Contributors
10
ID: M001194
Top Contributors
10
ID: P000048
Top Contributors
10
ID: M001204
Top Contributors
10
Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.
Showing 60 nodes and 32 connections (46 secondary connections hidden)
Total contributions: $141,600
Showing top 19 donors by contribution amount
Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 3 harmed.
Section 2(a) prohibits DHS from procuring batteries produced by entities listed in subsection (b), which include major Chinese battery manufacturers such as CATL, BYD, and others that supply EV batteries; this restricts DHS procurement of EVs or EV components using those batteries, harming the EV industry.
Section 2(a) bars DHS from procuring batteries from specified entities, which include large battery producers that also supply grid storage and energy infrastructure; this limits DHS ability to procure such systems, harming the energy infrastructure industry.
Section 2(b)(9) references entities on Supplement No. 4 to part 744 of title 15 CFR (Entity List), which includes many semiconductor and hardware firms; prohibiting DHS procurement of batteries from such entities may extend to related hardware, harming the semiconductors and hardware industry.
This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.
— 789 — Trade The following policy options were on the drawing board or in discussion as preparations for a potential Trump second term were being made. These options span the spectrum from purely trade-related like increasing tariffs to cutting off Communist China’s access to American financial markets, research institutions, and consumers. The next American President should strongly consider adopting all of them as a package: l Strategically expand tariffs to all Chinese products and increase tariff rates to levels that will block out “Made in China” products, and execute this strategy in a manner and at a pace that will not expose the U.S. to lack of access to essential products like key pharmaceuticals. l Provide significant financial and tax incentives to American companies that are seeking to onshore production from Communist China to U.S. soil. l Stop Communist China’s abuse of the so-called de minimis exemption, which allows it to evade the tariffs for products valued at less than $800. l Prohibit Communist Chinese state-owned enterprises from bidding on U.S. government procurement contracts (for example, contracts for subway and other transportation systems). l Prohibit the use of Communist Chinese–made drones in American airspace. l Ban all Chinese social media apps such as TikTok and WeChat, which pose significant national security risks and expose American consumers to data and identity theft. l Prohibit all Communist Chinese investment in high-technology industries. l Prohibit U.S. pension funds from investing in Communist Chinese stocks. l Delist any Communist Chinese stocks that do not meet Public Company Accounting Oversight Board standards or, alternatively, close off the Chinese “A shares” stock market to U.S. investment and deregister U.S.- sanctioned Communist Chinese companies. l Prohibit the use of Hong Kong clearinghouses as transit points for American capital investing in the Chinese mainland. l Prohibit the inclusion of Chinese sovereign bonds in U.S. investors’ portfolios.
— 789 — Trade The following policy options were on the drawing board or in discussion as preparations for a potential Trump second term were being made. These options span the spectrum from purely trade-related like increasing tariffs to cutting off Communist China’s access to American financial markets, research institutions, and consumers. The next American President should strongly consider adopting all of them as a package: l Strategically expand tariffs to all Chinese products and increase tariff rates to levels that will block out “Made in China” products, and execute this strategy in a manner and at a pace that will not expose the U.S. to lack of access to essential products like key pharmaceuticals. l Provide significant financial and tax incentives to American companies that are seeking to onshore production from Communist China to U.S. soil. l Stop Communist China’s abuse of the so-called de minimis exemption, which allows it to evade the tariffs for products valued at less than $800. l Prohibit Communist Chinese state-owned enterprises from bidding on U.S. government procurement contracts (for example, contracts for subway and other transportation systems). l Prohibit the use of Communist Chinese–made drones in American airspace. l Ban all Chinese social media apps such as TikTok and WeChat, which pose significant national security risks and expose American consumers to data and identity theft. l Prohibit all Communist Chinese investment in high-technology industries. l Prohibit U.S. pension funds from investing in Communist Chinese stocks. l Delist any Communist Chinese stocks that do not meet Public Company Accounting Oversight Board standards or, alternatively, close off the Chinese “A shares” stock market to U.S. investment and deregister U.S.- sanctioned Communist Chinese companies. l Prohibit the use of Hong Kong clearinghouses as transit points for American capital investing in the Chinese mainland. l Prohibit the inclusion of Chinese sovereign bonds in U.S. investors’ portfolios. — 790 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise l Systematically reduce and eventually eliminate any U.S. dependence on Communist Chinese supply chains that may be used to threaten national security such as medicines, silicon chips, rare earth minerals, computer motherboards, flatscreen displays, and military components. l Sanction any companies, including American companies like Apple, that facilitate Communist China’s use of its Great Firewall surveillance and censorship capabilities. l Order the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice to contract with U.S.-owned and U.S.-operated artificial intelligence companies that are capable of detecting, identifying, and disrupting both the domestic groups’ and CCP influencers’ social media operations and funding streams using public information as a rapidly available offensive measure. l Reinvigorate and expand the DHS crackdown on the CCP’s use of e-sellers (including third-party sellers) and the shippers and operators of major warehouses such as Amazon, eBay, and Alibaba to flood U.S. markets with counterfeit and pirated goods. l Compel the closure of all Confucius Institutes in the U.S., which serve as propaganda arms of the CCP. l Significantly reduce or eliminate the issuance of visas to Chinese students or researchers to prevent espionage and information harvesting. l Hold the CCP accountable for the COVID-19 virus, which almost certainly originated as a genetically engineered virus from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and do so through the establishment of a presidential commission or select congressional committee that would investigate the origins of the virus; its various costs, both economically and in human life; and the possible means of collecting damages from the CCP, which are likely to rise to the trillions of dollars. If the new U.S. President wishes to defend this country against the serious exis- tential threat posed by Communist China, that President will adopt all of these proposals through the requisite presidential executive orders or memoranda. Effective Trade Policy in the Real World. To conclude this analysis, it is useful to offer brief reflections on a number of key obstacles to implementing the policy initiatives recommended in this chapter. These obstacles include:
Policy matches are calculated using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text. A score of 60% or higher indicates meaningful thematic overlap. This does not imply direct causation or intent, but highlights areas where legislation aligns with Project 2025 policy objectives.