Bill Receives Unanimous Bipartisan Support to Pass Out of Committee, Moves Forward to Consideration by Full Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Bernie Moreno’s (R-OH) Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026 advanced from committee markup, receiving unanimous bipartisan support. The bill has gathered strong support from across the American auto industry and labor unions.
The Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026 protects American drivers and automakers from Chinese-manufactured vehicles on our roads and in our markets. The legislation closes the door on Chinese-origin vehicles, software, and key components at every stage, from production, importation, to sale, so that data gathered on U.S. roads can’t be funneled back to the Chinese government.
“Chinese cars are surveillance packages on wheels, with the ability to collect on American citizens and transmit that data back to Beijing,” said Senator Slotkin. “The Chinese Communist Party’s playbook of heavily subsidizing their product and underselling the competition puts Michigan’s auto industry and millions of American workers at risk. I’m proud to see my bill advance out of committee today with unanimous bipartisan support, and I’m looking forward to working alongside Senator Moreno, the American auto industry, and labor to get it over the finish line.”
“China’s auto industry was not built to compete, it was built to destroy American manufacturing, gut the middle class, and undermine our national security,” said Senator Moreno. “For decades, D.C. globalists propped up Chinese businesses—now it’s time for Congress to stop this cancer before it spreads through the American auto market.”
Bill text can be found HERE and a one-pager can be found HERE.
Support for the Connected Vehicles Security Act of 2026:
“Our national and economic security relies on a strong US auto industry,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “The American Dream was launched and sustained out of good union auto jobs here in the United States. If we want to rebuild US manufacturing and raise standards for the working class, we can’t keep offshoring and outsourcing our auto industry, driving a global race to the bottom for short term corporate profits. Our US auto industry must invest in cutting-edge technology and build affordable, high-quality vehicles for the American consumer, built by UAW autoworkers. We can’t keep selling out the US working class to transnational corporations that have no respect for labor rights. By building on and strengthening the existing connected vehicles rule, this legislation puts common sense guardrails on a major threat to our nation’s auto industry.”
“GM commends Senators Moreno (R-OH) and Slotkin (D-MI) on the introduction of the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026,” said General Motors. “General Motors supports policies that protect and strengthen American manufacturing and the global competitiveness of U.S. automakers, and we remain committed to long-term investments in our domestic workforce, facilities, and technology. As we have said many times, we can compete with anyone in the world when we are given a level playing field. We look forward to continuing to work with both offices through the legislative process.”
“We commend Senators Moreno and Slotkin on their bipartisan work to protect the U.S. industrial base. We look forward to working with Congress as the bill moves through the legislative process,” said Ford Motor Company.
“The Connected Vehicle Security Act addresses important issues related to connected vehicle security and fair competition in the U.S. market,” said Stellantis. We look forward to working with Senators Moreno and Slotkin on the details as their legislation moves forward.”
“China has a strategy to dominate global automotive and battery manufacturing that presents a challenge to American economic and national security,” said John Bozzella, president and CEO, Alliance for Automotive Innovation. “We need to make sure we’re all playing by the same rules, but Chinese automakers are flooding markets around the world with cut-rate vehicles. Sens. Moreno and Slotkin don’t want that to happen here. They’re right. The legislation they introduced today sends a clear message: The U.S. will not throw open the doors to Chinese automakers to manufacture or sell here. The details matter, and we’ll continue working with lawmakers to get this policy right, so all our member companies continue to succeed and thrive inside the U.S.”
“AISI applauds Senators Moreno and Slotkin for their leadership on introducing the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026,” said Kevin Dempsey, AISI president and CEO. “The American steel industry’s success is inextricably linked to the health of U.S. automotive manufacturing. When U.S. automakers compete on a fair and secure basis, American steelmakers thrive alongside them. Chinese state-subsidized vehicles, produced outside the bounds of fair trade and with serious national security implications, threaten to undermine the entire domestic supply chain —from research and development facilities to steel mills to the assembly lines. This bipartisan legislation takes an important step toward ensuring that the future of American mobility is built with American steel.”
“As the largest auto manufacturer in Ohio, Honda commends Senators Bernie Moreno and Elissa Slotkin on introducing the Connected Vehicle Security Act, which seeks to provide a fair and competitive marketplace for U.S. automakers,” said American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “As global competition in the automotive sector intensifies, the bill importantly recognizes how American economic and national security are increasingly connected. Honda looks forward to working with the sponsors as the legislation evolves.”
“SAFE strongly supports the Connected Vehicle Security Act which expands current law to combat the growing threat posed by Chinese automakers and suppliers, and the risks they pose to America’s economic and national security,” said Rachel McCleery, Executive Director of SAFE’s Coalition for Reimagined Mobility. “After gaining market access to Mexico and Canada, our geopolitical adversary is even closer to deploying vehicles on U.S. roads – vehicles that collect and transmit sensitive geolocation, infrastructure, and behavioral data at scale. This new legislation is a crucial step towards building secure and resilient supply chains, protecting our industrial base, and blocking real-time espionage and surveillance by foreign adversaries.”
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