I 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 10860 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES October 22, 2026 Mrs. Biggs of South Carolina introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To prohibit the Department of Defense from acquiring or using certain robotic systems from People’s Republic of China, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the “Stop Beijing’s Bots Act”. 2. Prohibition on procurement and operation of covered robotic systems (a) Prohibition on procurement Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Defense may not enter into or renew a contract for— (1) the procurement of any covered robotic system; or (2) equipment or service that includes any covered robotic system. (b) Prohibition on operation Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section, an element of the Department of Defense may not operate a covered robotic system in any sensitive operational environment. (c) Limitation relating to lease or operation of a covered robotic system (1) In general No funds made available by the Department of Defense may be obligated or expended for the lease or operation of a covered robotic system. (2) Effective date The prohibition under paragraph (1) shall take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this section with respect to new leases, and 3 years after the date of enactment of this section with respect to the continued operation of covered robotic systems already in service. (d) Waiver authority (1) In general The Secretary of Defense may waive the prohibition in subsection (a) or (b) on a case-by-case basis for renewable periods not to exceed 180 days if the Secretary determines that— (A) there are no currently available and technically acceptable alternatives to the covered robotic system; (B) the covered robotic system is essential to an ongoing mission-critical operation; (C) the cost of replacement would result in an undue burden on the agency; (D) the Secretary has implemented risk-mitigation measures to address the national security risks presented by continued operation of the covered robotic system; (E) the covered robotic system can no longer transfer data to, or download data from, a covered foreign entity; and (F) the Secretary has determined that the covered robotic system posed no national security cybersecurity risk. (2) Notification Not later than 30 days after exercising a waiver under paragraph (1), Secretary of Defense shall notify the congressional defense committees of— (A) the specific covered robotic system for which the waiver is granted; (B) the justification for the waiver; (C) the risk-mitigation measures being implemented; and (D) the plan and timeline for removing and replacing the covered robotic system. (e) Annual review (1) Definition The Secretary of Defense shall conduct an annual review of the definition of covered robotic systems to update or modify such definition. (2) List The Secretary of Defense shall conduct an annual review of Chinese entities operating in the United States that produce or sell covered robotic systems to determine if such entities should be included on the list maintained by the Secretary under section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (10 U.S.C. 113 note). (3) Notification The Secretary shall notify Congress not later than 30 days before making any modification to the list described in paragraph (2). (f) Definitions In this section: (1) The term covered Chinese entity means an entity— (A) that is a foreign person domiciled in, is headquartered in, has its principal place of business in, or is organized under the laws of the People’s Republic of China; (B) with respect to which a foreign person or combination of foreign persons described in subparagraph (A) directly or indirectly own at least a 20 percent stake; or (C) that is a person subject to the direction or control of a foreign person or entity described in subparagraph (A) or (B). (2) The term covered robotic systems includes the following: (A) Quadrupedal robotic platforms produced by entities incorporated in the People’s Republic of China. (B) LiDAR sensors and modules produced by entities on the Entity List set forth in Supplement No. 4 to part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations or entities identified in reports of the intelligence community as contributing to the sensing and targeting capabilities of the People’s Republic of China. (C) Wheeled and tracked unmanned ground vehicles produced by entities incorporated in the People’s Republic of China. (D) Any system or subcomponent that Secretary of Defense determines— (i) is produced by or substantially incorporates technology from a covered Chinese entity; (ii) poses an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States based on the potential for unauthorized access to sensitive data, susceptibility to remote exploitation, or contribution to the PLA robotic systems ecosystem; or (iii) has been identified in a report of the intelligence community as presenting national security risks when deployed in sensitive operational environments. (3) The term PLA robotic systems ecosystem means a person that contributes, either directly or indirectly, to the development, operation, or provision (including through a parent company, subsidiary, or affiliate) of any covered robotic systems owned or operated by the People's Liberation Army.