Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ariz.) (R), and Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) (L) after a news conference unveiling bipartisan legislation aimed at regulating the trafficking of fentanyl into the United States at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 4, 2019. Alex Wong/Getty Images
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), the third-highest-ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate, on March 26 introduced bipartisan legislation that would bar the federal government from purchasing or operating ground-based robotics made by companies tied to the Chinese Communist Party and other adversary nations.
The American Security Robotics Act would prohibit executive agencies from procuring unmanned ground vehicle systems manufactured or assembled by entities linked to foreign adversaries. The ban covers humanoid robots, autonomous patrol technology, remote surveillance vehicles, and mobile robotics.