A bipartisan group of senators is urging negotiators on Capitol Hill to retain a provision in the annual defense policy bill that would block President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE’s deal to save Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE.

“We strongly oppose the June 2018 deal with ZTE negotiated by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to lift the seven-year ban against the export of U.S. parts and components to ZTE,” the senators wrote in a letter Thursday to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services committees.

The letter was signed by Sens. Marco Rubio Marco Antonio RubioOvernight Defense: Pentagon redirects pandemic funding to defense contractors | US planning for full Afghanistan withdrawal by May | Anti-Trump GOP group puts ads in military papers Democrats step up hardball tactics as Supreme Court fight heats up Press: Notorious RBG vs Notorious GOP MORE (R-Fla.), Chris Van Hollen Christopher (Chris) Van HollenCongress must finish work on popular conservation bill before time runs out Democrats fear Russia interference could spoil bid to retake Senate Mid-Atlantic states sue EPA over Chesapeake Bay pollution MORE (D-Md.), Tom Cotton Tom Bryant CottonGOP brushes back charges of hypocrisy in Supreme Court fight Trump uses bin Laden raid to attack Biden Battle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight MORE (R-Ark.), Mark Warner Mark Robert WarnerDemocrats call for declassifying election threats after briefing by Trump officials It's time to upgrade benefits Intelligence chief says Congress will get some in-person election security briefings MORE (D-Va.), Roy Blunt Roy Dean BluntSocial media platforms put muscle into National Voter Registration Day Senate GOP faces pivotal moment on pick for Supreme Court This week: Supreme Court fight over Ginsburg's seat upends Congress's agenda MORE (R-Mo.) and Bill Nelson Clarence (Bill) William NelsonDemocrats sound alarm on possible election chaos Trump, facing trouble in Florida, goes all in NASA names DC headquarters after agency's first Black female engineer Mary W. Jackson MORE (D-Fla.).

ADVERTISEMENT

Rubio, Van Hollen, Cotton and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer Chuck SchumerCruz blocks amended resolution honoring Ginsburg over language about her dying wish Senate Democrats introduce legislation to probe politicization of pandemic response Schumer interrupted during live briefing by heckler: 'Stop lying to the people' MORE (D-N.Y.) successfully added an amendment to the Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would keep in place penalties that were levied on ZTE after it admitted to violating sanctions on Iran and North Korea.

The amendment was added after the Commerce Department announced in June that it had agreed to lift the penalties against ZTE in exchange for the company paying a $1 billion fine and embedding a U.S.-selected compliance team into the firm.

The Commerce Department announced Wednesday that it had signed a deal with ZTE, moving the administration one step closer to lifting the ban on the Chinese phone maker doing business with U.S. companies.

The House version of the defense policy bill does not address Trump’s ZTE deal, but does include a ban on government contracting with ZTE or Huawei, another Chinese telecommunications company.

The White House last month said it “strongly opposes” the Senate provision, but did not issue a veto threat against the NDAA. Both the Senate and House versions of the bill passed with veto-proof majorities.

House and Senate conferees officially started negotiations Wednesday to reconcile the two version of the NDAA. Negotiators have been tight-lipped about their plans for the ZTE provision.

In their letter, Rubio, Van Hollen, Cotton, Warner, Blunt and Nelson highlight testimony from the intelligence community that ZTE, Huawei and other Chinese state-directed firms represent a national security threat by providing the capacity for spying and intellectual property theft.

“As you prepare the conference report, we therefore urge you to retain—and further strengthen—Section 6702 of the Senate-passed FY 2019 NDAA, which would not only reinstate the April 2018 penalties against ZTE and prohibit the modification of any penalties against a Chinese telecommunications firm unless certain conditions are met, but also prohibit the U.S. government from using or procuring equipment from, or entering into a contract with ZTE or Huawei,” they wrote.

The senators also voiced support for a separate provision in the NDAA that seeks to reform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the interagency panel that assesses national security threats posed by significant investments in U.S. businesses by non-U.S. investors. The reforms are meant to guard against China accessing sensitive technology.

“As you negotiate a conference report for the 2019 NDAA, we urge you to include the Senate-passed CFIUS reforms and ensure that the final language fully addresses our national security and competitiveness concerns,” the senators wrote. “We believe that efforts to weaken the robust protections in the [Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act] will embolden our adversaries and present threats to our national security.”