Lawmakers approve Slotkin amendment to ban foreign electric vehicles from military bases

House lawmakers approved an amendment to the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill that will ban electric vehicles produced by foreign adversaries from entering military bases.

Proposed by Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and approved by the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, the amendment asks the defense secretary to establish a list of prohibited electric vehicles “that pose an undue or unacceptable risk to national security.”

The amendment includes any vehicle that, “integrates onboard networked hardware with automotive software systems to communicate via dedicated short-range communication, cellular telecommunications connectivity, satellite communication, or other wireless spectrum connectivity with any other network or device,” the amendment reads.

The defense secretary would also need to annually review and update the list.

During a House Armed Services Committee hearing last month, Slotkin raised the issue with Army Secretary Christine Wormuth.

“What I would pose is that we are about to have a big moment of inflection here with the possibility of the saturation of Chinese electric vehicles being sold in the United States,” Slotkin said during the April 17 hearing.