[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 86 (Monday, May 4, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 26595-26599]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09695]
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Vol. 85
Monday,
No. 86
May 4, 2020
Part IV
The President
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Executive Order 13920--Securing the United States Bulk-Power System
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 85 , No. 86 / Monday, May 4, 2020 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
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Executive Order 13920 of May 1, 2020
Securing the United States Bulk-Power System
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, including the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the
National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)
(NEA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,
I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of
America, find that foreign adversaries are increasingly
creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in the United
States bulk-power system, which provides the
electricity that supports our national defense, vital
emergency services, critical infrastructure, economy,
and way of life. The bulk-power system is a target of
those seeking to commit malicious acts against the
United States and its people, including malicious cyber
activities, because a successful attack on our bulk-
power system would present significant risks to our
economy, human health and safety, and would render the
United States less capable of acting in defense of
itself and its allies. I further find that the
unrestricted acquisition or use in the United States of
bulk-power system electric equipment designed,
developed, manufactured, or supplied by persons owned
by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or
direction of foreign adversaries augments the ability
of foreign adversaries to create and exploit
vulnerabilities in bulk-power system electric
equipment, with potentially catastrophic effects. I
therefore determine that the unrestricted foreign
supply of bulk-power system electric equipment
constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the
national security, foreign policy, and economy of the
United States, which has its source in whole or in
substantial part outside the United States. This threat
exists both in the case of individual acquisitions and
when acquisitions are considered as a class. Although
maintaining an open investment climate in bulk-power
system electric equipment, and in the United States
economy more generally, is important for the overall
growth and prosperity of the United States, such
openness must be balanced with the need to protect our
Nation against a critical national security threat. To
address this threat, additional steps are required to
protect the security, integrity, and reliability of
bulk-power system electric equipment used in the United
States. In light of these findings, I hereby declare a
national emergency with respect to the threat to the
United States bulk-power system.
Accordingly, I hereby order:
Section 1. Prohibitions and Implementation. (a) The
following actions are prohibited: any acquisition,
importation, transfer, or installation of any bulk-
power system electric equipment (transaction) by any
person, or with respect to any property, subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States, where the
transaction involves any property in which any foreign
country or a national thereof has any interest
(including through an interest in a contract for the
provision of the equipment), where the transaction was
initiated after the date of this order, and where the
Secretary of Energy (Secretary), in coordination with
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and
in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the
Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of
National Intelligence, and, as appropriate, the heads
of other executive departments and agencies (agencies),
has determined that:
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(i) the transaction involves bulk-power system electric equipment designed,
developed, manufactured, or supplied, by persons owned by, controlled by,
or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary; and
(ii) the transaction:
(A) poses an undue risk of sabotage to or subversion of the design,
integrity, manufacturing, production, distribution, installation,
operation, or maintenance of the bulk-power system in the United States;
(B) poses an undue risk of catastrophic effects on the security or
resiliency of United States critical infrastructure or the economy of the
United States; or
(C) otherwise poses an unacceptable risk to the national security of the
United States or the security and safety of United States persons.
(b) The Secretary, in consultation with the heads
of other agencies as appropriate, may at the
Secretary's discretion design or negotiate measures to
mitigate concerns identified under section 1(a) of this
order. Such measures may serve as a precondition to the
approval by the Secretary of a transaction or of a
class of transactions that would otherwise be
prohibited pursuant to this order.
(c) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this
section apply except to the extent provided by
statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or
licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and
notwithstanding any contract entered into or any
license or permit granted prior to the date of this
order.
(d) The Secretary, in consultation with the heads
of other agencies as appropriate, may establish and
publish criteria for recognizing particular equipment
and particular vendors in the bulk-power system
electric equipment market as pre-qualified for future
transactions; and may apply these criteria to establish
and publish a list of pre-qualified equipment and
vendors. Nothing in this provision limits the
Secretary's authority under this section to prohibit or
otherwise regulate any transaction involving pre-
qualified equipment or vendors.
Sec. 2. Authorities. (a) The Secretary is hereby
authorized to take such actions, including directing
the timing and manner of the cessation of pending and
future transactions prohibited pursuant to section 1 of
this order, adopting appropriate rules and regulations,
and employing all other powers granted to the President
by IEEPA as may be necessary to implement this order.
The heads of all agencies, including the Board of
Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority, shall take
all appropriate measures within their authority as
appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to
implement this order.
(b) Rules and regulations issued pursuant to this
order may, among other things, determine that
particular countries or persons are foreign adversaries
exclusively for the purposes of this order; identify
persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the
jurisdiction or direction of foreign adversaries
exclusively for the purposes of this order; identify
particular equipment or countries with respect to which
transactions involving bulk-power system electric
equipment warrant particular scrutiny under the
provisions of this order; establish procedures to
license transactions otherwise prohibited pursuant to
this order; and identify a mechanism and relevant
factors for the negotiation of agreements to mitigate
concerns raised in connection with subsection 1(a) of
this order. Within 150 days of the date of this order,
the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of
Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the
Director of National Intelligence, and, as appropriate,
the heads of other agencies, shall publish rules or
regulations implementing the authorities delegated to
the Secretary by this order.
(c) The Secretary may, consistent with applicable
law, redelegate any of the authorities conferred on the
Secretary pursuant to this section within the
Department of Energy.
(d) As soon as practicable, the Secretary, in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, the
Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Homeland
Security,
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the Director of National Intelligence, the Board of
Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the
heads of such other agencies as the Secretary considers
appropriate, shall:
(i) identify bulk-power system electric equipment designed, developed,
manufactured, or supplied, by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject
to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary that poses an undue
risk of sabotage to or subversion of the design, integrity, manufacturing,
production, distribution, installation, operation, or maintenance of the
bulk-power system in the United States, poses an undue risk of catastrophic
effects on the security or resiliency of United States critical
infrastructure or the economy of the United States, or otherwise poses an
unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the
security and safety of United States persons; and
(ii) develop recommendations on ways to identify, isolate, monitor, or
replace such items as soon as practicable, taking into consideration
overall risk to the bulk-power system.
Sec. 3. Task Force on Federal Energy Infrastructure
Procurement Policies Related to National Security. (a)
There is hereby established a Task Force on Federal
Energy Infrastructure Procurement Policies Related to
National Security (Task Force), which shall work to
protect the Nation from national security threats
through the coordination of Federal Government
procurement of energy infrastructure and the sharing of
risk information and risk management practices to
inform such procurement. The Task Force shall be
chaired by the Secretary or the Secretary's designee.
(b) In addition to the Chair of the Task Force
(Chair), the Task Force membership shall include the
following heads of agencies, or their designees:
(i) the Secretary of Defense;
(ii) the Secretary of the Interior;
(iii) the Secretary of Commerce;
(iv) the Secretary of Homeland Security;
(v) the Director of National Intelligence;
(vi) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget; and
(vii) the head of any other agency that the Chair may designate in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the
Interior.
(c) The Task Force shall:
(i) develop a recommended consistent set of energy infrastructure
procurement policies and procedures for agencies, to the extent consistent
with law, to ensure that national security considerations are fully
integrated across the Federal Government, and submit such recommendations
to the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council);
(ii) evaluate the methods and criteria used to incorporate national
security considerations into energy security and cybersecurity
policymaking;
(iii) consult with the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council and the
Oil and Natural Gas Subsector Coordinating Council in developing the
recommendations and evaluation described in subsections (c)(i) through (ii)
of this section; and
(iv) conduct any other studies, develop any other recommendations, and
submit any such studies and recommendations to the President, as
appropriate and as directed by the Secretary.
(d) The Department of Energy shall provide
administrative support and funding for the Task Force,
to the extent consistent with applicable law.
(e) The Task Force shall meet as required by the
Chair and, unless extended by the Chair, shall
terminate once it has accomplished the objectives set
forth in subsection (c) of this section, as determined
by the Chair, and completed the reports described in
subsection (f) of this section.
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(f) The Task Force shall submit to the President,
through the Chair and the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget:
(i) a report within 1 year from the date of this order;
(ii) a subsequent report at least once annually thereafter while the Task
Force remains in existence; and
(iii) such other reports as appropriate and as directed by the Chair.
(g) In the reports submitted under subsection (f)
of this section, the Task Force shall summarize its
progress, findings, and recommendations described in
subsection (c) of this section.
(h) Because attacks on the bulk-power system can
originate through the distribution system, the Task
Force shall engage with distribution system industry
groups, to the extent consistent with law and national
security. Within 180 days of receiving the
recommendations pursuant to subsection (c)(i) of this
section, the FAR Council shall consider proposing for
notice and public comment an amendment to the
applicable provisions in the Federal Acquisition
Regulation to implement the recommendations provided
pursuant to subsection (c)(i) of this section.
Sec. 4. Definitions. For purposes of this order, the
following definitions shall apply:
(a) The term ``bulk-power system'' means (i)
facilities and control systems necessary for operating
an interconnected electric energy transmission network
(or any portion thereof); and (ii) electric energy from
generation facilities needed to maintain transmission
reliability. For the purpose of this order, this
definition includes transmission lines rated at 69,000
volts (69 kV) or more, but does not include facilities
used in the local distribution of electric energy.
(b) The term ``bulk-power system electric
equipment'' means items used in bulk-power system
substations, control rooms, or power generating
stations, including reactors, capacitors, substation
transformers, current coupling capacitors, large
generators, backup generators, substation voltage
regulators, shunt capacitor equipment, automatic
circuit reclosers, instrument transformers, coupling
capacity voltage transformers, protective relaying,
metering equipment, high voltage circuit breakers,
generation turbines, industrial control systems,
distributed control systems, and safety instrumented
systems. Items not included in the preceding list and
that have broader application of use beyond the bulk-
power system are outside the scope of this order.
(c) The term ``entity'' means a partnership,
association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group,
subgroup, or other organization.
(d) The term ``foreign adversary'' means any
foreign government or foreign non-government person
engaged in a long-term pattern or serious instances of
conduct significantly adverse to the national security
of the United States or its allies or the security and
safety of United States persons.
(e) The term ``person'' means an individual or
entity.
(f) The term ``procurement'' means the acquiring by
contract with appropriated funds of supplies or
services, including installation services, by and for
the use of the Federal Government, through purchase,
whether the supplies or services are already in
existence or must be created, developed, demonstrated,
and evaluated.
(g) The term ``United States person'' means any
United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity
organized under the laws of the United States or any
jurisdiction within the United States (including
foreign branches), or any person in the United States.
Sec. 5. Recurring and Final Reports to the Congress.
The Secretary is hereby authorized to submit recurring
and final reports to the Congress regarding the
national emergency declared in this order, consistent
with section 401(c) of the NEA (50 U.S.C. 1641(c)) and
section 204(c) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1703(c)).
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Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
May 1, 2020.
[FR Doc. 2020-09695
Filed 5-1-20; 2:30 pm]
Billing code 3295-F0-P