Coalition of Retired Four-Star Military Leaders and Business Executives Warns Chinese-Linked Connected Vehicles Pose Existential Threat to National Security and Industrial Base
WASHINGTON, DC — SAFE’s Energy Security Leadership Council (ESLC) has sent a letter to congressional leadership urging passage of the bipartisan Connected Vehicle Security Act (CVSA), either as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) or other appropriate must-pass legislation. The letter’s signatories include 22 retired 4-star admirals and generals, and the former CEOs of companies including Rio Tinto, Waste Management, and others.
The Connected Vehicle Security Act (S. 4429 and H.R. 8730), introduced by Senators Bernie Moreno (R-OH) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Representatives John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI), would codify into law restrictions on connected vehicles and vehicle connectivity systems, software, and hardware linked to China and other foreign adversaries, prohibiting them from entering the U.S. market.
“This statutory framework is particularly important as Chinese automakers expand sales, imports, and assembly activity in Mexico and Canada.,” the letter reads. “Modern vehicles are increasingly software defined, collecting large volumes of information through cameras, sensors, internet-connected components, and onboard software. Chinese companies are subject to PRC laws requiring cooperation with intelligence authorities, creating a risk that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could gain access to geolocation histories, travel patterns, driver information, and information about surrounding critical infrastructure.”
The letter was addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, with copies to the Senate Committees on Armed Services and on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the House Committees on Armed Services and on Energy and Commerce.
The ESLC’s letter also ties the legislation to the industrial base underpinning U.S. military readiness: domestic auto manufacturing sustains demand for steel, aluminum, batteries, and semiconductors that the U.S. military cannot source at scale on its own. The letter builds on SAFE’s 2025 report, The Pillars of Power: A Strategy for Energy Security and Industrial Resiliency, which outlines how secure technology deployment and domestic manufacturing capacity reinforce one another as pillars of U.S. economic and military strength.
The ESLC has advised SAFE on energy and national security policy for two decades, and is Chaired by General Richard A. Cody (Ret.), 31st Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, and Adam M. Goldstein, Executive Chairman of KNNX Corp.
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SAFE advances the economic and national security of the United States and its allies by developing and advocating for policies that reduce strategic vulnerabilities and strengthen capabilities across energy, critical resources, technology, and industrial production. Learn more at Secureenergy.org.
