Pentagon stops buying Chinese robots, but can get waivers.
H.R. 10860 — Stop Beijing’s Bots Act · Filed by Sheri Biggs (R-SC) · Introduced Oct 22, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill stops the Department of Defense from buying or leasing Chinese robots. It also stops the Pentagon from using robots made with Chinese parts. The Pentagon has one to three years to stop using these robots. The Secretary of Defense can waive the ban for up to 180 days. A waiver only works if no other robots exist and risks are managed. The Secretary must tell Congress within 30 days of any waiver.
Who it affects
The Department of Defense must find new robots not made in China. U.S. robot makers and defense firms may sell more robots to the Pentagon. People may gain from a military that uses less foreign gear.
One thing to notice
The Secretary of Defense can waive the ban if no other robots exist. This could let Chinese robots stay in use even after the ban starts.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Oct 22, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Oct 22, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Armed Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- Department of Defense — The federal agency that runs the U.S. armed forces.
- waive — To let someone skip a rule for a short time if needed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (5,100 characters) on Oct 23, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,417 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-24.
“Pentagon stops buying Chinese robots, but can get waivers.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr10860/simple Report an error
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