Senators announced plans to add a bipartisan amendment to the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act that would retain the Commerce Department’s penalties against Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE for breaching U.S. sanctions on North Korea and Iran, The Hill reported Monday.

The proposed amendment would also prevent U.S. agencies from purchasing telecommunications services and equipment from ZTE and Huawei and preclude them from offering loans and subsidies to both Chinese firms.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) worked with Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on the amendment.

The proposed measure is in response to the Commerce Department’s announcement on Thursday that it struck a new deal that would allow ZTE to resume business with the U.S. in exchange for the payment of a $1 billion fine and $400 million in escrow for future violations.

The new agreement also calls for the introduction into ZTE of a team of coordinators selected by the department’s bureau of industry and security to monitor the company’s compliance with U.S. export control laws for a 10-year period.

Heather Nauert, a spokesperson for the State Department, reportedly held a meeting to talk about the recent leaks at the agency, Axios reported Thursday.

A source familiar with the public affairs meeting said those leaks involved the release of an article about the plan to retain Brett McGurk, a special envoy appointed under the Obama administration, for another six months and a news story on Palestinian funding.

“The unauthorized release of information, whether it’s classified or not, is always a concern of the State Department,” Nauert told Axios.

“It can jeopardize ongoing operations and negotiations in which the State Department is involved,” she added.

Nauert noted that the diplomatic security bureau serves as the law enforcement and security arm of the State Department with a mission to “provide a secure environment for the conduct of U.S. foreign policy.”

The Department of Health and Human Services is asking for comments on how to structure a workgroup to facilitate high-level discussions between HHS leaders and outside parties that support innovation or invest in the healthcare sector.

A Federal Register notice posted Thursday says the department plans to create a workgroup to explore technological approaches to address healthcare challenges and drive communication activities meant to encourage industry competition.

HHS intends for the proposed forum to attract healthcare companies; incubators, accelerators and startups; investors, private equity and venture capital firms; lenders and innovators.

The department will accept comments within 30 days following the release of the request for information.