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I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3385 To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to submit to Congress a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, and feasibility of developing a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 16, 2023 Ms. PLASKETT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Commu- nications and Information to submit to Congress a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, and feasi- bility of developing a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘DiasporaLink Act’’. 4 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.IH H3385 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3385 IH SEC. 2. ASSESSMENT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRANS-AT- 1 LANTIC SUBMARINE FIBER OPTIC CABLE. 2 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 3 of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary, in 4 consultation with the heads of other Federal departments 5 and agencies as necessary, shall submit to the Committee 6 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 7 and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor- 8 tation of the Senate a report containing an assessment 9 of the value, cost, and feasibility of developing a trans- 10 Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contig- 11 uous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, 12 Ghana, and Nigeria. 13 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 14 (a) shall include— 15 (1) the digital security, national security, and 16 economic opportunities associated with a trans-At- 17 lantic submarine fiber optic cable described in sub- 18 section (a); 19 (2) the lifespan of submarine fiber optic cables 20 currently connecting the United States Virgin Is- 21 lands to the contiguous United States; 22 (3) the current security of telecommunications 23 between the contiguous United States and the 24 United States Virgin Islands; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.IH H3385 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3385 IH (4) the current reliability and security of tele- 1 communications infrastructure in the United States 2 Virgin Islands; 3 (5) the potential for engagement with trusted 4 entities in the development by the United States of 5 a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable de- 6 scribed in subsection (a), and the associated geo- 7 political and economic advantages; 8 (6) the potential digital sovereignty opportuni- 9 ties of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable 10 described in subsection (a); 11 (7) the value, cost, and feasibility of estab- 12 lishing a data center and high-security cloud services 13 facility, with independent power generation, in the 14 United States Virgin Islands for military and na- 15 tional security communications; and 16 (8) any other related matters the Assistant Sec- 17 retary determines are appropriate. 18 (c) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) 19 shall be submitted in unclassified form without any des- 20 ignation relating to dissemination control, but may include 21 a classified annex. 22 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.IH H3385 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3385 IH (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist- 1 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 2 Commerce for Communications and Information. 3 (2) NOT TRUSTED.—The term ‘‘not trusted’’ 4 means, with respect to an entity, that the entity is 5 determined by the Assistant Secretary to pose an 6 unacceptable risk to the national security of the 7 United States, or the security and safety of United 8 States persons, based solely on one or more deter- 9 mination described under paragraphs (1) through 10 (4) of section 2(c) of the Secure and Trusted Com- 11 munications Networks Act of 2019 (47 U.S.C. 12 1601(c)). 13 (3) TRUSTED.—The term ‘‘trusted’’ means, 14 with respect to an entity, that the Assistant Sec- 15 retary has not determined that the entity is not 16 trusted. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:04 Jun 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3385.IH H3385 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS