Union Calendar No. 191
IB Union Calendar No. 191 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3385 [Report No. 118–239] 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 OCTOBER 2, 2023 Additional sponsor: Mr. …
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IB Union Calendar No. 191 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3385 [Report No. 118–239] 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 OCTOBER 2, 2023 Additional sponsor: Mr. FULCHER OCTOBER 2, 2023 Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 16, 2023] VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3385.RH H3385 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3385 RH A BILL To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Commu- nications and Information to submit to Congress a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, and feasi- bility of developing a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3385.RH H3385 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3385 RH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. ASSESSMENT OF TRANS-ATLANTIC SUBMARINE 3 FIBER OPTIC CABLE. 4 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 5 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation 6 with the heads of other Federal departments and agencies 7 as necessary, shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 8 Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Com- 9 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 10 Senate a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, 11 and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic 12 cable connecting the contiguous United States, the United 13 States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria, to enhance the 14 national security of the United States. 15 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection (a) 16 shall include an assessment of— 17 (1) the digital security, national security, and 18 economic opportunities associated with a trans-Atlan- 19 tic submarine fiber optic cable described in subsection 20 (a); 21 (2) the lifespan of submarine fiber optic cables 22 currently connecting the United States Virgin Islands 23 to the contiguous United States; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3385.RH H3385 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3385 RH (3) the current security of telecommunications 1 between the contiguous United States and the United 2 States Virgin Islands; 3 (4) the readiness of telecommunications infra- 4 structure in the United States Virgin Islands to sup- 5 port a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable de- 6 scribed in subsection (a); 7 (5) the potential for engagement with trusted en- 8 tities in the deployment of a trans-Atlantic submarine 9 fiber optic cable described in subsection (a), and the 10 associated geopolitical and economic advantages; 11 (6) the potential connectivity opportunities to 12 maximize investments in the United States economy 13 through the use of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber 14 optic cable described in subsection (a); 15 (7) the value, cost, and feasibility of establishing 16 a data center and high-security cloud services facility, 17 with independent power generation, in the United 18 States Virgin Islands for communications of the 19 United States Africa Command, communications of 20 the United States Special Operations Command, and 21 national security communications; 22 (8) the state of submarine fiber optic cables con- 23 nected to United States telecommunications infra- 24 structure; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3385.RH H3385 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3385 RH (9) any other related matters the Secretary deter- 1 mines are appropriate. 2 (c) NO MANDATORY DATA COLLECTION.—The Sec- 3 retary may not require any entity to provide data for pur- 4 poses of preparing the report required by subsection (a). 5 (d) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) shall 6 be submitted in unclassified form without any designation 7 relating to dissemination control, but may include a classi- 8 fied annex. 9 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 (1) NOT TRUSTED.—The term ‘‘not trusted’’ 11 means, with respect to an entity, that the entity is de- 12 termined by the Secretary to pose an unacceptable 13 risk to the national security of the United States, or 14 the security and safety of United States persons, 15 based solely on one or more determination described 16 under paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 2(c) of 17 the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks 18 Act of 2019 (47 U.S.C. 1601(c)). 19 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 20 the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Assist- 21 ant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and 22 Information. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3385.RH H3385 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3385 RH (3) TRUSTED.—The term ‘‘trusted’’ means, with 1 respect to an entity, that the Secretary has not deter- 2 mined that the entity is not trusted. 3 Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to direct the Secretary of Commerce to submit to Congress a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, and feasi- bility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable con- necting the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.RH H3385 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.RH H3385 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB Union Calendar No. 191 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3385 [Report No. 118–239] A BILL To direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to submit to Congress a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, and feasibility of developing a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable con- necting the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria, and for other purposes. OCTOBER 2, 2023 Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or- dered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H3385.RH H3385 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB