To direct the Secretary of Commerce to submit to Congress a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria.

IIB 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3385 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 6, 2024 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation AN ACT To direct the Secretary of Commerce to submit to Congress a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Mar 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.RFS H3385 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 HR 3385 RFS SECTION 1. ASSESSMENT OF TRANS-ATLANTIC SUBMARINE 1 FIBER OPTIC CABLE. 2 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 3 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation 4 with the heads of other Federal departments and agencies 5 as necessary, shall submit to the Committee on Energy 6 and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the 7 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 8 the Senate a report containing an assessment of the value, 9 cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber 10 optic cable connecting the contiguous United States, the 11 United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria, to en- 12 hance the national security of the United States. 13 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 14 (a) shall include an assessment of— 15 (1) the digital security, national security, and 16 economic opportunities associated with a trans-At- 17 lantic submarine fiber optic cable described in sub- 18 section (a); 19 (2) the lifespan of submarine fiber optic cables 20 currently connecting the United States Virgin Is- 21 lands to the contiguous United States; 22 (3) the current security of telecommunications 23 between the contiguous United States and the 24 United States Virgin Islands; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Mar 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.RFS H3385 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 HR 3385 RFS (4) the readiness of telecommunications infra- 1 structure in the United States Virgin Islands to sup- 2 port a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable de- 3 scribed in subsection (a); 4 (5) the potential for engagement with trusted 5 entities in the deployment of a trans-Atlantic sub- 6 marine fiber optic cable described in subsection (a), 7 and the associated geopolitical and economic advan- 8 tages; 9 (6) the potential connectivity opportunities to 10 maximize investments in the United States economy 11 through the use of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber 12 optic cable described in subsection (a); 13 (7) the value, cost, and feasibility of estab- 14 lishing a data center and high-security cloud services 15 facility, with independent power generation, in the 16 United States Virgin Islands for communications of 17 the United States Africa Command, communications 18 of the United States Special Operations Command, 19 and national security communications; 20 (8) the state of submarine fiber optic cables 21 connected to United States telecommunications in- 22 frastructure; and 23 (9) any other related matters the Secretary de- 24 termines are appropriate. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Mar 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.RFS H3385 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 HR 3385 RFS (c) NO MANDATORY DATA COLLECTION.—The Sec- 1 retary may not require any entity to provide data for pur- 2 poses of preparing the report required by subsection (a). 3 (d) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) 4 shall be submitted in unclassified form without any des- 5 ignation relating to dissemination control, but may include 6 a classified annex. 7 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 (1) NOT TRUSTED.—The term ‘‘not trusted’’ 9 means, with respect to an entity, that the entity is 10 determined by the Secretary to pose an unacceptable 11 risk to the national security of the United States, or 12 the security and safety of United States persons, 13 based solely on one or more determination described 14 under paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 2(c) of 15 the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks 16 Act of 2019 (47 U.S.C. 1601(c)). 17 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 18 the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the As- 19 sistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications 20 and Information. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Mar 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.RFS H3385 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 HR 3385 RFS (3) TRUSTED.—The term ‘‘trusted’’ means, 1 with respect to an entity, that the Secretary has not 2 determined that the entity is not trusted. 3 Passed the House of Representatives March 5, 2024. Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Mar 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3385.RFS H3385 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB