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.
Summary
What This Bill Does
Requires the Commerce Department to assess the value, cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable linking the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria, along with related data-center and secure-cloud opportunities tied to national security.
Who Benefits and How
The United States Virgin Islands, United States national-security planners, and trusted telecommunications partners could benefit if the study supports more secure trans-Atlantic connectivity, better territorial resilience, and AFRICOM-related communications capacity.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Commerce must complete the study within a year, consult other agencies as needed, and assess infrastructure readiness and trusted-entity deployment options without compelling private parties to provide data.
Key Provisions
- Requires a report on the cable's security, economic, and feasibility implications for a route linking the United States, USVI, Ghana, and Nigeria.
- Requires assessment of the lifespan and security of current USVI connectivity and the territory's readiness to support the new cable.
- Requires analysis of trusted-entity participation and the feasibility of a USVI data center and secure cloud facility with independent power generation.
- Allows a classified annex and bars Commerce from compelling entities to provide data for the report.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires the Commerce Department to assess the value, cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable linking the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria, along with related data-center and secure-cloud opportunities tied to national security.
Key Policy Areas
Telecommunications, National Security, Africa, U.S. Territories
Primary Purpose
Requires the Commerce Department to assess the value, cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable linking the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria, along with related data-center and secure-cloud opportunities tied to national security.
Policy Domains
Main Provisions
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- United States national-security officials, USVI stakeholders, and trusted telecom partners exploring secure trans-Atlantic connectivity options
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- The Commerce Department and partner agencies responsible for completing the study and evaluating deployment scenarios
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to …
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate …
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill …
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules …
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2847-2848)
Mr. Bilirakis moved to suspend the rules and pass the …
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 121.
Impact analysis is available but no clear stakeholder effects identified. View clause-level analysis →
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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