Undersea Cable Control Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2503 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2503

To require the development of a strategy to eliminate the availability 
to foreign adversaries of goods and technologies capable of supporting 
                undersea cables, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 31, 2025

   Mr. Kean introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the development of a strategy to eliminate the availability 
to foreign adversaries of goods and technologies capable of supporting 
                undersea cables, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Undersea Cable Control Act''.

SEC. 2. STRATEGY TO ELIMINATE THE AVAILABILITY TO FOREIGN ADVERSARIES 
              OF ITEMS REQUIRED FOR SUPPORTING UNDERSEA CABLES.

    (a) In General.--The President, acting through the Secretary of 
Commerce and in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall develop 
a strategy to eliminate the availability to foreign adversaries of 
items required for supporting undersea cables consistent with United 
States policy described in section 1752 of the Export Control Reform 
Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4811).
    (b) Matters To Be Included.--The strategy required under subsection 
(a) shall include the following:
            (1) An identification of items required for supporting the 
        construction, maintenance, or operation of an undersea cable 
        project.
            (2) An identification of United States and multilateral 
        export controls and licensing policies for items identified 
        pursuant to paragraph (1) with respect to foreign adversaries.
            (3) An identification of United States allies and partners 
        that have a share of the global market with respect to the 
        items so identified, including a detailed description of the 
        availability of such items without restriction in sufficient 
        quantities and comparable in quality to those produced in the 
        United States.
            (4) A description of ongoing negotiations with other 
        countries to achieve unified export controls and licensing 
        policies for items so identified to eliminate availability to 
        foreign adversaries.
            (5) To the extent practicable, an identification of all 
        identified entities under the control, ownership, or influence 
        of a foreign adversary that support the construction, 
        operation, or maintenance of undersea cables.
            (6) A description of efforts taken to promote United States 
        leadership at international standards-setting bodies for 
        equipment, systems, software, and virtually defined networks 
        relevant to undersea cables, taking into account the different 
        processes followed by such bodies.
            (7) A description of the presence and activities of foreign 
        adversaries at international standards-setting bodies relevant 
        to undersea cables, including information on the differences in 
        the scope and scale of the engagement of foreign adversaries at 
        such bodies compared to engagement at such bodies by the United 
        States and its allies and partners, and the security risks 
        raised by the proposals of foreign adversaries at such bodies.
    (c) Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter for 3 years, 
        the President shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
        committees a report that contains the strategy required under 
        subsection (a).
            (2) Form.--Each report required under this subsection 
        shall--
                    (A) be submitted in unclassified form, but may 
                contain a classified annex; and
                    (B) be made available on a publicly accessible 
                Federal Government website.
    (d) Agreement.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the President shall seek to--
                    (A) establish bilateral or multilateral agreements 
                with allies and partners identified pursuant to 
                subsection (b)(3) to seek to eliminate the availability 
                to foreign adversaries of items identified pursuant to 
                subsection (b)(1); and
                    (B) include in such agreements penalty provisions 
                for noncompliance.
            (2) Briefings.--The President shall brief the congressional 
        committees specified in subsection (c)(1) on negotiations to 
        establish agreements described in paragraph (1) beginning not 
        later than 30 days after receipt of the report required under 
        subsection (a) and every 180 days thereafter until each such 
        agreement is established.
    (e) Actions.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Commerce shall evaluate 
        the export, reexport, and in-country transfer of the items 
        identified pursuant to subsection (b)(1) for appropriate 
        controls under the Export Administration Regulations, including 
        by evaluating, for each item so identified, whether to add the 
        technology to the Commerce Control List maintained under title 
        15, Code of Federal Regulations.
            (2) Levels of control.--
                    (A) In general.--In determining the level of 
                control appropriate for items identified pursuant to 
                subsection (b)(1), including requirements for a license 
                or other authorization for the export, reexport, or in-
                country transfer of any such technology, the Secretary 
                of Commerce (in coordination with the Secretary of 
                Defense, the Secretary of State, and the heads of other 
                Federal agencies, as appropriate) shall take into 
                account the potential end uses and end users of the 
                item.
                    (B) Statement of policy.--At a minimum, it is the 
                policy of the United States to work with its allies and 
                partners to control the export, reexport, or in-country 
                transfer of technologies identified pursuant to 
                subsection (b)(1) to or in a country subject to an 
                embargo, including an arms embargo, imposed by the 
                United States.
            (3) Notification.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 3 years, the 
        President, acting through the Secretary of Commerce, shall 
        submit to the appropriate congressional committees an 
        unclassified notification describing the results of actions 
        taken pursuant to this subsection in the preceding period, 
        including a description of--
                    (A) the individual items evaluated for controls; 
                and
                    (B) the rationale, including United States national 
                security and foreign policy considerations, for adding 
                or not adding an item to the Commerce Control List 
                maintained under title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, 
                pursuant to the evaluation under paragraph (1) with 
                respect to such item.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
                of Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                Affairs of the Senate.
            (2) Foreign adversary.--The term ``foreign adversary'' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 8(c) of the Secure and 
        Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 (47 U.S.C. 
        1607(c)).
            (3) Item.--The term ``item'' has the meaning given such 
        term in the Export Administration Regulations (15 C.F.R. 
        772.1).
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