NEPTUNE Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4625 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4625

To authorize the Secretary of the Navy to enter into a contract for the 
construction of submarine cable laying and repair ships, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 23, 2025

Mr. Miller of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Secretary of the Navy to enter into a contract for the 
construction of submarine cable laying and repair ships, 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 ``Naval Enhancement for Protection of 
Telecommunications Undersea Network Equipment Act'' or the ``NEPTUNE 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PROCUREMENT AUTHORITY FOR SUBMARINE CABLE LAYING AND REPAIR 
              SHIPS.

    (a) Contract Authority.--The Secretary of the Navy may enter into a 
contract for the construction of up to two submarine cable laying and 
repair ships and associated material.
    (b) Liability.--Any contract entered into under subsection (a) 
shall provide that--
            (1) any obligation of the United States to make a payment 
        under the contract is subject to the availability of 
        appropriations for that purpose; and
            (2) the total liability of the Federal Government for 
        termination of the contract shall be limited to the total 
        amount of funding obligated to the contract at the time of 
        termination.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON RETIREMENT OF SUBMARINE CABLE LAYING AND REPAIR 
              SHIP.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Navy may not retire, prepare 
to retire, or place in storage the USNS Zeus until the date on which a 
replacement ship with capabilities equal to or exceeding those of the 
USNS Zeus has achieved full operational capability.
    (b) Replacement Ship Defined.--In this section, the term 
``replacement ship''--
            (1) means a submarine cable laying and repair ship 
        designated ``USNS'' and maintained in the inventory of the 
        Navy; and
            (2) does not include a commercial vessel leased or 
        chartered by the Navy.
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