Committee advances Undersea Cable Control Act to block adversary access to cable technology
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
HR 2503, the Undersea Cable Control Act, was ordered favorably reported; sponsors said it would require a strategy to prevent foreign adversaries from accessing goods and technology used in undersea cables and strengthen export controls and allied cooperation.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee on May 20 ordered HR 2503, the Undersea Cable Control Act, favorably reported. Representative Chris Cain, sponsor of the bill, said undersea cables carry nearly all transoceanic digital traffic and that foreign adversaries' access to key technologies used in cables poses national-security risks.
Cain told the committee the bill directs the Departments of Commerce and State to develop a strategy to eliminate foreign-adversary access to technologies that support undersea cables, to strengthen export controls, require transparency in public reporting, and foster cooperation with allies. He cited industry figures on the economic value of cable infrastructure and argued the measure is a targeted bipartisan step to protect critical infrastructure.
Chairman Mast and other members expressed support, calling it "common-sense" legislation to prevent adversaries from obtaining key items for undersea cable projects. The committee approved the measure as part of the unblocked package and ordered it favorably reported; staff were authorized to make technical edits for the committee report.
The bill text as discussed tasks Commerce and State with strategy development and references export-control and alliance cooperation measures. The record of the markup does not show a separate roll-call tally for HR 2503; action occurred as part of the en bloc vote.