119-hr2503

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2503 Referred in Senate

    (RFS) ]

<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2503

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 September 3, 2025

 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, 
 Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 AN ACT

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 CFR 772.1).

 Passed the House of Representatives September 2, 2025.

 Attest:

 KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

 Clerk.