II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5328 

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to submit to Congress a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, and feasibility of a transAtlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous United 

States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 14, 2024 

Mr. WARNOCK (for himself and Mr. KENNEDY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. ASSESSMENT OF TRANS-ATLANTIC SUBMARINE 

4 FIBER OPTIC CABLE. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) COVERED CABLE.—The term ‘‘covered 

2 cable’’ means a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic 

3 cable described in subsection (b). 

4 (2) NOT TRUSTED.—The term ‘‘not trusted’’ 

5 means, with respect to an entity, that the entity is 

6 determined by the Secretary to pose an unacceptable 

7 risk to the national security of the United States or 

8 the security and safety of United States persons 

9 based solely on one or more determinations de10 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 2(c) 

11 of the Secure and Trusted Communications Net12 works Act of 2019 (47 U.S.C. 1601(c)). 

13 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the As15 sistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications 

16 and Information. 

17 (4) TRUSTED.—The term ‘‘trusted’’ means, 

18 with respect to an entity, that the Secretary has not 

19 determined that the entity is not trusted. 

20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation 

22 with the heads of other Federal departments and agencies 

23 as necessary, shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 

24 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com25 mittee on Energy and Commerce of the House of RepVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Nov 15, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5328.IS S5328

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1 resentatives a report containing an assessment of the 

2 value, cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine 

3 fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous United States, 

4 the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria, to 

5 enhance the national security of the United States. 

6 (c) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 

7 (b) shall include an assessment of— 

8 (1) the digital security, national security, and 

9 economic opportunities associated with a covered 

10 cable; 

11 (2) the lifespan of submarine fiber optic cables 

12 connecting the United States Virgin Islands to the 

13 contiguous United States as of the date of the re14 port; 

15 (3) the security of telecommunications between 

16 the contiguous United States and the United States 

17 Virgin Islands as of the date of the report; 

18 (4) the readiness of telecommunications infra19 structure in the United States Virgin Islands to sup20 port a covered cable; 

21 (5) the potential for engagement with trusted 

22 entities in the deployment of a covered cable, and 

23 the associated geopolitical and economic advantages; 


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1 (6) the potential connectivity opportunities to 

2 maximize investments in the United States economy 

3 through the use of a covered cable; 

4 (7) the value, cost, and feasibility of estab5 lishing a data center and high-security cloud services 

6 facility, with independent power generation, in the 

7 United States Virgin Islands for communications of 

8 the United States Africa Command, communications 

9 of the United States Special Operations Command, 

10 and national security communications; 

11 (8) the state of submarine fiber optic cables 

12 connected to United States telecommunications in13 frastructure; and 

14 (9) any other related matters the Secretary de15 termines are appropriate. 

16 (d) NO MANDATORY DATA COLLECTION.—The Sec17 retary may not require any entity to provide data for pur18 poses of preparing the report required by subsection (b). 

19 (e) FORM.—The report required by subsection (b) 

20 shall be submitted in unclassified form without any des21 ignation relating to dissemination control, but may include 

22 a classified annex. 

Æ 


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