II 
Calendar No. 526 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7630 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 24, 2024 
Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 
AN ACT 
To require a plan to improve the cybersecurity and tele-
communications of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accelerating Net-
working, Cyberinfrastructure, and Hardware for Oceanic 
Research Act’’ or the ‘‘ANCHOR Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the National Science Foundation. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:05 Sep 25, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7630.PCS
H7630
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
HR 7630 PCS
(2) OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH VESSEL.—The 
term ‘‘oceanographic research vessel’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 2101 of title 46, 
United States Code. 
(3) U.S. ACADEMIC
RESEARCH
FLEET.—The 
term ‘‘U.S Academic Research Fleet’’ means the 
United States-flagged vessels that— 
(A) have been accepted into, and are ac-
tively participants administered within, the Uni-
versity-National Oceanographic Laboratory Sys-
tem; 
(B) are operated as oceanographic research 
vessels by research universities and laboratories; 
(C) receive funding from the National 
Science Foundation; and 
(D) have achieved designation as a mem-
ber vessel of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet 
through the standard U.S. Academic Research 
Fleet evaluation process. 
SEC. 3. PLAN TO IMPROVE CYBERSECURITY AND TELE-
COMMUNICATIONS OF U.S. ACADEMIC RE-
SEARCH FLEET. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Director , in con-
sultation with other Federal agency owners heads of other 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:05 Sep 25, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7630.PCS
H7630
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
HR 7630 PCS
Federal agencies and the head of any university or labora-
tory that owns or operates a vessel of the U.S. Academic 
Research Fleet, shall submit to the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the U.S. Senate 
and the Committee on Space, Science, and Technology of 
the U.S. House of Representatives a plan to improve the 
cybersecurity and telecommunications of the Academic Re-
search Fleet. 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The plan required by subsection (a) 
shall include— 
(1) an assessment of the telecommunications 
and networking needs of the U.S. Academic Re-
search Fleet, consistent with the typical scientific 
mission of each vessel; 
(2) in accordance with guidance issued by the 
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency 
and the National Institute for Standards and Tech-
nology, an assessment of cybersecurity needs appro-
priate for— 
(A) the ownership of vessels within the 
U.S. Academic Research Fleet; and 
(B) the typical research functions and top-
ics of such vessels; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:05 Sep 25, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H7630.PCS
H7630
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB