IB 
Union Calendar No. 433 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7630 
[Report No. 118–521] 
To require a plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications of 
the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 12, 2024 
Mr. MIKE GARCIA of California (for himself and Ms. STEVENS) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, 
and Technology 
MAY 23, 2024 
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 
and ordered to be printed 
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A BILL 
To require a plan to improve the cybersecurity and tele-
communications of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, 
and for other purposes. 
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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. 
(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 
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(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 
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; 
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(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; 
(3) an assessment of the costs necessary to 
meet the needs described in paragraphs (1) and (2), 
including— 
(A) any necessary equipment, such as sat-
ellite 
communications 
equipment, 
software, 
high-performance computing clusters shipboard 
and shoreside, or enterprise hardware; and 
(B) estimated personnel costs in excess of 
current expenditures, including any necessary 
training, support, or logistics; 
(4) an assessment of the time required to im-
plement any upgrades required to meet the needs 
described in paragraphs (1) and (2) under varying 
budgets and funding scenarios; 
(5) a proposal for the adoption of common solu-
tions or consortial licensing agreements, or by cen-
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