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(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-
tralizing elements of fleet cybersecurity, tele-
communications, or data management at a single fa-
cility; and 
(6) in consultation with any non-Federal owners 
of a vessel of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, a 
spending plan for the National Science Foundation, 
the Office of Naval Research, non-Federal owners of 
vessels of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, users 
of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, or any com-
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bination thereof, to provide funding to cover the 
costs described in paragraph (3). 
(c) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Director in preparing 
the plan required by subsection (a), shall consider the fol-
lowing— 
(1) the network capabilities, including speed 
and bandwidth targets, necessary to meet the sci-
entific mission needs of each class of vessel within 
the U.S. Academic Research Fleet for such purposes 
as— 
(A) executing the critical functions and 
communications of each vessel; 
(B) providing network access for the 
health and well-being of deployed personnel, in-
cluding communications to conduct telemedicine 
(including mental health care), counseling, 
interviews with crisis response providers, and 
other remote individual care and services; 
(C) as necessary to meet operations, 
uploading any scientific data to a shoreside 
server, including the copying of data off ship 
for disaster recovery or risk mitigation pur-
poses; 
(D) as appropriate, conducting real-time 
streaming to enable shore-based observers to 
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participate in ship-based maintenance or re-
search activities; 
(E) real-time coordinated viewing of— 
(i) scientific instrumentation so that it 
is possible to conduct scientific surveys and 
seafloor mapping with fully remote subject 
matter experts; and 
(ii) critical operational technology by 
manufacturers and vendors so that it is 
possible to carry out maintenance and re-
pairs to systems with limited expertise on 
each vessel, with fully remote subject-mat-
ter experts advising; and 
(F) as appropriate, enabling video commu-
nications to allow improved outreach to, and 
other educational services for, K–12 students, 
including occasional remote classroom teaching 
for instructors at sea to improve oceanographic 
access for students; and 
(2) In consultation with the Director of the Cy-
bersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the 
Director of the National Institute for Standards and 
Technology, and the heads of other Federal agen-
cies, as appropriate— 
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(A) the cybersecurity recommendations in 
the report of the private scientific advisory 
group known as JASON entitled ‘‘Cybersecurity 
at NSF Major Facilities’’ (JSR–21–10E) and 
dated October 2021 as applied to the U.S. Aca-
demic Research Fleet; 
(B) aligning with international standards 
and guidance for information security, including 
the use of encryption for sensitive information, 
the detection and handling of security incidents, 
and other areas determined relevant by the Di-
rector; 
(C) facilitating access to cybersecurity per-
sonnel and training of research and support 
personnel; and 
(D) the requirements for controlled unclas-
sified or classified information. 
SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION OF AND REPORT ON PLAN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in coordination with 
the Office of Naval Research, non-Federal owners of ves-
sels of the Academic Research Fleet, users of the U.S. 
Academic Research Fleet, or any combination thereof, 
may support upgrades to the cyberinfrastructure and cy-
bersecurity of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet con-
sistent with the plan required by section 3. 
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(b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 2 years 
after the submission of the plan required by section 3, the 
Director shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com-
mittee on Space, Science, and Technology of the House 
of Representatives a report describing the progress made 
in implementing the plan. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 23, 
2024. 
Attest: 
KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 
Clerk. 
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