[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 318 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 169
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 318
[Report No. 119-64]
To require a plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications
of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 29, 2025
Mr. Padilla (for himself and Mr. Sullivan) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
September 29, 2025
Reported by Mr. Cruz, with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require a plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications
of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>
<DELETED> This Act may be cited as the ``Accelerating Networking,
Cyberinfrastructure, and Hardware for Oceanic Research Act'' or the
``ANCHOR Act''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>
<DELETED> In this Act:</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) U.S. academic research fleet.--The term ``U.S.
Academic Research Fleet'' means the United States-flagged
vessels that--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) have been accepted into, and are
active participants administered within, the
University-National Oceanographic Laboratory
System;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) are operated as oceanographic research
vessels by research universities and
laboratories;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) receive funding from the National
Science Foundation; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) have achieved designation as a member
vessel through a standard evaluation process.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the
Director of the National Science Foundation.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) Oceanographic research vessel.--The term
``oceanographic research vessel'' has the meaning given the
term in section 2101 of title 46, United States Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED>SEC. 3. PLAN TO IMPROVE CYBERSECURITY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
OF U.S. ACADEMIC RESEARCH FLEET.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall, in consultation with the
head of any Federal agency, university, or laboratory that owns or
operates a vessel of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, submit to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and
the Committee on Space, Science, and Technology of the House of
Representatives a plan to improve the cybersecurity and
telecommunications of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet.</DELETED>
<DELETED> (b) Elements.--The plan required by subsection (a) shall
include--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) an assessment of the telecommunications and
networking needs of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet,
consistent with the typical scientific mission of that
vessel;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) in accordance with guidance issued by the
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the
National Institute for Standards and Technology, an assessment
of cybersecurity needs appropriate for--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) the ownership of vessels within the
U.S. Academic Research Fleet; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) the typical research functions and
topics of such vessels;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) an assessment of the costs necessary to meet
the needs described in paragraphs (1) and (2), including--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) any necessary equipment, such as
satellite communications equipment, software, high-
performance computing clusters shipboard and shoreside,
or enterprise hardware; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) estimated personnel costs in excess of
current expenditures, including any necessary training,
support, or logistics;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) an assessment of the time required to
implement any upgrades required to meet the needs described in
paragraphs (1) and (2) under varying budgets and funding
scenarios;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) the adoption of common solutions or consortial
licensing agreements, or by centralizing elements of fleet
cybersecurity, telecommunications or data management at a
single facility; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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 combination thereof, to provide funding to cover the costs
described in paragraph (3).</DELETED>
<DELETED> (c) Considerations.--The Director shall, in preparing the
plan required by subsection (a), consider--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (1) the network capabilities, including speed and
bandwidth targets, necessary to meet the scientific mission
needs of each class of vessel within the U.S. Academic Research
Fleet for such purposes as--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) executing the critical functions and
communications of the vessel;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) providing network access for the
health and well-being of deployed personnel, including
communications to conduct telemedicine (including
mental health care), counseling, interviews with crisis
response providers, and other remote individual care
and services;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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 purposes;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) as appropriate, conducting real-time
streaming to enable shore-based observers to
participate in ship-based maintenance or research
activities;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (E) real-time coordinated viewing of--
</DELETED>
<DELETED> (i) scientific instrumentation so
that it is possible to conduct scientific
surveys and seafloor mapping with fully remote
subject-matter experts; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (ii) critical operational
technology by manufacturers and vendors so that
it is possible to carry out maintenance and
repairs to systems with limited expertise on
the vessel, with fully remote subject-matter
experts advising; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (F) as appropriate, enabling video
communications 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</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) in consultation with the Director of the
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Director
of the National Institute for Standards and Technology, and the
heads of other Federal agencies, as appropriate--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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. Academic Research Fleet;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (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 Director;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (C) facilitating access to cybersecurity
personnel and training of research and support
personnel; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (D) the requirements for controlled
unclassified or classified information.</DELETED>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Accelerating Networking,
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 meaning 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 active
participants administered within, the University-
National Oceanographic Laboratory System;
(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 member vessel of
the fleet through a standard evaluation process.
SEC. 3. PLAN TO IMPROVE CYBERSECURITY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS OF U.S.
ACADEMIC RESEARCH FLEET.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Director shall, in consultation with the head of any
Federal agency, university, or laboratory that owns or operates a
vessel of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, submit to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee
on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a
plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications of the U.S.
Academic Research 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 Research Fleet, consistent with the
typical scientific missions of the vessels of such fleet;
(2) in consultation with the Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency and the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, an assessment of cybersecurity needs
appropriate for--
(A) the ownership of vessels within the U.S.
Academic Research Fleet; and
(B) the scientific missions 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 satellite
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 implement any
upgrades required to meet the needs described in paragraphs (1)
and (2) under varying budgets and funding scenarios;
(5) the adoption of common solutions or consortial
licensing agreements, or by centralizing elements of fleet
cybersecurity, telecommunications, or data management at a
single facility; 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 combination
thereof, to provide funding to cover the costs described in
paragraph (3).
(c) Considerations.--The Director shall, in preparing the plan
required by subsection (a), consider--
(1) the network capabilities, including speed and bandwidth
targets, necessary to meet the scientific mission needs of each
class of vessels of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet for such
purposes as--
(A) executing the critical functions and
communications of the vessels;
(B) providing network access to conduct medical
care via telemedicine or related crisis response care;
(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 purposes;
(D) as appropriate, conducting real-time streaming
to enable shore-based observers to participate in ship-
based maintenance or research activities; and
(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 repairs
to systems with limited expertise on the
vessel, with fully remote subject-matter
experts advising; and
(2) in consultation with the Director of the Cybersecurity
and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Director of the
National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the heads
of other Federal agencies, as appropriate--
(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. Academic Research Fleet;
(B) 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
Director;
(C) facilitating access to cybersecurity personnel
and training of research and support personnel; and
(D) the requirements for controlled unclassified or
classified information.
Calendar No. 169
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 318
[Report No. 119-64]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require a plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications
of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 29, 2025
Reported with an amendment