UNDERSEA CABLE PROTECTION ACT OF 2025

On 2026-02-11, Representative Salud O. Carbajal (D-CA-24) delivered a floor speech titled "UNDERSEA CABLE PROTECTION ACT OF 2025" in the House. The speech addressed taxes and also covered the environment, foreign policy. It referenced legislation including HR261, HRES1057.

UNDERSEA CABLE PROTECTION ACT OF 2025

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 29 (Wednesday, February 11, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 11, 2026)] [House] [Pages H2161-H2166] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] UNDERSEA CABLE PROTECTION ACT OF 2025 Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1057, I call up the bill (H.R. 261) to amend the National Marine Sanctuaries Act to prohibit requiring an authorization for the installation, continued presence, operation, maintenance, repair, or recovery of undersea fiber optic cables in a national marine sanctuary if such activities have previously been authorized by a Federal or State agency, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Babin). Pursuant to House Resolution [[Page H2162]] 1057, the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Natural Resources, printed in the bill, is adopted and the bill, as amended, is considered read. The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows: H.R. 261 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025''. SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON PROHIBITING, OR REQUIRING PERMITS OR OTHER AUTHORIZATIONS FOR, UNDERSEA FIBER OPTIC CABLES AUTHORIZED BY A FEDERAL OR STATE AGENCY. The National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 310 the following: ``SEC. 310A. PROHIBITION ON PROHIBITING, OR REQUIRING PERMITS OR OTHER AUTHORIZATIONS FOR, UNDERSEA FIBER OPTIC CABLES AUTHORIZED BY A FEDERAL OR STATE AGENCY. ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Secretary may not prohibit, or require any permit, including any special use permit, or other authorization for, the installation, continued presence, operation, maintenance, repair, or recovery of undersea fiber optic cables in a national marine sanctuary if a license, lease, or permit has been issued by a Federal or State agency, and is in effect, authorizing such installation, continued presence, operation, maintenance, repair, or recovery. ``(b) Interagency Cooperation.--Nothing in this section shall be construed as altering existing requirements regarding interagency cooperation under section 304(d) in any Federal agency action described in that section and involving the installation, continued presence, operation, maintenance, repair, or recovery of undersea fiber optic cables in a national marine sanctuary.''. SEC. 3. REMOVING RESTRICTIONS ON ACTIVITIES COVERED BY SANCTUARY SPECIAL USE PERMITS. Section 310(c) of National Marine Sanctuaries Act (16 U.S.C. 1441(c)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (1), by adding ``and'' at the end; (2) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3); and (3) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (2). The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for 1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources or their respective designees. The gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman) each will control 30 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman). {time} 1610 General Leave Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 261. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Arkansas? There was no objection. Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 261 sponsored by Congressman Buddy Carter of Georgia. Undersea cables play a crucial role in the global economy. These cables are roughly 1 to 2 inches in diameter. Yet they crisscross the globe and carry approximately 95 percent of global internet traffic, facilitating trillions of dollars in global financial transactions. The Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025 eliminates the requirement for undersea cables to obtain a special use permit under the National Marine Sanctuaries Act as a condition to route these projects through a national marine sanctuary. Undersea cables are and will continue to be subject to numerous environmental statutes including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act. These are just statutes in the Committee on Natural Resources' jurisdiction. Many of these laws are implemented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. We will hear from our friends on the other side of the aisle that this bill hinders NOAA's ability to conduct an environmental review of these projects. That is simply not true. What is true, however, is that the specific use permit, which under current law only lasts 5 years, has caused national marine sanctuaries to effectively become no-go zones for undersea cables. This means reduced routes of diversity, consolidation of cable landing zones, and an increased threat to our national security. Notably, this dynamic does not just cause stress on the physical infrastructure of these projects. Many of us are aware of the stories from around the world of undersea cables being severed with recent examples of this occurring in both Taiwan and the Baltic. In the United States, as these cables have a limited number of landing areas, our adversaries would have the ability to cut off an increasing portion of communications, internet activity, and financial transactions by attacking just a few points. Combine this looming threat with the increasing number of cables required in the coming years to keep pace with demand, and their growing role as critical infrastructure in our daily lives, and failure to support the continued development of these projects could pose a grave national security risk. Removing the requirement for a special use permit advances the objectives of House Republicans and the administration to reduce regulatory burdens and encourage American competitiveness, an objective that President Trump emphasized when he signed Executive Order 14267, Reducing Anticompetitive Regulatory Barriers. Advancing this legislation will allow for the deployment of undersea cables while providing appropriate protection of our marine resources. I urge my colleagues to support the legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I think we have figured out the rhythm, the prime directive here for Republican governance these days. First, they slashed the services that working families actually depend on. Then they turn around and hand the savings over to their billionaire friends. They do it time and again. It is rinse, lather, repeat. What do we have on the floor this week? We have all guessed it. It is another corporate handout, this time to the biggest technical oligarchs in the world. These folks have shown that if a person has enough money and if they are willing to bend the knee, they can pretty much get anything they want these days under MAGA Republican governance. Every time we have tried to add protections and regulations to their platforms that would keep users and children safe, they stop it. Every time we try to do something about the disinformation they allow to run rampant in order to appease the White House and cater to extremists, they stop it. Now they have schmoozed their way into getting Republicans to add another huge giveaway to this long, favored list of theirs. That means millions of dollars in savings so that they can run cables through our national marine sanctuaries for free. I have to ask: What is the endgame here? Where does it stop? Are we systematically privatizing every piece of America's national heritage for the richest and most powerful corporations in the world? That is exactly where H.R. 261 seems to be taking us. It rigs the game so that, for example, family fishing operations, dive boat captains, whale watching guides, and the other businesses that operate in marine sanctuaries have to navigate regulations. They have to play by the rules and pay fees but not the Big Tech oligarchs. These conglomerates, worth hundreds of billions of dollars, get special treatment and exemptions. Our national marine sanctuaries encompass over half a million square miles of America's most precious underwater ecosystems. They are economic engines generating billions in tourism revenue, sustaining entire coastal economies. They are living laboratories also where families snorkel with sea turtles, divers explore historic shipwrecks, and scientists unlock climate secrets. This legislation would let tech moguls bulldoze right through these [[Page H2163]] waters with industrial-scale operations--massive drill rigs, heavy machinery, and construction fleets--all without the environmental review that everyone else would have to undergo. The sponsors insist that these undersea cables are just little needles in a haystack, and they will probably hold up a little segment of one of these cables to try to suggest these are just needles in a haystack. It is true that the fiber-optic lines themselves are thin, but the installation process is anything but delicate. We are talking about seafloor excavation projects that can obliterate coral reefs and hurt marine mammals across vast swaths of the ocean. What could go wrong when these projects are happening on the seafloor? We can look at what Meta tried to do off the Pacific Northwest coast. Their drilling operation collapsed, scattering pipes, toxic fluids, and he

Referenced legislation: HR261, HR261, HRES1057