Assessment of Trans-Atlantic Submarine Fiber Optic Cable

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3385, a bill requiring the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the NTIA, to assess the value, cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria, and to submit a report to Congress with its findings.

The bill also directs the NTIA to report to Congress on the current state of telecommunications connecting the U.S. Virgin Islands and the United States, including an assessment of the lifespan and security of the telecommunications infrastructure linking the two.

This assessment and report will provide the Energy and Commerce Committee with vital information on the strength and resiliency of communications infrastructure in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It will help us determine whether the American interests can be served by connecting the United States and the African Continent with undersea cable infrastructure by way of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

H.R. 3385 is a critical step to enhance American communications security and competitiveness around the world. In recent years, the United States and many allies have recognized the threat posed by untrusted Chinese telecommunications equipment to our own national security.

Thanks to the work of the Energy and Commerce Committee and our colleagues, we have taken steps to remove suspect equipment from the American communications networks to protect against attacks or sabotage by our adversaries, but this work is not finished because network security does not end at the water's edge.

For decades, China and other adversaries have spent considerable time and money to deploy suspect telecommunications equipment and infrastructure across the African Continent. The assessment required in this bill is an important step to understanding the cost of securing the connection between the United States and our African allies, and how best to ensure a critical global communications channel is protected from the prying eyes of our adversaries.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett) for her leadership of this bill and the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Fulcher) for his partnership in this effort.

This legislation is critical to enhancing our Nation's national security and the security of communications between the United States and our African partners. I look forward to reviewing the results of NTIA's assessment when it becomes available.

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Ms. SCHRIER. Plaskett), and I thank her for her leadership.

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Ms. SCHRIER. I just want to emphasize that H.R. 3385 is a matter of national security. I thank Representative Plaskett for painting such a clear picture of that risk. For that reason, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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