S. 2873 · 119th Congress
Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025
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R
BlackburnSponsor1 cosponsor · 1 R
0 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill prohibits the Department of Commerce from enforcing certain permit requirements for activities related to undersea fiber optic cables in national marine sanctuaries.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Sep 18, 2025
Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025
This bill prohibits the Department of Commerce from enforcing certain permit requirements for activities related to undersea fiber optic cables in national marine sanctuaries.
Specifically, Commerce may not prohibit or require an authorization for any covered activities related to undersea fiber optic cables if a license, lease, or permit has been issued by a state or federal agency to authorize the covered activity. Covered activities are the installation, continued presence, operation, maintenance, repair, or recovery of undersea fiber optic cables in a national marine sanctuary.
The bill also authorizes Commerce to direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to engage in interagency cooperation regarding federal agency actions that are likely to destroy, cause the loss of, or injure a resource in a national marine sanctuary and involve covered activities.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025
Latest action (Sep 18, 2025): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Sep 18, 2025
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.