HR 1737
Passed a chamber
Requires the Commerce Department to report to Congress within one year on whether a submarine fiber optic cable linking the contiguous United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria would be worth building, what it would cost, and whether it is feasible.
Official title: To direct the Secretary of Commerce to submit to Congress a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria.
Timeline each lane is a chamber; dates pull from congress.gov actions
House
Introduced
27-FEB-2025
Referred
27-FEB-2025
Approved by committee
04-MAR-2025
Reported
12-JUN-2025
On the calendar
12-JUN-2025
Passed
23-JUN-2025
Senate
Received
24-JUN-2025
- Directs the Secretary of Commerce, working with other federal agencies as needed, to submit the report within one year of enactment to the House Energy and Commerce and Senate Commerce committees
- Covers national security and economic benefits, the lifespan and security of existing Virgin Islands cables, and Virgin Islands readiness to support the new cable
- Assesses a possible data center and high-security cloud facility in the Virgin Islands for U.S. Africa Command and Special Operations Command communications
- Bars the Secretary from requiring any entity to provide data for the report; the report is unclassified but may include a classified annex
Covers an older version. The newest CRS summary describes the bill as of "Introduced in House" (27-FEB-2025); the text has changed since (Engrossed in House, 23-JUN-2025).
CRS is the Library of Congress's nonpartisan research office. Read it on congress.govScience, Technology, Communications
■ 1 R
1 Republican