,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #ecbh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,november #ad1 
#bjbd,mr4 ,warnock 7for himself and ,mr4
 ,kennedy7 introduced the following     
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,commerce1         
,science1 and ,transportation  ,a ,,bill
  ,to direct the ,secretary of ,commerce
 to submit to ,congress a report        
containing an assessment of the value1  
cost1 and feasibility of a              
trans-,atlantic submarine fiber optic   
cable connecting the contiguous ,united 
,states1 the ,united ,states ,virgin    
,islands1 ,ghana1 and ,nigeria4  #a4    
,assessment of trans-,atlantic submarine
 fiber optic cable  7a7 ,definitions ,in
 this section3 7#a7 ,covered cable ,the 
term covered cable means a              
trans-,atlantic submarine fiber optic   
cable described in subsection 7b74  7#b7
 ,not trusted ,the term not trusted     
means1 with respect to an entity1 that  
the entity is determined by the         

,secretary to pose an unacceptable risk 
to the national security of the ,united 
,states or the security and safety of   
,united ,states persons based solely on 
one or more determinations described in 
paragraphs 7#a7 through 7#d7 of section 
#b7;c7 of the ,secure and ,trusted      
,communications ,networks ,act of #bjai 
7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #afja7;c774  7#c7        
,secretary ,the term ,secretary means   
the ,secretary of ,commerce1 acting     
through the ,assistant ,secretary of    
,commerce for ,communications and       
,information4  7#d7 ,trusted ,the term  
trusted means1 with respect to an       
entity1 that the ,secretary has not     
determined that the entity is not       
trusted4  7b7 ,report ,not later than #a
 year after the date of enactment of    
this ,act1 the ,secretary1 in           
consultation with the heads of other    
,federal departments and agencies as    
necessary1 shall submit to the          
,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and  
,transportation of the ,senate and the  

,committee on ,energy and ,commerce of  
the ,house of ,representatives a report 
containing an assessment of the value1  
cost1 and feasibility of a              
trans-,atlantic submarine fiber optic   
cable connecting the contiguous ,united 
,states1 the ,united ,states ,virgin    
,islands1 ,ghana1 and ,nigeria1 to      
enhance the national security of the    
,united ,states4  7c7 ,elements ,the    
report required by subsection 7b7 shall 
include an assessment of-- 7#a7 the     
digital security1 national security1 and
 economic opportunities associated with 
a covered cable2  7#b7 the lifespan of  
submarine fiber optic cables connecting 
the ,united ,states ,virgin ,islands to 
the contiguous ,united ,states as of the
 date of the report2  7#c7 the security 
of telecommunications between the       
contiguous ,united ,states and the      
,united ,states ,virgin ,islands as of  
the date of the report2  7#d7 the       
readiness of telecommunications         
infrastructure in the ,united ,states   

,virgin ,islands to support a covered   
cable2  7#e7 the potential for          
engagement with trusted entities in the 
deployment of a covered cable1 and the  
associated geopolitical and economic    
advantages2  7#f7 the potential         
connectivity opportunities to maximize  
investments in the ,united ,states      
economy through the use of a covered    
cable2  7#g7 the value1 cost1 and       
feasibility of establishing a data      
center and high-security cloud services 
facility1 with independent power        
generation1 in the ,united ,states      
,virgin ,islands for communications of  
the ,united ,states ,africa ,command1   
communications of the ,united ,states   
,special ,operations ,command1 and      
national security communications2  7#h7 
the state of submarine fiber optic      
cables connected to ,united ,states     
telecommunications infrastructure2 and  
7#i7 any other related matters the      
,secretary determines are appropriate4  
7d7 ,no mandatory data collection ,the  

,secretary may not require any entity to
 provide data for purposes of preparing 
the report required by subsection 7b74  
7e7 ,form ,the report required by       
subsection 7b7 shall be submitted in    
unclassified form without any           
designation relating to dissemination   
control1 but may include a classified   
annex4