S.Amdt. 3683

The Strategic Subsea Cables Act of 2025 is an amendment to bill S. 2296. Its purpose is to improve how the United States government coordinates the protection, construction, and repair of subsea fiber-optic cables.

The amendment aims to add the following to the bill:

Government Coordination and Security

• Requires the President to designate a Federal agency or interagency committee to lead efforts in protecting cable networks, overseeing permitting, and handling other necessary cable matters.
• Directs agencies to create a plan for partnering with industry owners to secure and repair cables during crises and to streamline the permitting process.
• Establishes strategies to analyze cable cuts and outages to identify trends and malicious actors.

Information Sharing and Legal Changes

• Creates procedures for the government to share classified and unclassified threat information with relevant Federal agencies and private sector entities.
• Amends the Jones Act to exempt vessels transporting equipment for the installation, maintenance, or repair of subsea fiber-optic cable infrastructure from certain requirements.

International Engagement

• Directs the Secretary of State to increase U.S. engagement with the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) to advance national security and economic interests.
• Requires the Department of State to hire at least two full-time employees in the Bureau for Cyberspace and Digital Policy to focus on subsea cable resilience and international coordination.