[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 30, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S5608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3203. Mr. PADILLA submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2025 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. IMPROVING CYBERSECURITY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS OF
THE U.S. ACADEMIC RESEARCH FLEET.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) U.S. academic research fleet.--The term ``U.S. Academic
Research Fleet'' means the United States-flagged vessels
that--
(A) have been accepted into, and are active participants
administered within, the University-National Oceanographic
Laboratory System;
(B) are operated as oceanographic research vessels by
research universities and laboratories;
(C) receive funding from the National Science Foundation;
and
(D) have achieved designation as a member vessel through a
standard evaluation process.
(2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the National Science Foundation.
(3) Oceanographic research vessel.--The term
``oceanographic research vessel'' has the meaning given the
term in section 2101 of title 46, United States Code.
(b) Plan to Improve Cybersecurity and Telecommunications of
U.S. Academic Research Fleet.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall, in consultation
with the head of any Federal agency, university, or
laboratory that owns or operates a vessel of the U.S.
Academic Research Fleet, submit to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee
on Space, Science, and Technology of the House of
Representatives a plan to improve the cybersecurity and
telecommunications of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet.
(2) Elements.--The plan required by paragraph (1) shall
include--
(A) an assessment of the telecommunications and networking
needs of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, consistent with
the typical scientific mission of that vessel;
(B) in accordance with guidance issued by the Cybersecurity
and Infrastructure Security Agency and the National Institute
for Standards and Technology, an assessment of cybersecurity
needs appropriate for--
(i) the ownership of vessels within the U.S. Academic
Research Fleet; and
(ii) the typical research functions and topics of such
vessels;
(C) an assessment of the costs necessary to meet the needs
described in subparagraphs (A) and (B), including--
(i) any necessary equipment, such as satellite
communications equipment, software, high-performance
computing clusters shipboard and shoreside, or enterprise
hardware; and
(ii) estimated personnel costs in excess of current
expenditures, including any necessary training, support, or
logistics;
(D) an assessment of the time required to implement any
upgrades required to meet the needs described in
subparagraphs (A) and (B) under varying budgets and funding
scenarios;
(E) the adoption of common solutions or consortial
licensing agreements, or by centralizing elements of fleet
cybersecurity, telecommunications or data management at a
single facility; and
(F) in consultation with any non-Federal owners of a vessel
of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, a spending plan for the
National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research,
non-Federal owners of vessels of the U.S. Academic Research
Fleet, users of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, or any
combination thereof, to provide funding to cover the costs
described in subparagraph (C).
(3) Considerations.--The Director shall, in preparing the
plan required by paragraph (1), consider--
(A) the network capabilities, including speed and bandwidth
targets, necessary to meet the scientific mission needs of
each class of vessel within the U.S. Academic Research Fleet
for such purposes as--
(i) executing the critical functions and communications of
the vessel;
(ii) providing network access for the health and well-being
of deployed personnel, including communications to conduct
telemedicine (including mental health care), counseling,
interviews with crisis response providers, and other remote
individual care and services;
(iii) as necessary to meet operations, uploading any
scientific data to a shoreside server, including the copying
of data off ship for disaster recovery or risk mitigation
purposes;
(iv) as appropriate, conducting real-time streaming to
enable shore-based observers to participate in ship-based
maintenance or research activities;
(v) real-time coordinated viewing of--
(I) scientific instrumentation so that it is possible to
conduct scientific surveys and seafloor mapping with fully
remote subject-matter experts; and
(II) critical operational technology by manufacturers and
vendors so that it is possible to carry out maintenance and
repairs to systems with limited expertise on the vessel, with
fully remote subject-matter experts advising; and
(vi) as appropriate, enabling video communications to allow
improved outreach to, and other educational services for, k-
12 students, including occasional remote classroom teaching
for instructors at sea to improve oceanographic access for
students; and
(B) in consultation with the Director of the Cybersecurity
and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Director of the
National Institute for Standards and Technology, and the
heads of other Federal agencies, as appropriate--
(i) the cybersecurity recommendations in the report of the
private scientific advisory group known as JASON entitled
``Cybersecurity at NSF Major Facilities'' (JSR-21-10E) and
dated October 2021 as applied to the U.S. Academic Research
Fleet;
(ii) aligning with international standards and guidance for
information security, including the use of encryption for
sensitive information, the detection and handling of security
incidents, and other areas determined relevant by the
Director;
(iii) facilitating access to cybersecurity personnel and
training of research and support personnel; and
(iv) the requirements for controlled unclassified or
classified information.
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