[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 76 (Thursday, April 30, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2146-S2147]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Strategic Subsea Cables Act

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today--and you 
certainly know this as a Navy SEAL, that life would be very different 
without the internet. It raises an important question: How does the 
internet get into our homes? For most users around the world, the 
internet travels to them from the ocean floor. More specifically, it 
travels through fragile, largely unprotected fiber optic cables that 
sit on the ocean floor. They are called undersea cables, and hundreds 
of these cables crisscross the world's seabed. On average, they rest 
about 8,000 feet below sea level. They are essential, and they are 
exposed.
  Stretched end to end, these cables would reach nearly 1 million 
miles. That is far greater than the distance the Artemis II traveled 
from the Earth to the Moon and back again.
  Here on Earth, the undersea cables are important for a variety of 
reasons. They carry 99 percent of the world's internet traffic. They 
also support $10 trillion in financial transactions each and every day. 
Undersea cables are essential for our economy, our military, our 
communications, and our daily lives.
  I am a doctor, and a map of these undersea cables reminds me of an 
anatomy textbook when you look at this thing, Mr. President, and you 
see all of these cables all around the globe. A map of these undersea 
cables reminds me specifically of my time in medical school and the 
nervous system.
  Here is how I see it: Imagine that the Earth is a human body and 
undersea cables are the nervous system of modern life. All of these 
connections make the world more prosperous, and it is especially true 
as America develops innovative, new technology.
  Yet there is a serious problem. The world's undersea cable network is 
facing growing threats from our foes around the world. Specifically, 
the danger comes from Russia and China. Our adversaries seek to hold 
our connectivity hostage. They are trying to do so by mapping, by 
splicing, and by sabotaging our system of undersea cables. This can be 
done simply by dragging an anchor across the cables or having 
submarines attack them.
  China has been especially aggressive, specifically regarding Taiwan. 
According to Taiwan's own National Security Bureau, over the last 4 
years, there have been over 30 subsea cable incidents. In one, Chinese 
vessels allegedly cut cables to the Matsu Islands. They are controlled 
by Taiwan. The islands are connected to the rest of the world by two 
tiny undersea cables. Both of the cables were cut. It took months--yes, 
months--to repair them and to restore connectivity to the rest of the 
world. Such operations disconnect and disrupt communications, and they 
undermine national defense and global security.
  Not every instance of cable cutting is deliberate. We do know that 
cable-cutting incidents are becoming more frequent and increasingly 
more suspicious.
  So what can we do to prevent them? For the past several years, NATO 
has responded with military patrols. These ongoing missions have been 
successful. Still, more needs to be done, and the next step is to 
target bad actors and do it economically.
  Today, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is--right at this 
moment--holding a hearing on recent attacks against critical 
infrastructure, and this includes undersea cables. It also includes 
energy pipelines.
  I am a member of the committee, and Senator Shaheen and I have 
introduced legislation to address these vulnerabilities. It is called 
the Strategic Subsea Cables Act. It is a bipartisan bill. The Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee passed it in January by an overwhelming 
margin.
  Our bill mandates tough penalties against individuals and vessels 
that attack these undersea cables. The penalties include blocking 
violators from our markets and revoking their U.S. visas. Our bill also 
has America deploy more resources to secure and repair underseas 
cables. At the same time, it requires a report to Congress in 6 months 
specifically on what Russia is doing and what China is doing in terms 
of sabotaging the undersea cables. These actions put our adversaries on 
notice that their actions are going to face stiff and severe 
consequences.
  Private companies are already hardening cables where they can. 
Congress ought to act as a backstop in these defenses and make them 
more deliberate in terms of this aggression we are seeing from China 
and Russia. These are

[[Page S2147]]

nations whose goal is to harm America, to harm our allies, to undermine 
our national security.
  As a doctor, what I know is that if there is damage to a single 
fragile nerve cell, it can cause serious disruption to the entire body. 
America depends on a fragile nervous system of subsea cables for our 
modern life, and protecting this system is crucial.
  Our adversaries seek to turn the bottom of the ocean into a 
battlefield. The Strategic Subsea Cables Act will make America safer 
and more secure in our network under the waves.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.