[House Report 118-521]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress }                                             { Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session    }                                             { 118-521

======================================================================



 
            ACCELERATING NETWORKING, CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE, 
               AND HARDWARE FOR OCEANIC RESEARCH ACT 

                                _______
                                

  May 23, 2024.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Lucas, from the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 7630]

    The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, to whom 
was referred the bill (H.R. 7630) to require a plan to improve 
the cybersecurity and telecommunications of the U.S. Academic 
Research Fleet, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     1
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     2
Legislative History..............................................     2
Section-by-Section...............................................     2
Related Committee Hearings.......................................     3
Committee Consideration..........................................     3
Roll Call Votes..................................................     3
Application of Law to the Legislative Branch.....................     5
Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the 
  Committee......................................................     5
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     5
Duplication of Federal Programs..................................     5
Federal Advisory Committee Act...................................     5
Unfunded Mandate Statement.......................................     5
Earmark Identification...........................................     5
Committee Cost Estimate..........................................     5
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures     6
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     6

                          PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

    H.R. 7630 directs the Director of the National Science 
Foundation (NSF) to submit to Congress a plan to improve the 
cybersecurity and telecommunications of the Academic Research 
Fleet. Specifically, this bill tasks the Director to consider 
network capabilities for both the scientific mission and 
critical functions of each vessel including video 
communications for educational outreach and remote access for 
researchers.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The U.S. Academic Research Fleet was established in the 
1960s and is made up of eighteen research vessels that conduct 
federally-sponsored basic research that address urgent societal 
issues involving human health and safety, offshore energy and 
resources, national security, ocean hazards, biological and 
physical ocean processes, and all scientific endeavors 
requiring observations at sea. Operating as globally-ranging 
laboratories in the most remote areas of the world, these 
vessels face unique challenges in providing reliable and secure 
digital networking and communications that are critical to 
accomplishing scientific objectives. Each vessel requires 
specialized infrastructure to ensure the security of scientific 
equipment and data both on-board and in transmission to 
shoreside networks.
    Currently, the U.S. Academic Research Fleet cannot support 
the cyberinfrastructure necessary to establish and maintain 
necessary levels of secure telecommunications. This is 
supported by the findings of the JASON advisory group, which 
was commissioned by the National Science Foundation to evaluate 
and make recommendations regarding the ability of the agency's 
major facilities to provide high-quality data to the research 
community while mitigating cybersecurity threats. This 
legislation would provide a plan to make the necessary upgrades 
to the cyberinfrastructure and cybersecurity of the research 
vessels to meet current standards.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 7630 was introduced on March 12, 2024, by 
Representative Garcia (R-CA) and cosponsored by Representative 
Stevens (D-MI).

                           SECTION-BY-SECTION

Section 1. Short title

    The short title of this legislation is ``Accelerating 
Networking, Cyberinfrastructure, and Hardware for Oceanic 
Research Act'' of the ``ANCHOR Act.''

Section 2. Definitions

    This section defines ``U.S Academic Research Fleet'' as 
United States-flagged vessels that have been accepted into, and 
are actively participants administered within, the University-
National Oceanographic Laboratory System; are operated as 
oceanographic research vessels by research universities and 
laboratories; receive funding from the National Science 
Foundation; and have achieved designation as a member vessel of 
the U.S. Academic Research Fleet through the standard U.S. 
Academic Research Fleet evaluation process.

Section 3. Plan to improve cybersecurity and telecommunications of
        U.S. Academic Research Fleet

    This section requires the NSF Director to submit to 
congress a plan to improve the cybersecurity and 
telecommunications of the Academic Research Fleet. The plan 
includes: the networking needs for the vessels scientific 
mission, cybersecurity needs appropriate for ownership of 
vessels withing the U.S. academic fleet and the type of 
research functions and topics of those vessels, estimated costs 
necessary to complete the upgrade including necessary 
equipment's including satellite communication, software, high 
performance computing clusters, enterprise hardware, personnel 
costs for training, support, or logistics, and the time 
required to complete the upgrade under various budget 
scenarios, a proposal for common solutions and licensing 
agreements for the scientific fleet. This section also requires 
the NSF Director to consider network and bandwidth targets for 
all necessary vessel functions including scientific outreach 
and remote scientific work.

Section 4. Implementation of and report on plan

    This section directs the NSF Director to develop a report 
in support of cyberinfrastructure and cybersecurity upgrades, 
in coordination with the Office of Naval Research, nonfederal 
owners of vessels in the academic research fleet, and users of 
the research fleet. The report is required no later than 2 
years after the submission of the plan required in section 3.

                       RELATED COMMITTEE HEARINGS

    On April 26, 2023, the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology held a full committee hearing entitled An Overview 
of the National Science Foundation Budget Proposal for Fiscal 
Year 2024. Members and witnesses discussed the fiscal year 2024 
budget request for the National Science Foundation and related 
policy and management issues; including the construction and 
operation of cutting-edge research facilities and investment 
into STEM education.
    Witnesses:
           Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director, 
        National Science Foundation
           Dr. Dan Reed, Chair, National Science Board

                        COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

    On March 20, 2024, the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology met to consider H.R. 7630.
    Chairman Lucas moved that Committee favorably report the 
bill, H.R. 7630 to the House of Representatives with the 
recommendation that the bill be approved. The motion was agreed 
to by a recorded vote of 38 yeas and 0 nays, a quorum being 
present.

                            ROLL CALL VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII requires the Committee to list the 
record votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments 
thereto. The following reflects the record votes taken during 
the Committee consideration:

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

              APPLICATION OF LAW TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    The Committee finds that H.R. 7630 does not relate to the 
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services 
or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of 
the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 104-1).

          STATEMENT OF OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
                            OF THE COMMITTEE

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 
(2)(b)(1) of rule X, the Committee's oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the descriptive portions of 
this report.

         STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    Pursuant to clause (3)(c)(4) of rule XIII, the goal of H.R. 
7630 is to direct the Director of the National Science 
Foundation (NSF) to submit to Congress a plan to improve the 
cybersecurity and telecommunications of the Academic Research 
Fleet. Specifically, the Director is to consider network 
capabilities for both the scientific mission and critical 
functions of each vessel including video communications for 
educational outreach and remote access for researchers.

                    DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII, the Committee 
finds that no provision of H.R. 7630 establishes or 
reauthorizes a program of the Federal Government known to be 
duplicative of another Federal program, including any program 
that was included in a report to Congress pursuant to section 
21 of Public Law 111-139 or identified in the most recent 
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.

                     FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not establish 
or authorize the establishment of an advisory committee within 
the definition of section 5(b) of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act.

                       UNFUNDED MANDATE STATEMENT

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act.

                         EARMARK IDENTIFICATION

    Pursuant to clauses 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI, the 
Committee finds that H.R. 7630 does not include any 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits.

                        COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII, the Committee 
adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. At the time this report was 
filed, the estimate was not yet available.

              NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY,
                          AND TAX EXPENDITURES

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII, the Committee 
finds that H.R. 7630 would result in no new or increased budget 
authority, entitlement authority, or tax expenditures or 
revenues.

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII, at the time this 
report was filed, the cost estimate prepared by the Director of 
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 was not yet available.

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