S 318 Passed in Senate – ANCHOR Act

On Wednesday, the Senate passed by unanimous consent S 318, the Accelerating Networking, Cyberinfrastructure, and Hardware for Oceanic Research (ANCHOR) Act. The bill would require the National Science Foundation (NSF) to submit a plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications of the Academic Research Fleet. No new funding is authorized by the legislation.

 

The bill is very similar to HR 1223 that was passed in the House on  May 20^th, 2025. Most of the differences between the two bills are editorial in nature. There are some significant differences, however:

Subparagraph 2(c)(1)(G) which would have required supporting cybersecurity for video services to K-12 students is not in S 318,

Subsection (d) which specifically authorized NSF to implement the plan required in the bill and to prepare a report to Congress on the implementation of the plan is not included in S 318, and

S 318 adds a requirement to the definition of the term ‘U.S. Academic Research Fleet’ that requires that the covered vessels be funded by the NSF.

Interestingly, the Senate did not take up HR 1223 and amend it with the Senate language from S 318. So technically, this bill goes to the House for separate consideration from the already passed HR 1223. The House (when it finally comes back into session) will have the option of accepting the Senate version, as is, or amending it by substituting the Senate language. It will all depend on how enamored House Space, Science, and Technology Committee is with their language and prerogatives.

HR 1223 Passed in House – ANCHOR Act

Yesterday the House began consideration of HR 1223, the ANCHOR Act, under the suspension of the rules process. After completing just eight minutes of the scheduled 40 minutes of debate, the House was delayed from voting on the bill due to a lack of quorum, so the vote was postponed until today. This afternoon the House passed the bill by a vote of 412 to 11. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

The bill would require the National Science Foundation (NSF) to submit a plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications of the Academic Research Fleet. No new funding is authorized by the legislation.

The bill now faces the problem of political capital in the Senate. This bill is not politically important enough to be considered under regular order. That means, as a practical matter, that it must either pass under the unanimous consent process, or be ignored in that body. A similar fate befell HR 7630, a near identical bill introduced in the 118^th Congress.

Review - HR 1223 Introduced – ANCHOR Act

Back in February Rep Fong (R,CA) introduced HR 1223, the Accelerating Networking, Cyberinfrastructure, and Hardware for Oceanic Research (ANCHOR) Act. The bill would require the National Science Foundation (NSF) to submit a plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications of the Academic Research Fleet. No new funding is authorized by the legislation.

The bill is similar to HR 7630, the Accelerating Networking, Cyberinfrastructure, and Hardware for Oceanic Research (ANCHOR) Act, that was introduced by Rep Garcia (R,CA) in March, 2024. The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee held a markup hearing on March 20^th, 2024 and ordered the bill reported favorably by a vote of 38 to 0. The Committee Report was published on May 23^rd, 2024. The bill was taken up by the full House on September 23^rd, 2024 under the suspension of the rules process and passed by a voice vote. No action was taken in the Senate on this bill, nor on a similar bill (S 3943, the ANCHOR Act) introduced by Sen Padilla (D,CA) in March of 2024. Padilla has introduced a similar bill (S 318) this session.

Moving Forward

Fong and all three of his cosponsors {Rep Stevens (D,MI), Rep Obernolte (D,CA), and Rep McBride (D,DE)} are members of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. This means that there may be sufficient influence to see this bill considered in Committee. While last session, the earlier bill moved through the Committee and the floor of the House with no significant opposition, the focus of the 119^th Congress is somewhat different than that of the 118^th. I suspect that if HR 1223 were considered it would still receive strong bipartisan support, the question remains whether the leadership would remain as supportive in the new legislative environment.

 

For more information about the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-1223-introduced - subscription required.

Review - Bills Introduced – 2-12-25

Yesterday, with both the House and Senate in session, there were 103 bills introduced. Four of those bills may receive additional coverage in this blog:

HR 1223 To require a plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, and for other purposes. Fong, Vince [Rep.-R-CA-20]

HR 1258 To amend title 41, United States Code, to require information technology contractors to maintain a vulnerability disclosure policy and program, and for other purposes. Lieu, Ted [Rep.-D-CA-36]

HJ Res 40 Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Defense relating to "Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program". Clyde, Andrew S. [Rep.-R-GA-9]

HJ Res 46 Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Decabromodiphenyl Ether and Phenol, Isopropylated Phosphate (3:1); Revision to the Regulation of Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic Chemicals Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)". Clyde, Andrew S. [Rep.-R-GA-9]

 

For more information on these proposed bills, including a history of similar bills in the 118^th Congress, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/bills-introduced-2-12-25 - subscription required.