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H.R. 1223: ANCHOR Act

119th Congress · introduced 2025-02-12 · Science, Technology, Communications · Latest: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

federal

What does this mean?

Official title

ANCHOR Act

Plain summary

Accelerating Networking, Cyberinfrastructure, and Hardware for Oceanic Research Act or the ANCHOR Act This bill requires the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop a plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications capabilities of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet (ARF). ARF is comprised of U.S.-flagged vessels that provide at-sea laboratories where oceanographic scientists, educators, and students research and learn about marine science. The bill requires the plan to include assessments of telecommunications and networking needs of ARF, consistent with typical scientific missions; cybersecurity needs appropriate for the operation of ARF vessels and their specific research functions; the costs necessary to meet these needs; the time required to implement necessary upgrades; and opportunities for the adoption of common solutions or consortial licensing agreements, or for the centralization of cybersecurity, telecommunications, or data management at a single facility. The plan must also include a spending plan for the NSF, the Office of Naval Research, nonfederal owners of ARF vessels, and users of the vessels to cover identified costs. Among other factors specified in the bill, the NSF must consider, as appropriate, the network capabilities necessary to meet mission needs (e.g., to upload data to cloud-based or shoreside servers), international standards and guidance for information security, and requirements for controlled unclassified or classified information. The plan must be provided to Congress within 18 months of the bill's enactment, and the NSF must later report to Congress on the plan's implementation.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

ANCHOR Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Fong, Vince [R-CA-20] · 5 cosponsors

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Recorded votes

Words on this page, explained (3)
Appropriation
Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Securities
Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong119-hr1223 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong119 · updated 2026-11-03 by psicol fed-bills