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S. 318: ANCHOR Act
119th Congress · introduced 2025-01-29 · Science, Technology, Communications · Latest: Held at the desk.
federal
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 ownership of ARF vessels and their typical research functions; the costs necessary to meet these needs; and the time required to implement necessary upgrades. The plan must also include (1) 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; and (2) a proposal regarding the adoption of common solutions or consortial licensing agreements, or the centralization of cybersecurity, telecommunications, or data management at a single facility. Among other factors specified in the bill, the NSF must consider the network capabilities necessary to meet mission needs (e.g., to upload data to 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 one year of the bill's enactment.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] · 1 cosponsors
Money: CBO cost estimate: S. 318, ANCHOR Act (2025-07-14) No linked contracts or vendors yet.
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
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-119s318.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/119/s>
Record fed-us-cong119-s318 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong119 · updated 2026-11-03 by psicol fed-bills