The record

LegislationLegislation· Jun 2025
HR 1737 Passed House — in Senate

Sponsored by Stacey E. Plaskett (D)

To direct the Secretary of Commerce to submit to Congress a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria.

Orders a Commerce Department report on a submarine fiber optic cable from the US to Africa.

Tradeoff

Requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to assess a trans-Atlantic submarine cable project. The study has no stated cost or funding source in the bill.

What's in it

See official bill text

Federal cost of $2 million over two years (2025-2027) for the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a feasibility study and submit a report.

The $2 million is the federal cost to conduct a one-year study and produce a report — the bill itself does not fund or commit to building the cable, only to analyzing whether it should be built.

H.R. 1737, a bill to direct the Secretary of Commerce to submit to Congress a report containing an assessment of the value, cost, and feasibility of a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous United States, the United States Virgin Islands, Ghana, and Nigeria · Jun 2025

Passed the House by on June 23, 2025 — sitting in the Senate.

  1. House

    Introduced

    (Feb 27, 2025)

  2. House

    Committee on Energy and Commerce(Feb 27, 2025)

  3. House

    The Committee on Energy and Commerce voted to send it to the floor

    Reported by (Mar 4, 2025)

    Committee report H. Rept. 119-155.

  4. House

    Passage of the bill

    Passed by (Jun 23, 2025)

    No individual votes were recorded.

  5. Senate

    Received from the House

    on Commerce, Science, and Transportation(Jun 24, 2025)