# 119-hr-261: Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025

119-hr-261, Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Carter, Earl L. "Buddy" [R-GA-1] (R-GA); status passed_house; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-10).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-261
- As of: 2026-09-10
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-261
- Congress: 119
- Title: Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025
- Status: passed_house
- Introduced: 2025-01-09
- Sponsor: Rep. Carter, Earl L. "Buddy" [R-GA-1] (R-GA)
- Cosponsors: 7
- Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-10

## Summary

**Creates a federal-state authorization shield for undersea fiber optic cables in national marine sanctuaries.** This bill would stop sanctuary officials from imposing bans or extra sanctuary permits when a federal or state license, lease, or permit already authorizes the installation, presence, operation, maintenance, repair, or recovery of undersea fiber optic cables. It also removes certain enumerated restrictions on sanctuary special use permits, simplifying what activities can be approved there. - Cable operators and installers: Would not need a separate sanctuary permit if a federal or state license already authorizes their cable work inside a sanctuary. This makes sanctuary-level approval unnecessary in those cases. - National marine sanctuary managers and the Secretary of Commerce: The bill would preserve existing interagency cooperation requirements under section 304(d) while removing specific limitations in the special use permit list, broadening what may be allowed under those permits. - State and federal licensing agencies: Licenses, leases, or permits issued by these agencies would serve as controlling authorization for cable activities inside sanctuaries, linking sanctuary treatment to other agency approvals.

## Cosponsors (7)

- Rep. Dunn, Neal P. [R-FL-2] (R-FL), 2025-01-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cammack, Kat [R-FL-3] (R-FL), 2025-01-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kiggans, Jennifer A. [R-VA-2] (R-VA), 2025-01-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fry, Russell [R-SC-7] (R-SC), 2025-01-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11] (R-TX), 2025-01-09T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bentz, Cliff [R-OR-2] (R-OR), 2025-02-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Begich, Nicholas J. [R-AK-At Large] (R-AK), 2025-06-25T00:00:00.000Z

## Votes

| Date | Chamber | Question | Result | Yea | Nay |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-11T00:00:00.000Z | house | On Motion to Recommit | Failed | 214 | 216 |
| 2026-02-11T00:00:00.000Z | house | On Passage | Passed | 218 | 212 |

## Provisions PRIA read

- Skip sanctuary permits for undersea cables: benefit, low. If enacted, undersea cable owners and operators would not need a separate national marine sanctuary permit. This would apply only inside a sanctuary and only when a federal or state license, lease, or permit for the work is already in effect. It would cover installing, keeping in place, operating,…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act
- 119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025
- 119-hr-6130: ASAP Act
- 119-hr-3699: Energy Choice Act
- 119-hres-719: Honoring the life and legacy of Charles Charlie James Kirk.
- 119-hr-1502: North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-261 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/261)

## Related
- [119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-425)
- [119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-38)
- [119-hr-6130: ASAP Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6130)
- [119-hr-3699: Energy Choice Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3699)
- [119-hres-719: Honoring the life and legacy of Charles Charlie James Kirk.](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hres-719)
- [119-hr-1502: North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1502)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-261 (as of 2026-09-10).