# 119-hr-3479: SECURE American Telecommunications Act 119-hr-3479, SECURE American Telecommunications Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Yakym, Rudy [R-IN-2] (R-IN); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3479 - As of: 2026-04-21 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-hr-3479 - Congress: 119 - Title: SECURE American Telecommunications Act - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2025-05-19 - Sponsor: Rep. Yakym, Rudy [R-IN-2] (R-IN) - Cosponsors: 3 - Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-04-21 ## Summary **FCC-led licensing and security for submarine and cross-border terrestrial cables** would shift permitting to the Federal Communications Commission and create a tighter security and reporting regime. It would bar direct links to areas the Secretary of State calls foreign adversaries, require incident and repair reporting, set minimum physical and cybersecurity standards, centralize certain federal permits, and increase criminal penalties for harming cables. - Cable operators and telecom companies would need an FCC license to build, connect, operate, or maintain submarine and cross-border terrestrial cables and would face 24-hour cyber-incident reporting and 7-day repair reports plus new physical and cyber standards; a 540-day review deadline applies to license decisions. - Federal security and defense entities would gain formal roles: the FCC must consult the Attorney General, Director of National Intelligence, Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of Homeland Security when writing standards; CISA, the Navy, and NOAA would receive incident and repair reports; the Secretary of State would negotiate international security agreements and name covered countries. - State and local governments would be limited from regulating environmental effects of licensed submarine cables and landing stations, and the Army Corps of Engineers would be required to issue a nationwide general permit within 180 days for cable construction, repair, and maintenance. ## Cosponsors (3) - Rep. McDowell, Addison P. [R-NC-6] (R-NC), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Shreve, Jefferson [R-IN-6] (R-IN), 2025-06-09T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Miller, Max L. [R-OH-7] (R-OH), 2025-07-16T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - No cable links to adversary areas: benefit, high. The FCC would be barred from licensing a cable that directly connects the United States to an area controlled by a foreign adversary. It also would not license a cable that links to a facility using equipment or services on the FCC’s covered list. “Foreign adversary” would use the existing federal… - Faster cable permits and fewer approvals: benefit, high. The Army Corps would issue a nationwide general permit within 180 days for building, repairing, and maintaining submarine cables and landing stations, using the FCC’s seabed spacing standard. No other federal approvals could be required for submarine cables beyond the FCC license, the section 214 c… - Allied security standards and key terms: benefit, medium. The Secretary of State would seek, within 180 days, an agreement with Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom on common minimum security standards for cables, landing stations, and licenses. The bill would define key terms, including covered countries, cybersecurity risk (listing thr… - Study on submarine cable protection zones: benefit, medium. The FCC, the Army Corps, and NOAA would study the benefits, costs, and feasibility of creating submarine cable protection zones. They would consult the Secretary of State on other countries’ zones and report to Congress within 540 days. - Stronger cable security and reporting rules: mixed, high. The FCC would set minimum physical and cyber security rules for submarine cables and landing stations within 180 days, and update them at least every 2 years. Licensees would have to report cybersecurity incidents to the FCC and CISA within 24 hours of learning of the event. Anyone repairing damage… - New FCC deadlines for cable licenses: mixed, high. This bill would move cable licensing from the President to the FCC. The FCC would have 540 days to decide a complete submarine cable application; if not, the license would be deemed granted the next day. The FCC could withhold, and the FCC or the President could revoke, a license. Cross-border terr… ## Related bills - 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025 - 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025 - 119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act - 119-hr-740: Veterans’ ACCESS Act of 2025 - 119-hr-1181: Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act - 119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act ## Sources - [119-hr-3479 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3479) ## Related - [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669) - [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151) - [119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9298) - [119-hr-740: Veterans’ ACCESS Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-740) - [119-hr-1181: Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1181) - [119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-987) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3479 (as of 2026-04-21).