# 119-hr-8069: Strategic Subsea Cables Act of 2026

119-hr-8069, Strategic Subsea Cables Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Wilson, Joe [R-SC-2] (R-SC); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8069
- 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-8069
- Congress: 119
- Title: Strategic Subsea Cables Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-03-24
- Sponsor: Rep. Wilson, Joe [R-SC-2] (R-SC)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: International Affairs
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Securing critical undersea telecommunications and energy cables** is the bill's core goal. It would create a coordinated U.S. government framework to boost diplomacy, share information with industry, staff the State Department, and authorize sanctions and reporting to deter and respond to sabotage. - Private industry: Would require real-time information sharing with cleared operators, timely declassified and unclassified reporting of sabotage indicators, and faster release of funds to support response and mitigation. - Diplomats and State capacity: Would require at least 10 full-time State Department staff focused on subsea infrastructure with at least 5 in the Bureau for Cyberspace and Digital Policy, and a 90-day report on diplomatic engagement with international bodies. - Federal coordination: Would establish an interagency committee within one year to streamline licensing and permitting, create standardized risk and resilience assessments, and plan secure installation, maintenance, repair, and attribution efforts. - Enforcement and intelligence: Would authorize the President to impose IEEPA-based sanctions and visa restrictions for sabotage and would require a comprehensive report on People’s Republic of China and Russian Federation subsea activities within 180 days and annually for five years.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Meeks, Gregory W. [D-NY-5] (D-NY), 2026-03-24T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Annual China and Russia cable reports: benefit, high. If enacted, the Secretary of State must report to Congress within 180 days and then yearly for five years on China and Russia subsea cable manufacturing, installation, and maintenance capabilities. Reports must analyze specific military and commercial actors and include assessments such as suspecte…
- Sanctions for undersea sabotage: benefit, high. If enacted, the President could sanction foreign persons found to have committed or helped sabotage critical undersea infrastructure. Sanctions could block property and bar visas, and the President must report to Congress within 15 days after imposing them. The President may waive sanctions for nat…
- Faster intelligence sharing and attribution: benefit, high. If enacted, Federal agencies would issue procedures to share classified, declassified, and unclassified information about suspected subsea cable sabotage with cleared non‑Federal companies. The Director of National Intelligence must send those procedures to Congress within 60 days and report on imp…
- U.S. cable coordination and diplomacy: benefit, high. If enacted, the President would create an interagency committee within one year to lead protection, resilience, and faster permitting for undersea telecom cables. The President must send Congress a staffing and resource plan within 30 days after creating the committee. The Secretary of State would…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025
- 119-hr-5509: Safe Step Act
- 119-hr-1410: 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2570: Maximum Pressure Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-8069 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8069)

## Related
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-1229: United States-Israel Defense Partnership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1229)
- [119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1065)
- [119-hr-5509: Safe Step Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5509)
- [119-hr-1410: 9/11 Responder and Survivor Health Funding Correction Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1410)
- [119-hr-2570: Maximum Pressure Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2570)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8069 (as of 2026-04-21).