# 119-hr-8177: Critical Undersea Infrastructure Resilience Initiative Act

119-hr-8177, Critical Undersea Infrastructure Resilience Initiative Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY); status introduced (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8177
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8177
- Congress: 119
- Title: Critical Undersea Infrastructure Resilience Initiative Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-04-02
- Sponsor: Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY)
- Cosponsors: 4
- Policy area: International Affairs
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**Protect undersea infrastructure near Taiwan.** This bill would create a U.S. initiative to detect, deter, and respond to sabotage of subsea cables and pipelines, fund rapid-response activities, promote cable hardening, and authorize sanctions against foreign saboteurs. - Would help Taiwan and regional partners by boosting real-time monitoring, sharing warnings, and coordinating repairs and joint drills to keep communications and energy links running. - Would direct the State Department, working with Defense, Homeland Security, and the Coast Guard, to stand up the Initiative and a Cross-Strait Contingency Planning Group for scenario-based planning and coordinated responses. It would require semiannual Presidential reporting through 2032 and annual classified contingency reports for 10 years. - Would push private operators toward physical hardening measures like deeper burial, tougher materials, and reinforcement and support multinational surveillance and intelligence sharing to reduce vulnerability. - Would create a sanctions regime that can block property under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and restrict visas for foreign persons and vessels involved in sabotage, while allowing narrow Presidential waivers for national security reasons. *This bill would authorize $20.0 million per year from 2027 through 2032 for rapid-response activities, increasing federal spending over that period.*

## Cosponsors (4)

- Rep. Min, Dave [D-CA-47] (D-CA), 2026-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Stanton, Greg [D-AZ-4] (D-AZ), 2026-04-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kim, Young [R-CA-40] (R-CA), 2026-04-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Harrigan, Pat [R-NC-10] (R-NC), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Cross-Strait contingency planning group: benefit, medium. If enacted, the President would create a Cross‑Strait Contingency Planning Group within 90 days. The Group would plan for crises involving Taiwan, like blockades, cyberattacks, and economic coercion, and find supply chain and infrastructure weak spots. It would coordinate diplomatic, military, econ…
- Sanctions for undersea sabotage: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would allow the President to sanction foreign persons and vessels that commit or help sabotage undersea energy or communications infrastructure tied to Taiwan. Sanctions could block property under IEEPA, bar visas, and impose penalties. The bill would define "critical undersea…
- Taiwan undersea protection program: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would require the Secretary of State to set up a Taiwan Critical Undersea Infrastructure Initiative within 360 days. The Initiative would fund sensors and real-time monitoring, share early warnings with Taiwan and partners, and coordinate Navy and Coast Guard surveillance. The…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
- 119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-5106: Restore Trust in Congress Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-8177 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8177)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-6644: 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6644)
- [119-hr-9237: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9237)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-5106: Restore Trust in Congress Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5106)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8177 (as of 2026-09-21).