S.Amdt. 755

SA 755. Mr. WICKER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 1790, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2020 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle H of title X, add the following:

SEC. 1086. REPORT ON UNITED STATES CAPABILITIES TO INSTALL,
MAINTAIN, AND REPAIR SUBMARINE CABLES.

(a) Report Required.--Not later than November 1, 2019, the
Secretary of Transportation shall, in consultation of the
Secretary of Defense, submit to the appropriate committees of
Congress a report on the capabilities of the United States to
install, maintain, and repair submarine cables, including
Government cables and commercial cables.
(b) Elements.--The report required by subsection (a) shall
include the following:
(1) A description and assessment of the threats to
submarine cables.
(2) A description of current United States capabilities to
install, maintain, and repair submarine cables described in
subsection (a), including Government capabilities and
private-sector capabilities.
(3) A description and assessment of any gaps in the
capabilities referred to in paragraph (2).
(4) A description and assessment of options to address the
gaps referred to in paragraph (3), including the
establishment of a program for cable vessels modeled on the
Maritime Security Program.
(5) Such recommendations as the Secretary of Transportation
considers appropriate in light of the matters set forth in
the report, including, if applicable, the appropriate stipend
(per vessel) for a program for cable vessels modeled on the
Maritime Security Program
(c) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified
annex.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) The term ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and
the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives.
(2) The term ``cable vessel'' means any vessel as follows:
(A) A vessel that is classed as a cable ship or cable
vessel by, and designed in accordance with the rules of, the
American Bureau of Shipping, or another classification
society accepted by the Secretary of Transportation.
(B) Any other vessel that is capable of installing,
maintaining, and repairing submarine cables.
(3) The term ``Maritime Security Program'' means the
program in connection with the Maritime Security Fleet under
chapter 531 of title 46, United States Code.

____________________