This bill mandates the creation of a comprehensive plan to upgrade the cybersecurity, networking, and hardware capabilities of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet to better support oceanic research and crew well-being.
Vince Fong
Representative
CA-20
The ANCHOR Act directs the National Science Foundation to develop a comprehensive plan to significantly upgrade the cybersecurity and telecommunications infrastructure for the U.S. Academic Research Fleet. This plan must assess necessary network capabilities, identify security risks, estimate costs, and propose a funding strategy involving multiple stakeholders. The goal is to ensure research vessels have the necessary high-speed connectivity to support advanced science, crew well-being, and remote expertise.
| Party | Total Votes | Yes | No | Did Not Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | 220 | 206 | 11 | 3 |
Democrat | 213 | 206 | 0 | 7 |
ANCHOR Act Mandates 18-Month Plan to Upgrade Internet and Cybersecurity for US Research Ships
The Accelerating Networking, Cyberinfrastructure, and Hardware for Oceanic Research Act, or the ANCHOR Act, is all about dragging the U.S. Academic Research Fleet—those university-run ships that collect critical ocean data—into the 21st century. Essentially, the bill recognizes that these floating labs are running on outdated tech and security, and it mandates a serious upgrade.
The Plan: Better Internet and Stronger Security
This legislation requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to draft a comprehensive plan within 18 months to overhaul the fleet’s cybersecurity and telecommunications systems. This isn't just about faster Wi-Fi; it's about making sure these ships can handle modern research demands and stay secure while doing it. The plan has to assess what each ship actually needs for its specific scientific work, and determine cybersecurity risks using standards set by federal agencies like CISA and NIST. Think of it as a massive, overdue IT audit for the entire research navy.
Why This Matters for Science (and Safety)
The core of the bill is fixing real-world problems. Today, research ships often struggle to upload the massive amounts of data they collect. This bill aims to ensure high-speed connections for things like uploading research data to the cloud in real-time for backup, or letting shore-based experts watch maintenance or complex mapping surveys live. For the scientists, this means less time waiting to transfer data and more efficient research. For the crew, the plan specifically requires consideration for crew well-being, ensuring the network supports telemedicine, counseling, and crisis support remotely—a huge safety improvement for people far out at sea.
Who Pays the Bill?
Here’s where the rubber meets the road. The NSF’s plan must include a detailed cost breakdown for all necessary upgrades—new satellite gear, better computers, staff training, the works. Crucially, the plan must also outline a spending strategy, showing how the financial burden will be split among the NSF, the Office of Naval Research, the non-Federal ship owners, and the research users themselves. The bill requires an estimate of how these new costs might affect the daily charter rates that labs and universities pay to use these ships. For those groups, this means they need to keep an eye on how the cost-sharing strategy plays out, as a significant portion of the cost could land on the end-users.
Implementation: A Question Mark
While the planning is mandatory, the actual execution of the upgrades is left somewhat discretionary. After the plan is submitted, the NSF Director may support upgrades based on the plan. This word choice—may—is important. It means the plan is a blueprint, but it doesn't guarantee the funding or implementation will follow immediately. Two years after the plan is submitted, the Director must report back to Congress on the progress made, which will be the first real check on whether these critical upgrades actually moved from the drawing board to the high seas.