PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jan 29, 2025
Accelerating Networking, Cyberinfrastructure, and Hardware for Oceanic Research Act or the ANCHOR Act
This bill requires the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop a plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications capabilities of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet (ARF).
ARF is comprised of U.S.-flagged vessels that provide at-sea laboratories where oceanographic scientists, educators, and students research and learn about marine science.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The bill requires the plan to include assessments of
telecommunications and networking needs of ARF, consistent with typical scientific missions;
cybersecurity needs appropriate for the ownership of ARF vessels and their typical research functions;
the costs necessary to meet these needs; and
the time required to implement necessary upgrades.
The plan must also include (1) a spending plan for the NSF, the Office of Naval Research, nonfederal owners of ARF vessels, and users of the vessels to cover identified costs; and (2) a proposal regarding the adoption of common solutions or consortial licensing agreements, or the centralization of cybersecurity, telecommunications, or data management at a single facility.
Among other factors specified in the bill, the NSF must consider the network capabilities necessary to meet mission needs (e.g., to upload data to shoreside servers), international standards and guidance for information security, and requirements for controlled unclassified or classified information.
The plan must be provided to Congress within one year of the bill's enactment.
People & committees
Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] · D–CA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Held at the desk.
Received in the House.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S7007-7009; text: CR S7008-7009)
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 169.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 119-64.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. With written report No. 119-64.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.318 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.318 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.318 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.318 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.