Congresswoman Haley Stevens Introduced ANCHOR Act to Ensure Oceanographic Research Leadership in Mid-21st Century

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Mike Garcia (R-CA) along with U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) introduced the Accelerating Networking, Cyberinfrastructure, and Hardware for Oceanic Research (ANCHOR) Act. This bipartisan, bicameral bill would shore up America’s Academic Research Fleet – the research vessels integral to understanding our freshwater and saltwater marine environments – requiring improvements to the ships’ cybersecurity and telecommunication capabilities.

The Academic Research Fleet, including the R/V Blue Heron which operates in the Great Lakes Region, is the critical, but aging, research platform for studying and understanding our marine environment and the impacts of climate change. Due to environmental concerns and the growing implications of maritime considerations on national security, this bill is essential to ensuring long-term viability of the fleet and American research leadership in the mid-21^st century.

“The U.S. Academic Research Fleet (ARF) plays a critical role in advancing our understanding of what is happening not just in our oceans, but in our Great Lakes as well,” said Rep. Stevens. “The ANCHOR Act will ensure that the ARF has the required cyber and telecommunication infrastructure to carry out the fleet’s mission to protect our oceans, coastal communities, and the Great Lakes in our changing climate.”

“The ARF is critical to America’s national security and environmental research,” said Rep. Garcia. “And I’m proud to take this bipartisan step toward better ensuring the safe, secure, and effective operation of our research vessels. These vessels are crucial to a variety of our national interests, from international competition with China to the collection of environmental research. This bill is only the first step, and I look forward to our continued bipartisan work to improve the ARF.” 

“The U.S. Academic Research Fleet is a global leader in performing groundbreaking oceanographic research, which is critical for navigating rising climate threats,” said Sen. Padilla. “But with increasing cyberattacks on these vessels, we urgently need to upgrade crucial cybersecurity and telecommunications infrastructure. This cost-effective, bipartisan solution will lead to better science and better conditions for our crew members while saving money by allowing vessel repairs in real time.” 

“Our research vessels play a key role in ensuring American security,” said Sen. Sullivan. “Both these research vessels and shore-based maritime research institutions have experienced Chinese cyberattacks. This bill is a step forward in bolstering both the integrity of the data collected by these institutions and the resiliency of the Academic Research Fleet, including the University of Alaska Fairbanks Research Vessel Sikuliaq homeported in Seward.”

The ANCHOR Act is endorsed by the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System, the University of California, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, Oregon State University, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, University of Minnesota Duluth Large Lakes Observatory, Louisiana University Marine Consortium, University of Miami, University of Hawai’i, University of Washington, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Background

The ANCHOR Act requires the Director of the National Science Foundation to prepare a plan, in consultation with Federal and non-Federal owners and operators of the Academic Research Fleet, to upgrade the cyberinfrastructure and telecommunication network of the fleet. The plan must be submitted to Congress not later than one year after enactment.

The plan must include an assessment of the current systems and the expected cost and timeline for necessary upgrades. The plan must also include a coordinated approach, including cost-matching structures, for carrying out necessary upgrades and how those upgrades will support broadening participation in oceanographic sciences.

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