Exclusive: GOP rep introduces bill to protect U.S. infrastructure from Chinese threats

Republican Indiana Rep. Rudy Yakym unveiled legislation on Monday afternoon to deter America’s adversaries from cutting submarine cables that underpin global financial transactions and internet traffic, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.

Yakym’s Safeguarding Essential Cables through Undersea Risk Elimination (SECURE) American Telecommunications Act would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to create minimum physical and cybersecurity standards for submarine telecommunications infrastructure and ban cable connections to U.S. adversaries, such as China and Russia. The bill’s introduction comes as Chinese and Russian-owned ships have been accused of damaging undersea cables in the Taiwan Strait and Baltic Sea in recent years.

Yakym, who has represented Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District since November 2022, said the legislation is necessary to protect American telecommunications infrastructure from Chinese national security threats. Undersea cables facilitate nearly all global digital communications, including internet traffic, and process more than $10 trillion in daily financial transactions, according to background on the bill obtained by the DCNF.

“Over the last four years, our adversaries grew bolder, economically and militarily, because they knew they’d face no real consequences,” Yakym told the DCNF. “The SECURE American Telecommunications Act changes that. It enhances penalties for cutting undersea cables and creates a comprehensive new security framework to protect them.”

Yakym’s bill would provide the first statutory update governing submarine cables since the Emergency Tariff Act of 1921, according to background on the bill obtained by the DCNF.

The legislation would also impose a maximum fine of $250,000 for “intentionally cutting” a submarine cable and a penalty of no more than $100,000 for “negligently” damaging submarine telecommunications infrastructure.

Yakym cast the legislation as part of the administration’s agenda to rebuild America’s strength in the world following former President Joe Biden’s term. Trump took his first trip abroad in his second term last week, during which he traveled to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

“This is about partnering with President Trump’s efforts to reclaim America’s strength, secure our critical infrastructure, and ensure those who seek to harm us know they will pay the price,” Yakym said.

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