Section 1: Short Title

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accelerating Net-Working, Cyberinfrastructure, and Hardware for Oceanic Research Act’’ or the ‘‘ANCHOR Act’’.

SECTION 2. PLAN TO IMPROVE CYBERSECURITY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS OF U.S. ACADEMIC RESEARCH FLEET

1. Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation with other Federal agency owners and the head of any university or laboratory that owns or operates a vessel of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet.
2. The plan required by subsection (a) shall include:
1. An assessment of the telecommunications and networking needs of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, consistent with the typical scientific mission of each vessel;
2. In accordance with guidance issued by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the National Institute for Standards and Technology, an assessment of cybersecurity needs appropriate for:
1. The operation of vessels within the U.S. Academic Research Fleet;
2. The specific research functions and activities of such vessels;
3. An assessment of the costs necessary to meet the needs described in paragraphs (1) and (2), including:
1. Any necessary equipment costs in excess of current expenditures, such as satellite communications equipment, software, high-performance computing infrastructure shipboard and shoreside, or enterprise hardware;
2. Estimated personnel costs in excess of current expenditures, including any necessary training, support, or logistics;
3. The estimated impact on daily charter rates associated with the costs described in sub-paragraphs (A) and (B);
4. An assessment of the time required to implement any upgrades required to meet the needs described in paragraphs (1) and (2) under varying budgets and funding scenarios;
5. An assessment of opportunities for the adoption of common solutions or consortial licensing agreements, or for the centralization of elements of fleet cybersecurity, telecommunications, or data management at a single facility;
6. In consultation with any non-Federal owners of a vessel of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, a spending plan for the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, non-Federal owners of vessels of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, users of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, or any combination thereof, to provide funding to cover the costs described in paragraph (3).

CONSIDERATIONS

The Director in preparing the plan required by subsection (a), shall, as appropriate, consider the following:

• The network capabilities, including speed and bandwidth targets, necessary to meet the scientific mission needs of each class of vessel within the U.S. Academic Research Fleet for such purposes as:
• Executing the critical functions and communications of each vessel;
• Providing network access for the health and well-being of deployed personnel, including communications to conduct telemedicine (including mental health care), counseling, interviews with crisis response providers, and other remote individual care and services;

IMPLEMENTATION OF AND REPORT ON PLAN

(1) IN GENERAL. The Director, in coordination with the Office of Naval Research, non-Federal owners of vessels of the Academic Research Fleet, users of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, or any combination thereof, may support upgrades to the cyberinfrastructure and cybersecurity of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet consistent with the plan required by subsection (a).

(2) REPORT REQUIRED. Not later than two years after the submission of the plan required by subsection (a), the Director shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives a report describing the progress made in implementing the plan.

DEFINITIONS

(1) DIRECTOR. The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of the National Science Foundation.

(2) OCEANOGRAPHIC RESEARCH VESSEL. The term ‘‘oceanographic research vessel’’ has the meaning given the term in section 2101 of title 46, United States Code.

(3) U.S. ACADEMIC RESEARCH FLEET. The term ‘‘U.S Academic Research Fleet’’ means the United States-flagged vessels that:

• Are operated as oceanographic research vessels by research universities and laboratories;
• Have achieved designation as a member vessel of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet through the standard U.S. Academic Research Fleet evaluation process;
• Have been accepted into, and are active participants within, the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System.