1HOUSE · FEB 11, 2026
Passed the House
218–212PASSED
R 215–1 D 3–211
On Passage · roll 67 · 2 not voting
House bill · 119th Congress · Latest step: Passed House
Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025
Official title: To amend the National Marine Sanctuaries Act to prohibit requiring an authorization for the installation, continued presence, operation, maintenance, repair, or recovery of undersea fiber optic cables in a national marine sanctuary if such activities have previously been authorized by a Federal or State agency.
Sponsor: Rep. Earl Carter R-GAWhere it went
- IntroducedJan 9, 2025
- Committee actionJun 25, 2025
- Passed HouseFeb 11, 2026 · 218–212
- Passed Senate—
- To the President—
- Became law—
Latest action: Feb 12, 2026 — Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Cost and committee reports
Official records Congress.gov attaches to H.R. 261.
- CBO cost estimateThe Congressional Budget Office published “H.R. 261, Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025” on February 6, 2026. CBO’s description reads “As reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on July 2, 2025”.Read the CBO estimate ↗Source: Congressional Budget Office, February 6, 2026 ↗
Evidence
- Field in the Congress.gov record
- cboCostEstimates
- CBO publication
- https://www.cbo.gov/publication/62090
- CBO publication date
- February 6, 2026
- Congress.gov bill record
- H.R. 261, 119th Congress
- Congress.gov API record
- https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/119/hr/261
- Record last updated by Congress.gov
- September 8, 2026
- PORKER copy retrieved
- September 12, 2026
- Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file
7885dee4f59c017957054ed4c25b39537ec96398bbf6e2d003c2cd63a4b12510
PORKER links to the estimate and does not repeat its dollar figures. Each estimate is for the version of the bill its description names; the bill may have changed since.
- Committee reportCongress.gov lists 1 committee report for this bill: H. Rept. 119-181 ↗. The Congress.gov committee record lists a “Reported By” entry for the Natural Resources Committee on July 2, 2025.Source: Congress.gov, reported July 2, 2025 ↗
Evidence
- Field in the Congress.gov record
- committeeReports
- Report API records
- https://api.congress.gov/v3/committee-report/119/HRPT/181
- Congress.gov bill record
- H.R. 261, 119th Congress
- Congress.gov API record
- https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/119/hr/261
- Record last updated by Congress.gov
- September 8, 2026
- PORKER copy retrieved
- September 12, 2026
- Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file
7885dee4f59c017957054ed4c25b39537ec96398bbf6e2d003c2cd63a4b12510
A committee report is the committee’s own explanation of the bill. PORKER lists it and links to it; reading it is up to you.
- Constitutional authority statementThe sponsor’s statement of where the Constitution gives Congress the power to pass this bill. Statement by Mr. CARTER of Georgia, as printed in the Congressional Record (Vol. 171, No. 5, January 9, 2025, Page H92):Congress is granted the authority to introduce and enact this legislation pursuant to Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. ConstitutionSource: Congress.gov, Congressional Record January 9, 2025 ↗
Evidence
- Field in the Congress.gov record
- constitutionalAuthorityStatementText
- Statement length
- 131 characters
- Congress.gov bill record
- H.R. 261, 119th Congress
- Congress.gov API record
- https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/119/hr/261
- Record last updated by Congress.gov
- September 8, 2026
- PORKER copy retrieved
- September 12, 2026
- Stored copy, SHA-256 of the file
7885dee4f59c017957054ed4c25b39537ec96398bbf6e2d003c2cd63a4b12510
PORKER shows the statement exactly as printed, with the page markup removed. It is the sponsor’s claim; it is not a legal finding.
Sent to: Natural Resources Committee, Commerce, Science, and Transportation CommitteeBills with a CBO estimateBills with a committee reportSee it in the Data Web
From the Congress.gov bill record for H.R. 261, last updated September 8, 2026. PORKER’s copy was retrieved September 12, 2026 and is refreshed nightly. Open “Evidence” on any line for the record, field and file fingerprint.
Vote results
2 recorded roll-call votes on H.R. 261. The vote that moved the bill is first.
Procedural votes (1) — motions, rulings and amendments along the way (1 House). Tap to show.
Oldest first. Totals are yea–nay.
- Send the bill back to committeeMotion to recommitHouse · Feb 11, 2026 · roll 66R 0–216 D 214–0214–216Failed
Yea–nay by party (R = Republicans, D = Democrats, I = independents). Counts for present and not-voting members are shown where there were any. Showing all 2 of 2 recorded votes. Sorted by date; within a chamber by roll-call number.
Cosponsors
7 cosponsors — 7 Republicans
0 of 7 cosponsors (0%) are from the other party.
Nicholas Begich (R-AK), Cliff Bentz (R-OR), Kat Cammack (R-FL), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Russell Fry (R-SC), Jennifer Kiggans (R-VA), August Pfluger (R-TX).
More from the sponsor
Other 119th Congress bills sponsored by Rep. Earl Carter.
- H.R. 2821 (119th) FDA Modernization Act 3.0
- H.R. 2493 (119th) Improving Care in Rural America Reauthorization Act of 2025
- H.R. 1455 (119th) ITS Codification Act
- H.Res. 283 (119th) Electing a Member to a certain standing committee of the House of Representatives.
- H.R. 2289 (119th) American Broadband Deployment Act of 2025
- H.R. 4218 (119th) CLEAR Act
Related bills
- S. 2873 (119th) Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025Identical bill
- H.Res. 1057 (119th) Providing for consideration of the bill (S. 1383) to establish the Veterans Advisory Committee on Equal Access, and for other purposes…Related bill
- H.Res. 1042 (119th) Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2189) to modernize Federal firearms laws to account for advancements in technology and…Related bill
Relationships as recorded by Congress.gov.
Sponsor’s state and district
Data as of Sep 25, 2026 · bill record checked by PORKER from Congress.gov · votes from Senate.gov and the House Clerk. PORKER is non-partisan.