National Plan for Epilepsy Act

House Bill

H.R. 1189

119th Congress

National Plan for Epilepsy Act

In Committee

Introduced:Oct 24, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Brian Mast

R - FL

Cosponsors

3

Quick Stats

Policy Area

International Affairs

Summary

This bill aims to prevent foreign adversaries, specifically China, from gaining access to technologies and materials that could be used to build or maintain undersea communication cables. The President would need to negotiate agreements with allies to restrict these goods, and the Commerce and State Departments would play key roles in controlling exports and developing a strategy to achieve this goal.

Latest Action

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill aims to prevent foreign adversaries, specifically China, from gaining access to technologies and materials that could be used to build or maintain undersea communication cables. The President would need to negotiate agreements with allies to restrict these goods, and the Commerce and State Departments would play key roles in controlling exports and developing a strategy to achieve this goal.

Last updated: 12/29/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Undersea Cable Control Act The bill seeks to prevent foreign adversaries from acquiring goods and technologies capable of supporting the construction, maintenance, or operation of undersea cable projects. For the purposes of this bill, a foreign adversary is China or any foreign government or nongovernment person (entity or individual) engaged in certain conduct that significantly and adversely affects U.S. security. The President must seek to enter into agreements with allies and partners to prevent such goods and technologies from being available to foreign adversaries. Furthermore, the Department of Commerce must determine the appropriate level of export and transfer controls for such technologies under the Export Administration Regulations. The bill also requires the Department of State to develop a strategy to prevent such goods and technologies from being available to foreign adversaries. The President must report annually to Congress on this strategy.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Prevents foreign adversaries like China from acquiring technology and materials for building or maintaining undersea communication cables
Requires the President to negotiate agreements with allies to restrict these goods from reaching foreign adversaries
Directs the Commerce Department to determine export controls for these sensitive technologies
Requires the State Department to develop a strategy to prevent these goods from reaching foreign adversaries
Mandates the President to report annually to Congress on this strategy

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

If enacted, this bill would impact companies and individuals involved in the undersea cable industry, as well as the U.S. government and its allies. It could lead to tighter export controls, changes in cable construction and maintenance, and increased coordination between the U.S. and its partners to counter the influence of foreign adversaries in this critical infrastructure area.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

International Affairs

Related Subjects

Asia

Broadcasting, cable, digital technologies

China

Congressional oversight

Licensing and registrations

Technology assessment

Technology transfer and commercialization

Trade restrictions

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

1189, 119th Congress (2025). "National Plan for Epilepsy Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-hr-1189