H.R. 4625

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4625 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4625

To authorize the Secretary of the Navy to enter into a contract for the 
construction of submarine cable laying and repair ships, and for other 
purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 23, 2025

Mr. Miller of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of the Navy to enter into a contract for the 
construction of submarine cable laying and repair ships, and for other 
purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Naval Enhancement for Protection of 
Telecommunications Undersea Network Equipment Act'' or the ``NEPTUNE 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PROCUREMENT AUTHORITY FOR SUBMARINE CABLE LAYING AND REPAIR 
SHIPS.

(a) Contract Authority.--The Secretary of the Navy may enter into a 
contract for the construction of up to two submarine cable laying and 
repair ships and associated material.
(b) Liability.--Any contract entered into under subsection (a) 
shall provide that--
(1) any obligation of the United States to make a payment 
under the contract is subject to the availability of 
appropriations for that purpose; and
(2) the total liability of the Federal Government for 
termination of the contract shall be limited to the total 
amount of funding obligated to the contract at the time of 
termination.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON RETIREMENT OF SUBMARINE CABLE LAYING AND REPAIR 
SHIP.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Navy may not retire, prepare 
to retire, or place in storage the USNS Zeus until the date on which a 
replacement ship with capabilities equal to or exceeding those of the 
USNS Zeus has achieved full operational capability.
(b) Replacement Ship Defined.--In this section, the term 
``replacement ship''--
(1) means a submarine cable laying and repair ship 
designated ``USNS'' and maintained in the inventory of the 
Navy; and
(2) does not include a commercial vessel leased or 
chartered by the Navy.
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