July 23, 2025
Mr. Miller of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
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.
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.