WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security Chairman Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) and Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Chairman Andy Ogles (R-TN) announced a hearing for November 20, to assess the threats posed by our adversaries to subsea cables and examine the safeguards U.S. companies and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should implement to mitigate national security risks.

“Subsea cables are crucial to the global economy, our national security, and communications across the world. Yet our adversaries like Communist China and Russia are working to exploit our vulnerabilities and undermine this critical infrastructure,” Chairman Gimenez said. “It’s essential that Congress examines the protections that are needed across both the public and private sectors to safeguard subsea cable operations from nefarious actors who wish to do us harm.”

“Every inch of American digital infrastructure is a battlefield. If the Chinese Communists can tap it, cut it, or corrupt it, they will. Subsea cables are no exception. This committee will not allow foreign communists to hold the American economy hostage,” Chairman Ogles said. “I look forward to hearing from subject matter experts so we can fully grasp the threats to these cable systems and ensure industry and the federal government stay ahead of them.” 

DETAILS:

What: A joint Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection hearing entitled, “Securing Global Communications: An Examination of Foreign Adversary Threats to Subsea Cable Infrastructure.”

When: November 20, 2025, at 10:00 am EST

Where: 310 Cannon House Office Building  

WITNESSES: 

Timothy Stronge
Chief Research Officer, TeleGeography

Alexander Botting
Senior Director, Global Security and Technology Strategy, Venable LLP

Matthew Kroenig
Senior Director, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council

Kevin Frazier
AI Innovation and Law Fellow, The University of Texas at Austin School of Law

Witness testimony will be added here. The hearing will be livestreamed on YouTube and will be open to the public and press. Press must be congressionally credentialed and should RSVP in advance.

BACKGROUND:

Subsea cable systems are responsible for 99 percent of the telecommunications activity across oceans. In recognition of these threats, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced in August that it will vote on a rule to prohibit the use of PRC-manufactured technology and equipment in any subsea cable system that ends in the United States.

In July, Subcommittee Chairman Gimenez, Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI), and House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe Chairman Keith Self (R-TX) sent a letter to Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon, probing whether the subsea cable systems that each company maintains direct or indirect operational involvement with contain components produced, maintained, or repaired by entities affiliated with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), such as S.B. Submarine Systems, Huawei Marine, China Telecom, or China Unicom, or the Russian Federation. The members’ investigation followed reporting that revealed entities affiliated with the PRC were potentially providing maintenance for or servicing Department of War digital infrastructure through Microsoft.

Earlier this month, Committee Chairman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY) joined Chairman Moolenaar, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast (R-FL), and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford (R-AR) in sending a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, recommending the Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services (OICTS)––which is charged with protecting domestic United States’ information and communications technology against foreign adversaries seeking to undermine American national security––investigate adversary products in critical and emerging industries to protect everyday Americans from technological threats. 
 

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