The Biden-Harris administration is quietly floating a funding cut for a national security initiative that protects America's underwater infrastructure. At the same time, it's asking Congress for millions of dollars for equity and "environmental justice" initiatives, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
The administration recently informed Congress that it wants to strip $10 million in annual funding for the Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Cable Security Fleet (CSF), which protects the underwater infrastructure powering America’s connection to the internet. Hostile nations like Russia and China have repeatedly attempted to sabotage these networks, plunging the American government and military into darkness.
A sizable portion of this funding is being diverted into equity programs as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s push to promote progressive cultural priorities, according to Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas). This includes more than $1 million to hire 11 full-time staffers dedicated to "diversity and equity priorities" at the Transportation Department. An additional $6 million is allocated to programs that will "address environmental issues and ‘mitigat[e] the impact of climate change.’" Another $10 million is slated for the U.S. Marine Highway Program to support "environmental justice," Cruz disclosed.
"The Biden administration’s decision to defund undersea cable security while increasing spending on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) undermines the strategic defense posture of the United States against our adversaries, like Russia and China, in favor of radically liberal and unpopular social policies," Cruz wrote in an investigatory letter sent Thursday to the Department of Transportation and obtained by the Free Beacon.
Congress approved $10 million in annual funding for MARAD’s CSF program, which ensures American ships are on standby to deal with any disruption to the underwater cable system. The fleet acts as a last line of defense "in times of national emergency" should hostile actors succeed in severing the country’s internet connection.
While the money remains available, the Biden-Harris administration’s fiscal year 2025 budget proposal "requests no funding for the program," according to Cruz.
"But what the MARAD budget does include is millions in additional funding for headquarters operations to implement the administration’s executive orders on race and equity, environmental justice, climate and sustainability, and pandemic response," Cruz wrote.
"The administration’s request to zero out the CSF program is puzzling considering the uptick in attacks on undersea cables," the senator wrote.
In May, U.S. officials sent an alert to telecommunications companies, warning them "that undersea cables could be vulnerable to tampering by Chinese repair ships." Beijing’s state-controlled ships were obfuscating their international whereabouts, indicating they could be engaged in espionage operations.
"The repeated gaps in transponder data from Chinese cable repair ships and the location of the ships—in the vicinity of cables that are related to national security—raises red flags," Cruz wrote. "In spite of all this, the administration seeks to axe the dedicated program to enable repair of undersea cables in times of emergency, the CSF Program, in order to spend more money on woke nonsense."
In February of this year, the administration designated undersea cables as a key technology "of particular importance to the national security of the United States." Shortly thereafter, three cables beneath the Red Sea were cut, causing a communications blackout in Asia and Europe.
It has long been known that Russia has the "capability to cut top-secret cables, connect to them, and jam sensors that detect intrusions," according to Cruz, who cited a 2018 Associated Press report on the issue.
European officials subsequently warned last year that "Russia may sabotage undersea cables in retaliation for Western support of Ukraine," a concern shared by the American intelligence community.
"U.S. officials have raised concerns that foreign cable repair ships—on which we will further rely absent the CSF program—pose a security threat because underwater cables are vulnerable to tampering," Cruz noted.
If the United States relies on an outside nation for cable repairs, that country "could tap undersea data streams, conduct reconnaissance on U.S. military communication links, or steal valuable intellectual property used in cable equipment," Cruz wrote, adding that Russian ships have already "actively mapped critical undersea infrastructure."
"The security of undersea cables depends on having access to these ‘trusted’ ships for maintenance and repair of cables, rather than relying on foreign-flagged repair ships sometimes owned by foreign adversaries, which may be recalled to their home countries or otherwise pose risks and reliability concerns during conflict," according to the senator.
Cruz is asking the Transportation Department to turn over all information about the CSF program dating back to 2021, as well as "all guidance documents referring or relating to DEI" programs.
The senator also wants updated "information on the threat and known attacks by adversaries on undersea cables," including "an explanation of how the Department and MARAD intend to ensure continuity of undersea communications networks during conflict without an operative CSF program."