Salud Ortiz Carbajal: “Mr. Speaker, I rise in firm opposition to H.R. 261, the Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025. On its face, this…”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in firm opposition to H.R. 261, the Undersea Cable Protection Act of 2025. On its face, this legislation may seem like a narrow procedural change of streamlining permitting for undersea fiber-optic cables. In reality, it strips away critical environmental and economic safeguards that we and the communities we represent depend on to help power our Nation's blue economy. We know that four of the five national marine sanctuaries in California generate more than $114 million a year and support over 1,800 jobs in commercial fishing alone. H.R. 261 is a giveaway to megacorporations at the expense of the American taxpayer, the oceans, and the Great Lakes we have advocated to protect. Some of the marine sanctuaries most at risk because of this legislation are iconic spots off the coast of California: Monterey Bay, Channel Islands, and the newly created Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, a sanctuary that was decades in the making. First nominated by the Northern Chumash Tribal Council in 2015, the sanctuary became effective on November 30, 2024, after review by Congress and the State of California. Through this legislation, my constituents and the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary will lose big. Waiving the future fees on cables from industry would cost between $2.7 million and $7 million per every 20 miles each year.”