United States 119th Congress Status: Passed Senate Bipartisan · 2 R · 2 D cosponsors

S 259 — Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act

Last action — Held at the desk.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced January 27, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Advancing 50% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Moderate

How often bills like it became law.

  • Passed Senate

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 4 sponsors

    1 primary, 3 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (2 R · 2 D) — cross-party backing.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency ActThis bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to annually publish a list of entities that hold a license or other authorization granted by the FCC and have ties to specified foreign countries.With respect to entities holding cable landing licenses (for the placement and operation of submarine communications cables) or other licenses granted via competitive auction, the FCC must publish a list of all such entities (1) in which a covered entity holds a specified voting or equity interest, or (2) that have been determined by a national security agency to be subject to the control of a covered entity. With respect to entities holding all other categories of FCC licenses or other authorizations, the FCC must first issue rules facilitating the collection of information on such licensees’ ownership structure. After that information is obtained, the FCC must add to the published list any such entity in which a covered entity holds a specified voting or equity interest. Under the bill, a covered entity is defined as an entity organized in China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia; a subsidiary of such an entity; or the government of China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

6 added · 16 removed

Plain-language change summary

The amendment adds the date on which the bill was passed by the Senate, citing "October 23, 2025." Additionally, it removes procedural details related to the bill's introduction and report in the Senate from earlier dates in January and July 2025. This change clarifies the bill's current status by focusing on its passage rather than the prior procedural timeline.

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Previous
Latest
259 Reported in Senate (RS)] <DOC> Calendar No.
259 Engrossed in Senate (ES)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S.
110 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S.
259 _______________________________________________________________________ AN ACT To direct the Federal Communications Commission to publish a list of entities that hold authorizations, licenses, or other grants of authority issued by the Commission and that have certain foreign ownership, and for other purposes.
259 [Report No.
119-36] To direct the Federal Communications Commission to publish a list of entities that hold authorizations, licenses, or other grants of authority issued by the Commission and that have certain foreign ownership, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 27, 2025 Mrs.
Fischer (for herself, Ms.
Rosen, Mr.
Cornyn, and Mr.
Lujan) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation July 9, 2025 Reported by Mr.
Cruz, without amendment _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To direct the Federal Communications Commission to publish a list of entities that hold authorizations, licenses, or other grants of authority issued by the Commission and that have certain foreign ownership, and for other purposes.
Calendar No.
Passed the Senate October 23, 2025.
110 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S.
Attest:
259 [Report No.
Secretary.
119-36] _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To direct the Federal Communications Commission to publish a list of entities that hold authorizations, licenses, or other grants of authority issued by the Commission and that have certain foreign ownership, and for other purposes.
119th CONGRESS 1st Session S.
_______________________________________________________________________ July 9, 2025 Reported without amendment
259 _______________________________________________________________________ AN ACT To direct the Federal Communications Commission to publish a list of entities that hold authorizations, licenses, or other grants of authority issued by the Commission and that have certain foreign ownership, and for other purposes.
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What Congress says this changes

S. Rept. 119-36

Published by the reporting committee Not generated — this is the committee's own “Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported”.

The committee states that this bill does not amend existing law. (S. Rept. 119-36)

Source: S. Rept. 119-36 · govinfo

Action History

  1. Introduced in Senate

  2. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

  3. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.

  4. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz without amendment. With written report No. 119-36.

  5. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Cruz without amendment. With written report No. 119-36.

  6. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 110.

  7. Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote.

  8. Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote. (consideration: CR S7734; text: CR S7734)

  9. Message on Senate action sent to the House.

  10. Received in the House.

  11. Held at the desk.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 3 co-sponsors · 543 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (3)

Not signed on (543)

543 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 543 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights elections technology
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S 259 do?
Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency ActThis bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to annually publish a list of entities that hold a license or other authorization granted by the FCC and have ties to specified foreign countries.With respect to entities holding cable landing licenses (for the placement and operation of submarine communications cables) or other licenses granted via competitive auction, the FCC must publish a list of all such entities (1) in which a covered entity holds a specified voting or equity interest, or (2) that have been determined by a national security agency to be subject to the control of a covered entity. With respect to entities holding all other categories of FCC licenses or other authorizations, the FCC must first issue rules facilitating the collection of information on such licensees’ ownership structure. After that information is obtained, the FCC must add to the published list any such entity in which a covered entity holds a specified voting or equity interest. Under the bill, a covered entity is defined as an entity organized in China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia; a subsidiary of such an entity; or the government of China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia.
Who sponsors S 259?
S 259 is sponsored by Fischer, Deb (Republican), Rosen, Jacky (Democratic), Cornyn, John (Republican), and Luján, Ben Ray (Democratic).
What is the current status of S 259?
This bill has passed the Senate. Introduced January 27, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track S 259?
Track S 259 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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