A Republican bill with no cosponsors
Last activity — Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill is known as the Nodes, Enterprise Workloads, and Hybrid Operations, Resilience, Integration, Zero-Trust, Orbital Networks Act or the NEW HORIZON Act. It requires the Secretary of Defense to run an operational pilot program to evaluate commercially available orbital data center services and space-based cloud computing. The program aims to test military utility, operational integration, and resilience for national security space requirements. The Secretary must encourage competitive participation from nontraditional defense contractors and commercial space providers. The pilot program includes strict cybersecurity, risk-management, and interoperability measures for handling sensitive or classified information. The program authority terminates five years after enactment.
Yes· 3 of 6
- Scored +6
Does this better protect the country from computer attacks?
The bill mandates rigorous cybersecurity protections including zero-trust architecture, encryption, and supply chain risk management for space-based cloud services.
- Scored +5
Does this put more into space exploration?
The legislation establishes an operational pilot program to evaluate commercial orbital data centers and space-based cloud computing capabilities.
- Scored +5
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?
The bill mandates a comprehensive briefing by the Secretary of Defense to congressional committees regarding the execution and lessons learned from the pilot program.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Section 2(b)(4) encourages competitive participation from a diverse set of nontraditional defense contractors and commercial space providers. This could benefit smaller or newer businesses by giving them a fair shot at working with the Department of Defense.
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Section 2(b)(5)(A) and Section 2(b)(5)(G) require cybersecurity protections like zero-trust architecture, encryption, workload isolation, tenant separation, and data sovereignty safeguards. These provisions help protect sensitive and classified information from unauthorized access.
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Section 2(b)(8) requires the Secretary to provide a briefing to the congressional defense committees by December 31, 2028, covering execution of the program, lessons learned, and cybersecurity risks. This holds our elected and appointed officials accountable by ensuring Congress stays informed on how taxpayer-backed programs are run.
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Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Section 2(b) establishes a new pilot program and related testing, integration, and briefing duties for the Department of Defense, which requires government resources and taxpayer funding to execute. The text does not explicitly detail the financial cost of these operations.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Education And Technology
- Does this put more into space exploration? — The legislation establishes an operational pilot program to evaluate commercial orbital data centers and space-based cloud computing capabilities. Does this give people more control over their personal data? — The bill enforces strict tenant separation, workload isolation, and data sovereignty safeguards for sensitive and classified information.
- National Security And Foreign Policy
- Does this better protect the country from computer attacks? — The bill mandates rigorous cybersecurity protections including zero-trust architecture, encryption, and supply chain risk management for space-based cloud services.
- Governance And Ideology
- Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see? — The bill mandates a comprehensive briefing by the Secretary of Defense to congressional committees regarding the execution and lessons learned from the pilot program.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would business owners be better off under this? — Commercial space providers and nontraditional defense contractors are encouraged to participate competitively in the new operational pilot program.
- Economy And Finance
- Does this make it easier to run a small business? — The bill encourages competitive participation from a diverse set of nontraditional defense contractors and commercial space providers in its pilot program.
- 11/10/2026
- Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
- Introduced in House