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Code · BILL · 118th Congress · H.R. 8070 (Received in Senate) — To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military c... · Sec. 3512

Sec. 3512. Sealift capability

1,091 words·~5 min read·/bill/118/hr/8070/rds/section-3512·

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Subtitle V of title 46, United States Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 575 the following: 57701. Procurement, maintenance, and operation. 57702. Sealift prioritization. 57703. Interaction with programs. 57704. Assessment on maritime infrastructure readiness. 57705. Definition of treaty allies. The Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Defense shall build, acquire, maintain, coordinate, support, and operate a civil, commercial, and military sealift capability sufficient to provide capacity and resiliency for unilateral United States strategic sealift in peace, crisis, and war.
Sealift capability built, acquired, maintained, supported, and operated by the Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Defense shall be in addition to capability available under the Maritime Security Program under chapter 531, the Cable Security Program under chapter 532, the Tanker Security Program under chapter 534, the Ready Reserve Force under chapter 571, and vessels operated by the Military Sealift Command. In building, acquiring, maintaining, coordinating, supporting, and operating sealift capability in time of peace, crisis, and war, the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Defense shall give priority to the following categories of vessels in the following order:
Commercial United States-flagged vessels. United States Government owned and operated sealift vessels. Vessels documented by treaty allies. In moving through the order of priority under this section, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, shall determine the timing of moving through the categories of vessels in the order specified in subsection (a). The Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Defense may acquire ships documented by treaty allies or maintain and repair ships documented by treaty allies which meet the criteria for participation in the Maritime Security Program under chapter 531, the Cable Security Program under chapter 532, the Tanker Security Program under chapter 534, Ready Reserve Fleet, and the fleet under this chapter.
Not later than March 1, 2026, and every two years thereafter, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Transportation shall provide Congress an assessment on— the readiness and sufficiency of America’s maritime infrastructure, shipping industry, shipbuilding industry, and United States-flagged, owned, and operated fleets to meet strategic sealift requirements and operate in a contested environment; the vulnerability of the United States’ economy to coercion or control from our nation’s strategic competitors through ocean-going trades; the vulnerability of critical infrastructure in the United States maritime transportation system, including ports, shipyards, repair yards, inland waterways, and the domestic fleet, and foreign investment in maritime infrastructure; and how to de-risk the maritime transportation system for such vulnerabilities.
Not later than March 1, 2026, and every two years thereafter, the Secretary of Transportation shall provide Congress an assessment on— existing arrangements and agreements with treaty allies for access to the global maritime transportation infrastructure such as ports, harbors, and waterways; and existing assurances, arrangements, and agreements with treaty allies to augment United States sealift capabilities in times of crisis and war. In this chapter, the term treaty allies means nations with whom the United States has entered into mutual defense treaties. .
Not later than March 1, 2025, the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, shall provide to Congress an evaluation of the status of treaty allies (as such term is defined in section 57705 of title 46, United States Code) sealift assurances, including an assessment of international agreements to meet wartime sealift requirements of such allies and augment United States sealift requirements during peace, crisis, and war, and recommendations for updating such agreements to reflect the global security environment.
Not later than March 1, 2025,the Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Defense shall brief Congress on the capacity of the United States shipbuilding industry to meet the requirements to build, maintain, and repair the strategic sealift fleet described under chapter 577 of title 46, United States Code. In briefing Congress under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Defense shall include an assessment and recommendations for improving the critical shipbuilding infrastructure, workforce recruitment, development, and retention, and critical supply chains and critical repair parts of the United States, including ways in which treaty allies (as such term is defined in section 57705 of title 46, United States Code) can contribute.
Not later than March 1, 2025, the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, shall brief Congress on available options for establishing privileges for the United States-owned and United States-documented commercial fleet participating in the international ocean-based trading market that will sustain and significantly grow the United States-flagged fleet. In briefing Congress under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall provide recommendations for and potential incentives, for civil, commercial, and government entities, including treaty allies (as such term is defined in section 57705 of title 46, United States Code), to ship goods on the United States-flagged fleet.
Not later than March 1, 2025, the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall submit to Congress a report that includes ways to ensure the sealift fleet under chapter 577 of title 46, United States Code, is privileged in regulation, fees, and policy compared to foreign vessels conducting trade with a United States domiciled entity, while remaining consistent with the international obligations of the United States.
In submitting the report under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Transportation shall include options for regulating foreign flagged shipping trade with the United States in order to sustain and grow the Maritime Security Program, Tanker Security Program, and other commercial United States-flagged ships that comprise the sealift fleet under chapter 577 of title 46, United States Code. Not later than March 1, 2025, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on requirements to maintain, improve, or grow the Maritime Security Program, Tanker Security Program, Ready Reserve Force, and the sealift fleet under chapter 577 of title 46, United States Code, over the decade following the date of enactment of this Act.
The report under subparagraph
(A)shall include a plan for making the Ready Reserve Force active in international trade through a public-private partnership that enables financing, building, manning, operating, maintaining, and repairing the program vessels, while guaranteeing assured effective control in times of crisis or war. The analysis for subtitle V of title 46, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to chapter 575 the following: 577. Strategic Sealift 57701 .
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