I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8515 

To promote and recruit the United States maritime industry workforce, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2024 

Mr. WALTZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Space, 

and Technology, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To promote and recruit the United States maritime industry 

workforce, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Maritime Advantage 

5 Results In National Economic Resiliency and Security 

6 Act’’ or the ‘‘MARINERS Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Strategic sealift, made up of civilian, Gov2 ernment, and commercial vessels and mariners, is a 

3 critical capability for executing our country’s mari4 time defense strategy and wartime and peacetime 

5 economy. 

6 (2) Ensuring a modern and ready capability 

7 will require significant investment, policy 

8 prioritization, and the innovation of the American 

9 people. 

10 (3) The United States Government must take 

11 all measures necessary to ensure that sufficient mili12 tary, civil, and commercial resources will be available 

13 with assured access to meet defense deployment and 

14 essential economic activities for our nation in times 

15 of crisis, war, or peace. 

16 (4) The United States must be prepared to re17 spond unilaterally to national security threats and 

18 understand and plan for contingencies in which trea19 ty allies of the United States must support and aug20 ment United States sealift. 

21 (5) Maintaining the capacity to conduct sealift 

22 is vital to national security and the American way of 

23 life. 

24 (6) A United States-flag commercial shipping 

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1 mestic and international trade and civil fleets par2 ticipating in the United States peacetime economy 

3 underwrite American security and survival in times 

4 of crisis and war. 

5 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

6 The purpose of this Act is to— 

7 (1) address the shortage of workers in the mar8 itime sector and stimulate growth in the United 

9 States merchant marine and shipbuilding industries 

10 by providing funding for a comprehensive marketing, 

11 recruiting, and public relations campaign. Expand12 ing and nurturing a robust maritime workforce en13 hances United States national security and strategic 

14 sealift readiness; and 

15 (2) create a more favorable domestic and global 

16 maritime environment for United States-flagged 

17 shipping, shipbuilding, maritime logistics, maritime 

18 workforce, and naval power, contributing to assured 

19 access to the world’s oceans free from coercion from 

20 strategic competitors. 

21 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHING NATIONAL OVERSIGHT. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the President shall appoint 

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1 tional maritime affairs and policy, including maintaining 

2 and updating the National Maritime Strategy. 

3 (b) DUTIES.—The Special Adviser appointed under 

4 subsection (a) shall serve as the Chairman of a National 

5 Maritime Council, that will be responsible to monitor, re6 port, and advocate for implementation of the National 

7 Maritime Strategy. 

8 SEC. 5. STRATEGY ON DEVELOPMENT OF NAVAL REARM AT 

9 SEA CAPABILITY. 

10 (a) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

12 of Navy shall submit to the congressional defense commit13 tees a strategy for delivering a rearm at sea capability to 

14 the surface fleet of the United States Navy. Such strategy 

15 shall include each of the following: 

16 (1) A plan to develop, by not later than three 

17 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

18 capability to employ transportable rearming mecha19 nism equipment to load missile canisters into MK 41 

20 vertical launch system cells on Navy destroyers oper21 ating, including an identification of the current and 

22 planned investments of the Navy in technology de23 velopment to achieve such capability, including the 

24 anticipated cost and schedule for such investments. 


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1 (2) A plan for the key milestone events and as2 sociated dates in the development of such capability. 

3 (3) A plan to coordinate with allies of the 

4 United States that use variants of the United States 

5 manufactured MK 41 vertical launch system to 

6 jointly procure rearm at sea capabilities. 

7 (4) An identification of any courses of action 

8 the Secretary is considering other than the plans re9 ferred to in paragraphs (1) through (2) to address 

10 the gap between the rearm at sea capabilities of the 

11 United States and the capabilities of other countries, 

12 including the use of uncrewed technologies. 

13 (5) Such other matters as the Secretary deter14 mines appropriate. 

15 (b) BRIEFING.— Not later than 90 days after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 

17 Navy shall provide to the congressional defense commit18 tees a written briefing on the development of the strategy 

19 required under (a). 

20 SEC. 6. VESSELS CONSTRUCTED WITH CONSTRUCTION-DIF21 FERENTIAL. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part E of subtitle V of title 46, 

23 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

24 following: 

‘‘CHAPTER 567—USE OF CONSTRUCTION-DIFFERENTIAL VESSELS


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‘‘Sec. 

‘‘56701. Vessels constructed with construction-differential. 

1 ‘‘§ 56701. Vessels constructed with construction-dif2 ferential 

3 ‘‘(a) READY RESERVE FORCE.—The Secretary of 

4 Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of the 

5 Navy, shall assign any vessel that is constructed after the 

6 date of enactment of this section with a construction-dif7 ferential under title V of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 

8 (46 App. U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) to the Ready Reserve Force 

9 component of the National Defense Reserve Fleet. 

10 ‘‘(b) VESSEL CONSTRUCTION MANAGER.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall seek to 

12 enter into an agreement with a vessel construction 

13 manager under which the vessel construction man14 ager shall act as the agent for managing construc15 tion of the vessel that is the subject of a contract 

16 of sale between a purchaser and the Secretary of 

17 Transportation entered into under section 502(a) of 

18 the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 App. U.S.C. 

19 1152(a)) after the date of enactment of this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall re21 quire that a vessel construction manager described 

22 in paragraph (1) ensures that vessels are built using 

23 commercial standards, are militarily useful, and are 


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1 built using mature, proven, and repeatable design 

2 concepts. 

3 ‘‘(c) CONDITION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The owner of any vessel 

5 that is constructed after the date of enactment of 

6 this section with a construction differential under 

7 title V of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 App. 

8 U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) and that is assigned as a 

9 Ready Reserve Force vessel under subsection (a) 

10 shall agree to provide effective control of such vessel 

11 to the United States during— 

12 ‘‘(A) a national emergency declared by 

13 Presidential proclamation; or 

14 ‘‘(B) a period for which the President has 

15 proclaimed that the security of the national de16 fense makes it advisable. 

17 ‘‘(2) COMPENSATION.—During a period de18 scribed in paragraph (1), the owner of a vessel de19 scribed in such paragraph shall be compensated for 

20 the use of the vessel by the United States at the rate 

21 the Secretary considers just compensation for the 

22 use of the vessel.’’. 

23 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters 

24 for subtitle V of title 46, United States Code is amended 


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1 by inserting after the item related to chapter 565 the fol2 lowing: 

‘‘567. Use of Construction-Differential Vessels ....................................... 56701’’. 

3 SEC. 7. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

4 (a) CONSTRUCTION-DIFFERENTIAL.—Title V of the 

5 Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 App. U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) in the heading for the title by striking 

8 ‘‘SUBSIDY’’; 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘subsidy’’ each place it appears; 

10 (3) in section 501(a) by striking ‘‘construction11 differential subsidies’’ and inserting ‘‘construction12 differentials’’ 

13 (b) FOREIGN COMMERCE OR TRADE.—Section 109 of 

14 title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

15 (1) in the heading for subsection (b) by striking 

16 ‘‘construction-differential subsidies’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘construction-differentials’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘construction19 differential subsidies’’ and inserting ‘‘construction20 differentials’’. 

21 (c) VESSEL OPERATIONS REVOLVING FUND.—Sec22 tion 50301(e)(3) of title 46, United States Code, is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘subsidy’’. 


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1 (d) DEFINITION OF NEW VESSEL.—Section 

2 53301(a)(2)(A)(i) of title 46, United States Code, is 

3 amended by striking ‘‘subsidy’’. 

4 (e) OBLIGATION OF DEPOSITS AND PERIOD FOR

5 CONSTRUCTION OF CERTAIN VESSELS.—Section 

6 53310(b) of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 

7 striking ‘‘subsidy’’. 

8 (f) DEFINITION OF UNITED STATES FOREIGN

9 TRADE.—Section 53501(8) of title 46, United States 

10 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘subsidy’’. 

11 (g) ELIGIBLE PURPOSES OF OBLIGATIONS.—Section 

12 53706(a)(4) of title 46, United States Code, is amended 

13 by striking ‘‘subsidy’’. 

14 (h) AMOUNT OF OBLIGATIONS.—Section 53709(b)(2) 

15 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking 

16 ‘‘subsidy’’ each place it appears. 

17 (i) COMPENSATION.—Section 56303(c) of title 46, 

18 United States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) in the subsection heading by striking ‘‘SUB20 SIDY’’; and 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘subsidy’’ each place it appears. 

22 (j) TYPES OF ADJUSTMENTS AND ARRANGE23 MENTS.—Section 56503(a)(1) of title 46, United States 

24 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘operating-differential or 


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1 construction-differential subsidy’’ and inserting ‘‘oper2 ating-differential subsidy or construction-differential’’. 

3 (k) ACQUISITION OF VESSELS FOR ESSENTIAL SERV4 ICES, ROUTES, OR LINES.—Section 57105(b) of title 46, 

5 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘subsidy’’. 

6 (l) CONSTRUCTION, RECONDITIONING, AND REMOD7 ELING OF VESSELS.—Section 57502(c) of title 46, United 

8 States Code, is amended in the subsection heading by 

9 striking ‘‘SUBSIDY’’. 

10 SEC. 8. REPORTS. 

11 (a) REPORT ON NATIONAL DEFENSE RESERVE

12 FLEET.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enact13 ment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Sec14 retary of Transportation, in consultation with the Com15 mander of United States Transportation Command and 

16 the Secretary of the Navy, shall submit to the Committee 

17 on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

18 Representatives and the subcommittees on Readiness and 

19 Seapower and Projection Forces of the Committee on 

20 Armed Services of the House of Representatives a re21 port— 

22 (1) outlining a plan for using the construction23 differential authorized under title V of the Merchant 

24 Marine Act, 1936 (46 App. U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) to 

25 supplement the size and readiness of the National 


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1 Defense Reserve Fleet and to improve national ship2 building and shipping infrastructure; and 

3 (2) describing ways in which an expanded and 

4 creative view of the make-up of the Ready Reserve 

5 Force component of the National Defense Reserve 

6 Fleet and the construction-differential authorized 

7 under title V of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936 (46 

8 App. U.S.C. 1151 et seq.) can be used to ensure 

9 Government access to other vessels that are critical 

10 to national security, such as icebreakers, oil and nat11 ural gas tankers, and commercial shipping vessels 

12 using small nuclear reactors. 

13 (b) REPORT ON INCENTIVES TO SHIPPING COMPA14 NIES.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enact15 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit 

16 to the Committees on Armed Services, Energy and Com17 merce, and Transportation of the House of Representa18 tives and the Committees on Armed Services and Com19 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report 

20 outlining how current provisions of law may be applied to 

21 incentivize shipping companies to contract with the owners 

22 of vessels described in section 56701 of title 46, United 

23 States Code (as added by this Act), for the shipment of 

24 goods. 


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1 (c) REPORT ON DE-RISKING MARITIME SECTOR.— 

2 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

3 this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary of 

4 Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in co5 ordination with the Secretaries of Treasury, Defense, and 

6 State and the United States Trade Representative and the 

7 Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall 

8 submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report 

9 outlining a comprehensive strategy for de-risking the 

10 United States maritime domain from the People’s Repub11 lic of China and other asymmetric or emerging maritime 

12 threats. 

13 (d) REPORT ON RESTRICTING FLOW OF CAPITAL TO

14 CCP.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enact15 ment of this Act, the heads of all Federal agencies shall 

16 submit to Congress a report on ways and means for re17 stricting the flow of capital from the United States to Chi18 nese Communist Party maritime industries, which shall 

19 include recommendations for promoting the flow of capital 

20 within and between the United States and treaty allies of 

21 the United States. 

22 (e) REPORT ON TAX BREAKS.—Not later than 180 

23 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

24 of Commerce shall submit to Congress, and publish in the 

25 Federal Register, a report describing, to incentivize the 


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1 use of United States-flagged ships and United States 

2 ports, any potential— 

3 (1) income tax breaks to merchant mariners 

4 and shipyard support workers; 

5 (2) corporate tax expense exemptions for 

6 United States companies who ship goods on United 

7 States-flagged vessels; 

8 (3) modifying import and export duties to ac9 count for inflation and global market conditions; 

10 (4) waiving the ad valorum tax for international 

11 trade ships repaired overseas; 

12 (5) standardization of burden sharing agree13 ments to mitigate the cost of merchant mariner pay; 

14 and 

15 (6) other rule change that enhances economic 

16 and national security. 

17 SEC. 9. PRIVILEGING UNITED STATES-FLAGGED FLEET. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the heads of each Federal 

20 agency with jurisdiction over maritime shipping and re21 lated shipyard workforces shall study privileging the 

22 United States-flagged fleet engaged in international trade 

23 and incentivizing United States entities to ship goods 

24 using a United States-flagged carrier and maintain and 

25 repair vessels in a United States or treaty allied shipyard. 


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1 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—After a study is completed 

2 under subsection (a), the head of the respective Federal 

3 agency shall take such actions as are necessary to imple4 ment any recommendations under the study. 

5 (c) REPORT.—After implementing recommendations 

6 under subsection (b), the heads of each Federal agency 

7 shall submit to Congress a report— 

8 (1) describing any rules that have been amend9 ed to carry out this section; and 

10 (2) requesting additional authorities not already 

11 granted that are needed to carry out privileging the 

12 United States-flagged fleet described in subsection 

13 (a). 

14 (d) MARITIME TRUST FUND STUDY.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Commerce 

16 and the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation 

17 with the United States Trade Representative, shall 

18 study the creation of a Maritime Trust Fund and 

19 propose options for resourcing such Fund through 

20 new import and export fees that favor United 

21 States-flagged shipping. 

22 (2) CONTENT.—In carrying out the study 

23 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Commerce 

24 and the Secretary of Transportation shall propose a 

25 structure for the Fund that is designated to fund 


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1 Federal support to shipbuilding, shipping, and mari2 time workforce programs authorized by Congress. 

3 SEC. 10. CARGO PREFERENCES. 

4 Section 55305 of title 46, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘50’’ and in7 serting ‘‘75’’; 

8 (2) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(d) WAIVERS.—Notwithstanding any other provi11 sion of law, when the President, the Secretary of Defense, 

12 or the Secretary of Transportation declares the existence 

13 of an emergency justifying a temporary waiver of this sec14 tion or section 55314, the President, the Secretary of De15 fense, or the Secretary of Transportation, following a de16 termination by the Maritime Administrator, acting in the 

17 Administrator’s capacity as Director, National Shipping 

18 Authority, of the non-availability of qualified United 

19 States flag capacity at fair and reasonable rates for com20 mercial vessels of the United States to meet the require21 ments of this section or section 55314, may waive compli22 ance with such section to the extent, in the manner, and 

23 on the terms the Maritime Administrator, acting in such 

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1 ments of this section or section 55314 shall be author2 ized.’’. 

3 SEC. 11. PAYMENTS FOR MARITIME SECURITY PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 53106 of title 46, United 

5 States Code, is amended— 

6 (1) in subparagraph (B) by adding ‘‘and’’ at 

7 the end; and 

8 (2) by striking subparagraphs (C) through (F) 

9 and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(C) $8,500,000 for each of fiscal years 

11 2024 through 2035.’’. 

12 (b) MARITIME SECURITY FLEET.— 

13 (1) TEST.—Not later than 180 days after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Commander of 

15 the United States Transportation Command, in co16 ordination with the Secretary of the Navy and the 

17 Administrator of the Maritime Administration, shall 

18 devise an exercise to test the effective control of the 

19 Maritime Security Fleet under chapter 531 of title 

20 46, United States Code, in case of crisis or war. 

21 (2) BRIEFING.—After completion of the exer22 cise under paragraph (1), the Commander shall sub23 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 

24 briefing on the results of the exercise under para25 graph (1). 


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1 (3) BI-ANNUAL TESTING.—Beginning not later 

2 than 1 year after the briefing is submitted under 

3 paragraph (2), the Commander shall— 

4 (A) biannually drill the Maritime Security 

5 Fleet under chapter 531 of title 46, United 

6 States Code, to test effective control of such 

7 Fleet; and 

8 (B) provide to Congress a briefing after 

9 each such drill on the results of such drill. 

10 SEC. 12. INNOVATION INCUBATOR PROGRAM. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries of Defense, En12 ergy, and Transportation shall foster an innovation incu13 bator program for developing small nuclear reactor tech14 nology to extend the range and endurance of maritime ves15 sels. 

16 (b) BRIEFING.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Sec18 retaries shall provide an annual briefing to the appropriate 

19 committees of Congress on the progress of the program 

20 established under subsection (a). 

21 (c) FUNDING.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section, 

23 the Secretaries shall seek funding for the program 

24 through the President’s Budget each year, as well as 

25 existing appropriations for renewable energy from 


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1 the Department of Energy and the Infrastructure 

2 Reduction Act. 

3 (2) PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.—To the 

4 extent possible, the Secretaries shall seek to create 

5 public-private partnerships for program investment 

6 burden sharing. 

7 SEC. 13. ASSESSMENT ON MARINE INFRASTRUCTURE 

8 READINESS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

11 Maritime Administration shall submit to Congress a re12 port on the status and resources needed to execute and 

13 complete the necessary port, shipyard, and other infra14 structure reports to support the attainment of finance ar15 rangements for public and private improvement projects 

16 meeting the standard of the private and public financial 

17 sectors and banks and the Department of Commerce and 

18 the Treasury. 

19 (b) CONTENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 

20 shall include— 

21 (1) policy, resource, rulemaking, and authority 

22 changes that will strengthen United States ship23 building, shipping, port and shipyard infrastructure, 

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1 nomic and national security interests of the United 

2 States; and 

3 (2) recommendations for how to employ mari4 time prosperity zones, by facilitating the creation of 

5 Federal, State, or local special economic zones or 

6 other capital funding package, to be focused on dis7 tinct geographic regions that are undeveloped, un8 derdeveloped, or developing, including explaining the 

9 sort of financial, regulation, taxation, or other incen10 tives within such zones that would accelerate work11 force development, streamline the development of 

12 new shipbuilding capacity, and modernize a des13 ignated shipyard, port, or other facility or locations 

14 in order to support the maritime workforce, United 

15 States-flagged international fleet, shipbuilding, and 

16 trade related maritime facilities, such as ports. 

17 SEC. 14. CONTRACTING. 

18 The Administrator of the Maritime Administration 

19 shall, through a competitive bidding process, contract with 

20 a reputable marketing, recruiting, and public relations 

21 firm to develop and deploy branding, content, advertising 

22 buys, and local and national engagement strategies to im23 plement the campaigns described in section 3. 


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1 SEC. 15. CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES. 

2 The campaigns described in section 3 shall focus on 

3 the following objectives: 

4 (1) Emphasize the importance of maritime work 

5 for national security. 

6 (2) Showcase the numerous opportunities avail7 able in the maritime domain. 

8 (3) Highlight the shortage of workers in the 

9 maritime sector. 

10 (4) Promote the excitement, benefits, and ap11 peal of a career in the maritime industry. 

12 (5) Inform potential workers of the points of 

13 entry available to join and receive training for such 

14 employment, including— 

15 (A) the United States Merchant Marine 

16 Academy; 

17 (B) State and regional maritime academies 

18 described in chapter 515 of title 46, United 

19 States Code; 

20 (C) merchant mariner and shipbuilding 

21 labor union training facilities; 

22 (D) merchant mariner and shipbuilding 

23 apprenticeship programs approved by the Sec24 retary of Labor; and 

25 (E) shipbuilding industry training pro26 grams. 


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1 (6) Inform potential workers of sources of fi2 nancial assistance for training for individuals inter3 ested in joining such industry. 

4 (7) Attract workers to the United States mer5 chant marine and shipbuilding sectors. 

6 SEC. 16. TARGET AUDIENCE. 

7 In carrying out the campaigns under this Act, to 

8 raise awareness about the importance of the merchant ma9 rine and shipbuilding sectors, the firm selected under sec10 tion 14 shall target a diverse audience, including— 

11 (1) potential workers interested in maritime ca12 reers; 

13 (2) educational institutions and the students of 

14 such institutions considering vocational training in 

15 maritime fields; 

16 (3) military veterans and individuals seeking ca17 reer transitions; and 

18 (4) the general public. 

19 SEC. 17. REPORTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 

20 (a) QUARTERLY REPORT.—Not later than 30 days 

21 after the end of each quarter of each fiscal year during 

22 the campaigns carried out under this Act, the firm se23 lected under section 4 shall submit to the Administrator 

24 of the Maritime Administration and the relevant congres25 sional committees quarterly reports detailing the progress, 


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1 outreach, and impact of the campaigns, and their effec2 tiveness in increasing applications for employment in the 

3 United States merchant marine and shipbuilding sectors. 

4 (b) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after 

5 the conclusion of the campaigns carried out under this 

6 Act, the firm selected under section 14 shall submit to 

7 the Administrator of the Maritime Administration and the 

8 relevant congressional committees a comprehensive final 

9 report. 

10 SEC. 18. SEALIFT CAPABILITY. 

11 (a) TITLE 46.—Title 46, United States Code, is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER IX—STRATEGIC SEALIFT 

‘‘90101. Objectives and policy. 

‘‘90102. Procurement, maintenance, and operation. 

‘‘90103. Sealift prioritization. 

‘‘90104. Interaction with programs. 

‘‘90105. International agreements. 

‘‘90106. Briefing on shipbuilding capacity. 

‘‘90107. Briefing on privileging fleet. 

‘‘90108. Report on privilege. 

‘‘90109. Report on requirements for sealift force deployment. 

‘‘90110. Report on domestic build requirements. 

‘‘90111. Assessment on marine infrastructure readiness. 

14 ‘‘§ 90101. Objectives and policy 

15 ‘‘(a) OBJECTIVES.—It is necessary for the national 

16 defense and the development of the domestic and foreign 

17 commerce of the United States that the United States 

18 have a United States-flag strategic sealift— 


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1 ‘‘(1) sufficient to meet defense deployment and 

2 essential economic activities for the United States in 

3 times of crisis or war; 

4 ‘‘(2) sufficient to respond unilaterally to na5 tional security threats and ensure economic security 

6 resilience for the Nation’s trade; and 

7 ‘‘(3) built, operated, and maintained during 

8 peace, crisis, and war primarily in the United States 

9 to protect and ensure national security resiliency 

10 and avoid foreign coercion of critical supply chains. 

11 ‘‘(b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States 

12 to encourage and aid the development and maintenance 

13 of a strategic sealift satisfying the objectives described in 

14 subsection (a). 

15 ‘‘§ 90102. Procurement, maintenance, and operation 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

17 and the Secretary of Defense shall build, acquire, main18 tain, coordinate, support, and operate a sufficient and 

19 privileged civil, commercial, and military sealift capability. 

20 ‘‘(b) SUPPLEMENTAL CAPABILITY.—In establishing 

21 sealift capability under this subtitle, the Secretary of 

22 Transportation and Secretary of Defense shall continue to 

23 operate a sufficient Maritime Security Program, Tanker 

24 Security Program, Military Sealift Command, and Ready 

25 Reserve Force to provide capacity and resiliency for uniVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:55 Jul 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8515.IH H8515

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1 lateral United States strategic sealift in peace, crisis, and 

2 war. 

3 ‘‘§ 90103. Sealift prioritization 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In maintaining, coordinating, 

5 supporting, and operating sealift capability under this sub6 title, prioritization for sealift capability under this subtitle 

7 during wartime and crisis shall be in the following order: 

8 ‘‘(1) Commercial United States-flagged vessels. 

9 ‘‘(2) United States Government owned and op10 erated sealift vessels. 

11 ‘‘(3) Treaty allied flagged vessels. 

12 ‘‘(4) Partner state flagged shipping vessels. 

13 ‘‘(b) PRIORITIZATION.—In moving through the order 

14 of priority under this section, the Secretary of Defense 

15 shall determine the timing of moving through such pri16 ority. 

17 ‘‘§ 90104. Interaction with programs 

18 ‘‘The Secretaries of Transportation and Defense may 

19 acquire, maintain, and repair ships from treaty allies 

20 using best practices to be transportable between the Mari21 time Security Program, Tanker Security Program, Ready 

22 Reserve Fleet, and the fleet under this subtitle. 

23 ‘‘§ 90105. International agreements 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In maintaining, coordinating, 

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1 title, the Department of State shall lead an interagency 

2 effort to establish and update agreements with treaty al3 lies of the United States and partners to meet wartime 

4 sealift requirements of such allies and partners and aug5 ment United States sealift requirements during crisis and 

6 war. 

7 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than March 1, 2025, the 

8 Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of 

9 Defense, shall provide to Congress an evaluation of the 

10 status of treaty allies sealift assurances under subsection 

11 (a), including an assessment of international agreements 

12 described in such subsection and recommendations for up13 dating such agreements to reflect the global security envi14 ronment. 

15 ‘‘§ 90106. Briefing on shipbuilding capacity 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 1, 2025, 

17 the Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Defense 

18 shall brief Congress on the capacity of the United States 

19 shipbuilding industry to meet the requirements to build, 

20 maintain, and repair the strategic sealift fleet described 

21 under this subtitle. 

22 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—In briefing Congress under sub23 section (a), the Secretary of Transportation and Secretary 

24 of Defense shall include an assessment and recommenda25 tions for improving the critical shipbuilding infrastructure, 


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1 workforce recruitment, development and retention, and 

2 critical supply chains and critical repair parts of the 

3 United States, including ways in which allies and partners 

4 can contribute. 

5 ‘‘§ 90107. Briefing on privileging fleet 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 1, 2025, 

7 the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the 

8 Secretaries of Homeland Security and Commerce and the 

9 Federal Maritime Commission, shall brief Congress on 

10 available options for establishing privileges for the United 

11 States-owned commercial fleet participating in the inter12 national ocean-based trading market that will sustain and 

13 significantly grow the United States-flagged fleet. 

14 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—In briefing Congress under sub15 section (a), the Secretary shall provide recommendations 

16 for and potential incentives, including a wide spectrum of 

17 tax and credit incentives, for civil, commercial, and gov18 ernment entities, including allies and partners, to ship 

19 goods on United States-flag fleet. 

20 ‘‘§ 90108. Report on privilege 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 1, 2025, 

22 the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the 

23 Secretary of Commerce and the Director of the Office of 

24 Management and Budget, shall submit to Congress a re25 port including ways to ensure the sealift fleet under this 


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1 subtitle is privileged in regulation, taxation, fees, and pol2 icy compared to foreign vessels conducting trade with a 

3 United States domiciled entity, while remaining consistent 

4 with the international obligations of the United States. 

5 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—In submitting the report under 

6 subsection (a), the Secretary of Transportation shall in7 clude options for regulating foreign flagged shipping trade 

8 with the United States in order to sustain and grow the 

9 Maritime Security Program, Tanker Security Program, 

10 and other commercial United States-flag ships that com11 prise the sealift fleet under this subtitle. 

12 ‘‘§ 90109. Report on requirements for sealift force de13 ployment 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 1, 2025, 

15 the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report 

16 on requirements to maintain, improve, or grow the Mari17 time Security Program, Tanker Security Program, and 

18 Ready Reserve Force, the sealift fleet under this subtitle 

19 over the decade following the date of enactment of this 

20 section. 

21 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 

22 shall include a plan for making the Ready Reserve Force 

23 active in international trade through a public-private part24 nership that enables financing, building, manning, oper25 ating, maintaining, and repairing the program vessels, 


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1 while guaranteeing assured effective control in times of 

2 crisis or war. 

3 ‘‘§ 90110. Report on domestic build requirements 

4 ‘‘Not later than March 1, 2025, the Secretary of 

5 Transportation shall submit to Congress a report that in6 cludes a plan to fund and phase in a domestic build re7 quirement for the Maritime Security Program, Tanker Se8 curity Program, Ready Reserve Fleet, and the sealift fleet 

9 under this section, considering the full range of domestic 

10 and treaty Ally civil, commercial, and government partner 

11 arrangements and resource sharing. 

12 ‘‘§ 90111. Assessment on marine infrastructure readi13 ness 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than March 1, 2026, 

15 and every two years thereafter, the Secretaries of Defense, 

16 Homeland Security, Commerce, and Transportation shall 

17 provide Congress an assessment on— 

18 ‘‘(1) the readiness and sufficiency of America’s 

19 marine infrastructure, shipping industry, ship20 building industry, and United States-flagged, owned, 

21 and operated fleets to meet strategic sealift require22 ments and operate in a contested environment; 

23 ‘‘(2) the vulnerability of the United States’ 

24 economy to coercion or control from our nation’s 


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1 strategic competitors through the ocean-going 

2 trades; and 

3 ‘‘(3) critical infrastructure vulnerabilities in 

4 America’s maritime transportation system, to in5 clude ports, shipyards, repair yards, inland water6 ways, and the domestic fleet, and foreign investment 

7 in maritime infrastructure, and how to de-risk the 

8 maritime sector for such vulnerabilities. 

9 ‘‘(b) SECRETARY OF STATE.—Not later than March 

10 1, 2026, and every two years thereafter, the Secretary of 

11 State shall provide Congress an assessment on— 

12 ‘‘(1) the current arrangements and agreements 

13 with treaty allies for access to the global maritime 

14 transportation infrastructure such as ports, harbors, 

15 and waterways; and 

16 ‘‘(2) the current assurances, arrangements, and 

17 agreements with Treaty allies to augment United 

18 States sealift capabilities in times of crisis and 

19 war.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for Title 

21 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

22 the following: 

‘‘IX. Strategic Sealift 90101’’. 

23 SEC. 19. ASSISTANCE FOR SMALL SHIPYARDS. 

24 Section 54101(i) of title 46, United States Code, is 

25 amended by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2021 to carry out this 


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1 section $20,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2025 to 

2 carry out this section $100,000,000’’. 

3 SEC. 20. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR MARI4 TIME ADMINISTRATION. 

5 There are authorized to be appropriated to the De6 partment of Transportation for fiscal years 2025 through 

7 2035 the following amounts: 

8 (1) $10,000,000 for a targeted campaign pro9 moting the virtues of work in the United States 

10 Merchant Marine for the purpose of sailing in inter11 national trade, including Military Sealift Command 

12 mariner positions, highlighting the critical need for 

13 skilled workers in this sector, and to attract workers 

14 to this sector. 

15 (2) $5,000,000 for a targeted campaign pro16 moting the virtues of work in the United States 

17 shipbuilding industry, highlighting the critical need 

18 for skilled workers in this sector, and to attract 

19 workers to this sector. 

20 SEC. 21. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR MARI21 TIME ADMINISTRATION. 

22 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Depart23 ment of Transportation for fiscal year 2024, for programs 

24 associated with maintaining the United States Merchant 

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1 gram authorized under chapter 537 of title 46, United 

2 States Code, $103,020,000, of which— 

3 (1) $100,000,000 may be for the cost (as such 

4 term is defined in section 502(5) of the Federal 

5 Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a(5)) of 

6 loan guarantees under the program; and 

7 (2) $3,020,000 may be used for administrative 

8 expenses relating to loan guarantee commitments 

9 under the program. 

10 SEC. 22. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

11 Not later than 1 year after the date on which 

12 amounts authorized under this Act are appropriated, the 

13 Administrator of the Maritime Administration shall com14 plete the action described in section 14. 

15 SEC. 23. SUNSET CLAUSE. 

16 Any unobligated amount authorized under this Act 

17 shall expire 3 years after the date on which such amount 

18 is appropriated. 

19 SEC. 24. DEFINITION. 

20 In this Act, the term ‘‘relevant congressional commit21 tees’’ means— 

22 (1) the Committee on Appropriations, the Com23 mittee on Armed Services, and the Committee on 

24 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

25 Representatives; and 


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1 (2) the Committee on Appropriations, the Com2 mittee on Armed Services, and the Committee on 

3 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen4 ate. 

Æ 


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