IB 

Union Calendar No. 644 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6140 

[Report No. 118–779] 

To facilitate access to swiftly transport goods during a publicly announced 

state of emergency situation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 1, 2023 

Mr. EZELL (for himself, Mr. GARAMENDI, and Mr. BALDERSON) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure 

NOVEMBER 26, 2024 

Additional sponsors: Mr. CARSON, Mr. EDWARDS, Mrs. GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N, 

Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, and Mr. LAWLER

NOVEMBER 26, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on November 1, 2023] 


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•HR 6140 RH

A BILL 

To facilitate access to swiftly transport goods during a 

publicly announced state of emergency situation. 


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•HR 6140 RH

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 ‘‘Facilitating Access to 

5 Swiftly Transport Goods during a Publicly Announced 

6 State of Emergency Situation Act’’ or the ‘‘FAST PASS 

7 Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. STUDY ON CRITICAL CARGO. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

10 of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Transportation 

11 shall initiate a study to examine— 

12 (1) efforts to expedite the movement of critical 

13 cargo through ports and marine terminals; and 

14 (2) methodologies, practices, and processes for 

15 moving such cargo during an event for which an 

16 emergency is declared by the President or a Federal 

17 agency. 

18 (b) CONTENTS.—In conducting the study under sub19 section (a), the Secretary shall examine methodologies, 

20 practices, and processes for— 

21 (1) identifying critical cargo and expediting the 

22 movement of such cargo through the marine terminals 

23 and ports; 


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1 (2) expediting the movement of critical cargo 

2 across all modes of transportation after leaving ma3 rine terminals and ports; and 

4 (3) mitigating the impact on the movement of 

5 other cargo that is not critical. 

6 (c) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study under 

7 subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with— 

8 (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Serv9 ices; and 

10 (2) other relevant Federal agencies. 

11 (d) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall 

12 issue a request for information in the Federal Register seek13 ing public comment on the matters to be considered in the 

14 study required under subsection (a). 

15 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date of 

16 enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the 

17 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

18 House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

19 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report con20 taining— 

21 (1) the findings of the study conducted under 

22 subsection (a); and 

23 (2) recommendations for methodologies, prac24 tices, and processes described in such subsection, in25 cluding recommendations for using data from comVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Nov 26, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6140.RH H6140

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1 mercial and government data tracking initiatives 

2 to— 

3 (A) determine when cargo is critical and 

4 needs to be expedited; 

5 (B) identify such critical cargo at port and 

6 marine terminals; and 

7 (C) expedite the movement and distribution 

8 of such cargo to end users. 

9 SEC. 3. PILOT PROGRAM. 

10 (a) VOLUNTARY PILOT PROGRAMS.—In conducting the 

11 study required under section 2, the Secretary may establish 

12 1 or more voluntary pilot programs to test the effectiveness 

13 of methodologies, practices, and processes for expediting the 

14 movement of critical cargo through ports and marine termi15 nals. 

16 (b) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary may only establish 

17 a pilot program under subsection (a) if the Secretary deter18 mines that the pilot program does not— 

19 (1) allow for the purchase of any fully auto20 mated cargo handling equipment that is remotely op21 erated or remotely monitored with or without the ex22 ercise of human intervention or control; or 

23 (2) result in a net loss of jobs within a port or 

24 port terminal. 


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1 SEC. 4. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

2 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to interfere with 

3 or supersede any port labor agreements. 


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Union Calendar No. 644 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6140 

[Report No. 118–779] 

A BILL 

To facilitate access to swiftly transport goods duration. ing a publicly announced state of emergency situNOVEMBER 26, 2024 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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