II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3807 

To address the supply chain backlog in the freight network at United States 

ports, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 10 (legislative day, MARCH 7), 2022 

Mr. LEE (for himself and Ms. LUMMIS) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To address the supply chain backlog in the freight network 

at United States ports, 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 ‘‘Stopping Hindrances 

5 to Invigorate Ports and Increase Trade Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘SHIP IT Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that the unprecedented 

9 supply chain backlog in the freight network of the United 

10 States is a national crisis that warrants congressional auVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Mar 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3807.IS S3807

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1 thorization of short-term Federal emergency actions to 

2 ameliorate that crisis. 

3 SEC. 3. ADDRESSING SUPPLY CHAIN CRISIS IN UNITED 

4 STATES. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis7 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

8 Motor Carrier Safety Administration. 

9 (2) COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE; DRIVER; 

10 MOTOR CARRIER.—The terms ‘‘commercial motor ve11 hicle’’, ‘‘driver’’, and ‘‘motor carrier’’ have the mean12 ings given those terms in section 390.5 of title 49, 

13 Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regula14 tion). 

15 (3) DIRECT ASSISTANCE TO A UNITED STATES

16 PORT.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘direct as18 sistance to a United States port’’ means the 

19 transportation of cargo directly to or from a 

20 United States port. 

21 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘direct as22 sistance to a United States port’’ does not in23 clude— 

24 (i) the transportation of a mixed load 

25 of cargo that includes— 


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1 (I) cargo that does not originate 

2 from a United States port; or 

3 (II) a container or cargo that is 

4 not bound for a United States port; 

5 (ii) any period during which a motor 

6 carrier or driver is operating in interstate 

7 commerce to transport cargo or provide 

8 services not in support of transportation to 

9 or from a United States port; or 

10 (iii) the period after a motor carrier 

11 dispatches the applicable driver or com12 mercial motor vehicle of the motor carrier 

13 to another location to begin operation in 

14 interstate commerce in a manner that is 

15 not in support of transportation to or from 

16 a United States port. 

17 (4) QUALIFIED APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘quali18 fied applicant’’ means a person that— 

19 (A) submits to the appropriate official an 

20 application for a waiver under this section; and 

21 (B) in the determination of that official, is 

22 eligible, in accordance with this section, to re23 ceive the waiver. 

24 (5) TEMPORARY WAIVER.—The term ‘‘tem25 porary waiver’’ means a waiver that expires on the 


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1 date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of 

2 this Act. 

3 (b) FMCSA TEMPORARY WAIVERS.— 

4 (1) TEMPORARY WAIVER OF CERTAIN REQUIRE5 MENTS.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 7 days 

7 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad8 ministrator shall issue to each qualified appli9 cant a temporary waiver that, subject to para10 graph (3), waives the requirements of parts 390 

11 through 399 of title 49, Code of Federal Regu12 lations (or successor regulations), with respect 

13 to commercial motor vehicle operations that are 

14 providing direct assistance to a United States 

15 port. 

16 (B) ELIGIBILITY.—An applicant is eligible 

17 for a temporary waiver under subparagraph (A) 

18 if the applicant is a motor carrier or driver that 

19 provides direct assistance to a United States 

20 port. 

21 (2) TEMPORARY WAIVER OF MINIMUM AGE RE22 QUIREMENT.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad25 ministrator shall issue to each qualified appliVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Mar 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3807.IS S3807

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1 cant a temporary waiver from the requirement 

2 of section 391.11(b)(1) of title 49, Code of Fed3 eral Regulations (or a successor regulation), for 

4 drivers that are at least 18 years old, subject to 

5 paragraph (3). 

6 (B) ELIGIBILITY.—An applicant is eligible 

7 for a temporary waiver under subparagraph (A) 

8 if the applicant— 

9 (i) is providing direct assistance to a 

10 United States port; or 

11 (ii) is directly assuming the commer12 cial motor vehicle operations of a driver 

13 who has been rerouted to a United States 

14 port to provide direct assistance to a 

15 United States port. 

16 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—A temporary waiver 

17 under paragraph (1) or (2) shall not exempt any 

18 motor carrier or driver from— 

19 (A) the hazardous materials regulations 

20 described in subchapters A through C of chap21 ter I of subtitle B of title 49, Code of Federal 

22 Regulations (or successor regulations); 

23 (B) the controlled substances and alcohol 

24 use and testing requirements described in part 

25 382 of that title (or successor regulations); 


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1 (C) except as provided in paragraph (2), 

2 the commercial driver’s license requirements de3 scribed in part 383 of that title (or successor 

4 regulations); 

5 (D) the financial responsibility (including 

6 insurance) requirements described in part 387 

7 of that title (or successor regulations); 

8 (E) the requirement that every commercial 

9 motor vehicle shall be operated in accordance 

10 with the laws, ordinances, and regulations of 

11 the jurisdiction in which the commercial motor 

12 vehicle is being operated, including any applica13 ble speed limits and other traffic restrictions, as 

14 described in the first sentence of section 392.2 

15 of that title (or a successor regulation); 

16 (F) the prohibition against operating a 

17 commercial motor vehicle while the ability of 

18 the driver is so impaired, or so likely to become 

19 impaired, through fatigue, illness, or any other 

20 cause as to make it unsafe for the driver to 

21 begin or continue to operate the commercial 

22 motor vehicle, as described in section 392.3 of 

23 that title (or a successor regulation); 


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1 (G) the prohibition against texting while 

2 driving described in section 392.80 of that title 

3 (or a successor regulation); 

4 (H) the prohibition against using a hand5 held mobile telephone while driving described in 

6 section 392.82 of that title (or a successor reg7 ulation); or 

8 (I) any applicable size or weight require9 ment. 

10 (4) DRIVER FATIGUE AND SAFETY.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—A motor carrier receiv12 ing a temporary waiver under paragraph (1) or 

13 (2) shall not allow or require a fatigued driver 

14 to operate a commercial motor vehicle. 

15 (B) REQUIREMENT.—For the period dur16 ing which a temporary waiver under paragraph 

17 (1) or (2) is in effect, a motor carrier described 

18 in subparagraph (A) that receives from a driver 

19 notification that the driver is in need of imme20 diate rest shall immediately provide the driver 

21 with not less than 10 consecutive hours of off22 duty time before the driver is required to return 

23 to service. 

24 (c) TRANSPORTATION WORKER IDENTIFICATION

25 CREDENTIALS.—The Administrator of the Transportation 


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1 Security Administration and the Commandant of the 

2 Coast Guard shall jointly prioritize and expedite the con3 sideration of applications for a Transportation Worker 

4 Identification Credential with respect to applicants, in5 cluding commercial drivers operating under a temporary 

6 waiver issued under subsection (b)(2), that reasonably 

7 demonstrate that the purpose of the Transportation Work8 er Identification Credential is for providing, within the in9 terior of the United States, direct assistance to a United 

10 States port. 

11 (d) TEMPORARY WAIVER OF JONES ACT REQUIRE12 MENTS FOR CERTAIN VESSELS TRANSPORTING CARGO.— 

13 (1) AUTHORITY.— 

14 (A) CERTIFICATE OF COASTWISE EN15 DORSEMENT.—Notwithstanding section 12112 

16 of title 46, United States Code, and any other 

17 requirement under chapter 121 of that title, the 

18 Secretary of the department in which the Coast 

19 Guard is operating (referred to in this sub20 section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) may issue a certifi21 cate of documentation with a coastwise endorse22 ment under that chapter in accordance with 

23 this subsection for a vessel, without regard to 

24 whether the vessel meets the requirements of 

25 section 12112 of that title, in any case in which 


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1 the person requesting the certificate reasonably 

2 demonstrates the endorsement (or the resulting 

3 exemption under subparagraph (B)) is for the 

4 purpose of— 

5 (i) transporting cargo from a United 

6 States port to another United States port 

7 in order to relieve any congestion, backlog, 

8 or delay at such a port; or 

9 (ii) engaging in operations that entail 

10 a ship-to-ship transfer of cargo from a ves11 sel anchored or located off the coast of the 

12 United States to another vessel that trans13 ports the cargo to a United States port 

14 (commonly known as ‘‘lightering oper15 ations’’). 

16 (B) EXEMPTION OF ADDITIONAL REQUIRE17 MENTS.—Notwithstanding section 55102 of 

18 title 46, United States Code, during the period 

19 beginning on the date of enactment of this Act 

20 and ending on the expiration date described in 

21 paragraph (3), that section shall not apply to 

22 any vessel that has been issued a certificate of 

23 documentation with a coastwise endorsement 

24 under subparagraph (A). 

25 (2) TIMING.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 48 

2 hours after receiving a request for a certificate 

3 of documentation with a coastwise endorsement 

4 under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall, as 

5 applicable— 

6 (i) issue the certificate with the en7 dorsement; or 

8 (ii)(I) provide to the person request9 ing the certificate a detailed description of 

10 the reasons for denying the certificate; and 

11 (II) publish the denial and description 

12 of reasons on the website of the depart13 ment in which the Coast Guard is oper14 ating. 

15 (B) AUTOMATIC ISSUANCE.—In any case 

16 in which the Secretary fails to comply with sub17 paragraph (A), a certificate of documentation 

18 with a coastwise endorsement for the applicable 

19 vessel shall be deemed to be issued under para20 graph (1)(A). 

21 (3) EXPIRATION.—The authority under this 

22 subsection, including any certificate of coastwise en23 dorsement authorized under this section, shall expire 

24 on the date that is 1 year after the date of enact25 ment of this Act. 


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1 (e) CONTAINER OVERFLOW STORAGE.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 days after 

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

4 Agriculture, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary 

5 of the Interior, the Secretary of Transportation, and 

6 the Administrator of General Services shall jointly 

7 consult with representatives of ocean carriers, ports, 

8 railroads, and trucking companies— 

9 (A) to identify plots of Federal land under 

10 the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture, 

11 the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the 

12 Interior, the Secretary of Transportation, or the 

13 Administrator of General Services that— 

14 (i) are located within a 150 air-mile 

15 radius of a United States port; and 

16 (ii) could temporarily be used as an 

17 overflow area for the storage and transfer 

18 of empty cargo containers in order to ease 

19 the congestion and backlog at United 

20 States ports; and 

21 (B) to designate not fewer than 2 plots of 

22 Federal land identified under subparagraph (A) 

23 for the use described in clause (ii) of that sub24 paragraph, subject to the conditions that— 


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1 (i) each specific plot so designated 

2 shall be not more than 500 acres; 

3 (ii) the stacking of containers shall be 

4 permitted at each specific plot so des5 ignated for a period of not more than 1 

6 year beginning on the date on which the 

7 designation of the plot is published in the 

8 Federal Register under paragraph (2); and 

9 (iii) containers shall not be stacked 

10 more than 6 high at any plot so des11 ignated. 

12 (2) PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REGISTER.— 

13 Each designation of a plot of Federal land under 

14 paragraph (1)(B) shall be published in the Federal 

15 Register. 

16 (3) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—The designa17 tion of a plot of Federal land under paragraph 

18 (1)(B) shall be categorically excluded from the re19 quirements of the National Environmental Policy 

20 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), subject to the 

21 condition that, prior to the designation of the plot, 

22 the applicable official described in paragraph (1)(A) 

23 having jurisdiction over the plot shall— 

24 (A) carefully consider the circumstances of 

25 the designation; and 


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1 (B) determine that no extraordinary cir2 cumstances warranting the preparation of an 

3 environmental assessment or an environmental 

4 impact statement exist. 

5 (4) TREATMENT.—A plot of Federal land des6 ignated under paragraph (1)(B) shall not, based on 

7 that designation, be considered to be a facility (as 

8 defined in section 70101 of title 46, United States 

9 Code) or a security zone (as defined in section 

10 70131 of that title) for purposes of— 

11 (A) chapter 701 of subtitle VII of that 

12 title; or 

13 (B) the Maritime Transportation Security 

14 Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–295; 116 Stat. 

15 2064) and the amendments made by that Act. 

16 (f) LOAN OF DOD INTERMODAL EQUIPMENT.— 

17 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

18 (A) INTERMODAL EQUIPMENT.—The term 

19 ‘‘intermodal equipment’’ has the meaning given 

20 the term in section 390.5 of title 49, Code of 

21 Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation). 

22 (B) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

23 means the Secretary of Defense. 

24 (2) INVENTORY OF INTERMODAL EQUIP25 MENT.—Not later than 14 days after the date of enVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:39 Mar 13, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3807.IS S3807

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1 actment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct an 

2 inventory of intermodal equipment that— 

3 (A) is owned by the Department of De4 fense; 

5 (B) is located within the United States; 

6 and 

7 (C) could be made available for loan to 1 

8 or more trucking companies for the purposes of 

9 easing congestion at United States ports. 

10 (3) LOAN OF INTERMODAL EQUIPMENT.— 

11 (A) PROCESS.—Not later than 7 days after 

12 the date on which the inventory under para13 graph (2) is complete, the Secretary shall create 

14 a process for a trucking company to submit to 

15 the Secretary an application requesting the use 

16 of intermodal equipment identified in the inven17 tory. 

18 (B) CONDITIONS.—A loan of intermodal 

19 equipment under this subsection shall be sub20 ject to the conditions that— 

21 (i) the borrowing trucking company 

22 shall agree to reimburse the Secretary for 

23 any damage caused to the intermodal 

24 equipment during the period of the loan; 


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1 (ii) the use of the intermodal equip2 ment by the trucking company shall be for 

3 a period not longer than 180 days; and 

4 (iii) the use of intermodal equipment 

5 by the borrowing trucking company shall 

6 not affect the national security of the 

7 United States. 

8 (C) FEES.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses 

10 (ii) and (iii), the Secretary may charge a 

11 reasonable fee for a loan of intermodal 

12 equipment under this subsection. 

13 (ii) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary 

14 may charge a fee under clause (i) if the 

15 Secretary— 

16 (I) consults with the Secretary of 

17 Agriculture, the Secretary of the Inte18 rior, the Secretary of Transportation, 

19 and the Administrator of General 

20 Services; and 

21 (II) determines that charging a 

22 fee would be appropriate. 

23 (iii) AMOUNT.—The amount of a fee 

24 under clause (i) shall be based on the mar25 ket rate for similar loans or rentals of 


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1 intermodal equipment or similar equipment 

2 as of January 1, 2020. 

3 (iv) DEPOSIT AND USE.—Any fee col4 lected by the Secretary under clause (i) 

5 shall be— 

6 (I) deposited in the general fund 

7 of the Treasury; and 

8 (II) made available to the Sec9 retary, the Secretary of Agriculture, 

10 the Secretary of the Interior, the Sec11 retary of Transportation, and the Ad12 ministrator of General Services for re13 mediation of any Federal land des14 ignated under subsection (e)(1)(B). 

15 (v) RESTRICTIONS.—A fee collected 

16 under clause (i) may not be used— 

17 (I) until the designation of the 

18 applicable plot of Federal land under 

19 subsection (e)(1)(B) has expired; or 

20 (II) for any purpose other than 

21 the remediation of land designated 

22 under subsection (e)(1)(B). 

23 (4) RECALL OF INTERMODAL EQUIPMENT.—To 

24 protect the national security of the United States, 

25 the Secretary may recall any intermodal equipment 


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1 loaned to a trucking company under this subsection 

2 by issuing to the trucking company a notice not 

3 later than 72 hours before the time at which the 

4 intermodal equipment is required to be returned to 

5 the Secretary. 

6 SEC. 4. DUTY-FREE TREATMENT OF CHASSIS IMPORTED 

7 FROM COUNTRIES WITH COLLECTIVE DE8 FENSE ARRANGEMENTS WITH UNITED 

9 STATES. 

10 During the 2-year period beginning on the date of 

11 enactment of this Act, a finished or unfinished chassis 

12 classified under statistical reporting number 

13 8716.39.0090, 8716.90.5010, or 8716.90.5060 of the 

14 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States and im15 ported from a country with which the United States has 

16 in effect a collective defense arrangement as of such date 

17 of enactment shall enter the United States free of duty. 

18 SEC. 5. USE OF UNITED STATES INLAND PORTS FOR STOR19 AGE AND TRANSFER OF CARGO. 

20 (a) MEETING.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

21 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Mari22 time Administration and the Chairperson of the Federal 

23 Maritime Commission, acting jointly, shall convene a 

24 meeting of representatives of entities described in sub25 section (b) to discuss the long-term feasibility of, and 


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1 strategies for, using land or property under the jurisdic2 tion of United States inland ports for the storage and 

3 transfer of cargo containers. 

4 (b) DESCRIPTION OF ENTITIES.—The entities re5 ferred to in subsection (a) are— 

6 (1) major gateway ports in the United States; 

7 (2) ocean carriers; 

8 (3) railroads; 

9 (4) trucking companies; and 

10 (5) United States inland port authorities. 

11 SEC. 6. REPORT ON ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGY AT 

12 UNITED STATES PORTS. 

13 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

14 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

15 shall submit to Congress a report describing the adoption 

16 of technology at United States ports, as compared to that 

17 adoption at foreign ports, including— 

18 (1) the technological capabilities of United 

19 States ports, including the use of automated tech20 nology, as compared to foreign ports; 

21 (2) an assessment of whether the adoption of 

22 automated technology at United States ports could 

23 lower the costs of cargo handling; and 


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1 (3) an assessment of regulatory and other bar2 riers to the adoption of automated technology at 

3 United States ports. 

4 SEC. 7. ALLIED PARTNERSHIP AND PORT MODERNIZATION. 

5 (a) DREDGING.—Section 55109 of title 46, United 

6 States Code, is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

8 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘subsection (b)’’ and in9 serting ‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’; 

10 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub11 section (d); and 

12 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(c) DREDGING BY NATO-AFFILIATED VESSELS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A vessel described in para16 graph (2) may engage in dredging in the navigable 

17 waters of the United States. 

18 ‘‘(2) DESCRIPTION OF VESSELS.—A vessel re19 ferred to in paragraph (1) is a vessel— 

20 ‘‘(A) documented under the laws of a coun21 try that is a member of the North Atlantic 

22 Treaty Organization; 

23 ‘‘(B) built by— 

24 ‘‘(i) a country that is a member of the 

25 North Atlantic Treaty Organization; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a major non-NATO ally (as de2 fined in section 2350a(i) of title 10); and 

3 ‘‘(C) a majority of the owners and opera4 tors of which are entities incorporated in a 

5 country that is a member of the North Atlantic 

6 Treaty Organization.’’. 

7 (b) EXCLUDING DREDGED MATERIAL FROM TRANS8 PORTATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 55110 of title 46, 

10 United States Code, is amended— 

11 (A) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘or 

12 dredged material’’ and inserting ‘‘(ex13 cluding dredged material)’’; and 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘or dredged material’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘(excluding dredged material)’’. 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis 

17 for chapter 551 of title 46, United States Code, is 

18 amended by striking the item relating to section 

19 55110 and inserting the following: 

‘‘55110. Transportation of valueless material (excluding dredged material).’’. 

Æ 


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