I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4993 

To amend title 46, United States Code, to include the replacement or purchase of additional cargo handling equipment as an eligible purpose 

for Capital Construction Funds, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Mr. EZELL (for himself and Mr. CARTER of Louisiana) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend title 46, United States Code, to include the replacement or purchase of additional cargo handling 

equipment as an eligible purpose for Capital Construction 

Funds, 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. DEFINITIONS OF CARGO HANDLING EQUIP4 MENT AND MARINE TERMINAL. 

5 Section 53501 of title 46, United States Code, is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating— 


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1 (A) subsections (2) and (3), as subsections 

2 (3) and (4), respectively; and 

3 (B) subsections (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), and 

4 (9), as subsections (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), and 

5 (11), respectively; 

6 (2) by inserting after subsection (1), the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(2) CARGO HANDLING EQUIPMENT.—The term 

9 ‘cargo handling equipment’ means any vehicle or 

10 land-based equipment, and the associated marine 

11 terminal or port landside infrastructure, used at a 

12 marine terminal to lift or move cargo— 

13 ‘‘(A) manufactured in the United States; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(B) manufactured outside of the United 

16 States, if such equipment is not produced in the 

17 United States in sufficient and reasonably 

18 available quantities or of a satisfactory quality 

19 as determined by the marine terminal oper20 ator.’’; and 

21 (3) by inserting after subsection (4), as redesig22 nated by paragraph (1), the following: 

23 ‘‘(5) MARINE TERMINAL.—The term ‘marine 

24 terminal’ means wharves, bulkheads, quays, piers, 

25 docks and other berthing locations and adjacent 


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1 storage or adjacent areas and structures associated 

2 with the primary movement of cargo or materials 

3 from vessel to shore, or from shore to vessel, includ4 ing structures which are devoted to receiving, han5 dling, holding, consolidating, loading, or delivery of 

6 waterborne shipments, including areas devoted to 

7 the maintenance of the terminal or equipment.’’. 

8 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHING A CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION FUND. 

9 Section 53503 of title 46, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

14 ‘‘(1) A citizen of the United States owning or 

15 leasing an eligible vessel may make an agreement 

16 with the Secretary under this chapter to establish a 

17 capital construction fund for the vessel. 

18 ‘‘(2) An operator of a United States marine ter19 minal may make an agreement with the Secretary 

20 under this chapter to establish a capital construction 

21 fund for the marine terminal.’’; and 

22 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(b) ALLOWABLE PURPOSE.—The purpose of the 

25 agreement shall be to provide— 


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1 ‘‘(1) replacement vessels, additional vessels, or 

2 reconstructed vessels, built in the United States and 

3 documented under the laws of the United States, for 

4 operation in the foreign or domestic trade of the 

5 United States; or 

6 ‘‘(2) replacement cargo handling equipment, ad7 ditional cargo handling equipment, or reconstructed 

8 cargo handling equipment for operation at marine 

9 terminals in the United States.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. DEPOSITS AND WITHDRAWALS. 

11 Section 53504(b) of title 46, United States Code, is 

12 amended by inserting ‘‘or United States marine terminal’’ 

13 after ‘‘agreement vessel’’. 

14 SEC. 4. CEILING ON DEPOSITS. 

15 Section 53505(a) of title 46, United States Code, is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in subparagraph (1) by inserting ‘‘, or the 

18 operation of a marine terminal in the United States’’ 

19 after ‘‘in the fisheries of the United States’’; 

20 (2) in subparagraph (2) by inserting ‘‘or cargo 

21 handling equipment’’ after ‘‘agreement vessels’’; and 

22 (3) in subparagraph (3) by inserting ‘‘or cargo 

23 handling equipment’’ after both instances of ‘‘agree24 ment vessel’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. QUALIFIED WITHDRAWALS. 

2 Section 53509 of the title 46, United States Code, 

3 is amended— 

4 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b) and 

7 (c), a withdrawal from a capital construction fund is a 

8 qualified withdrawal if it is made under the terms of the 

9 agreement and is for— 

10 ‘‘(1) the acquisition, construction, or recon11 struction of— 

12 ‘‘(A) a qualified vessel or a barge or con13 tainer that is part of the complement of a quali14 fied vessel; or 

15 ‘‘(B) cargo handling equipment; or 

16 ‘‘(2) the payment of the principal on indebted17 ness incurred in the acquisition, construction, or re18 construction of— 

19 ‘‘(A) a qualified vessel or a barge or con20 tainer that is part of the complement of a quali21 fied vessel; or 

22 ‘‘(B) cargo handling equipment.’’; 

23 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub24 section (e); and 

25 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol26 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(c) FULLY AUTOMATED CARGO HANDLING EQUIP2 MENT.—No withdrawals may be made from a capital con3 struction fund to purchase fully automated cargo handling 

4 equipment that is remotely operated or remotely mon5 itored with or without the exercise of human intervention 

6 or control, if the Secretary determines such equipment 

7 would result in a net loss of jobs within a marine terminal. 

8 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION ON PRC CRANES.—No with9 drawals may be made from a capital construction fund to 

10 purchase cranes manufactured in the People’s Republic of 

11 China.’’. 

12 SEC. 6. TREATMENT OF QUALIFIED WITHDRAWALS AND 

13 BASIS OF PROPERTY. 

14 Section 53510 of title 46, United States Code, is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (b) by inserting ‘‘cargo han17 dling equipment,’’ after both instances of ‘‘barge,’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (c) by inserting ‘‘cargo han19 dling equipment,’’ after both instances of ‘‘barge,’’; 

20 and 

21 (3) in subsection (d) by inserting ‘‘cargo han22 dling equipment,’’ after ‘‘barges,’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. FIFO AND LIFO WITHDRAWALS. 

2 Section 53512 of title 46, United States Code, is 

3 amended by adding ‘‘cargo handling equipment,’’ after 

4 ‘‘advanced’’. 

5 SEC. 8. CARGO HANDLING EQUIPMENT AVAILABILITY. 

6 The Secretary shall annually publish in the Federal 

7 Register a request for information regarding the avail8 ability of cargo handling equipment manufactured in the 

9 United States and shall share the results of such request 

10 for information with capital construction fund holders. 

Æ 


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