I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2373 

To reinstate certain laws relating to minimum tonnage of agricultural 

commodities and products, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 29, 2023 

Mr. GARAMENDI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on 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 reinstate certain laws relating to minimum tonnage of 

agricultural commodities and products, 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 ‘‘Rebuilding the United 

5 States-Flag International Fleet Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REINSTATEMENTS OF MINIMUM TONNAGE AND 

2 TRANSPORTATION COSTS REIMBURSEMENT. 

3 (a) REPEAL UNDER MAP–21.—Section 100124 of 

4 the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act 

5 (Public Law 112–141) is repealed, and any provision of 

6 law amended or repealed by such section is restored or 

7 revived as if such section were not enacted into law. 

8 (b) REPEAL UNDER BIPARTISAN BUDGET ACT OF

9 2013.—Section 602 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 

10 (Public Law 113–67) is repealed, and any provision of law 

11 amended or repealed by such section is restored or revived 

12 as if such section were not enacted into law. 

13 (c) REPORT ON ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAMS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 553 of title 46, 

15 United States Code, is amended by inserting before 

16 section 55302 the following: 

17 ‘‘§ 55301. Report on administration of programs 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Mari19 time Administration shall annually submit to Congress a 

20 report on the administration by other Federal depart21 ments and agencies of programs subject to section 2631 

22 of title 10, United States Code, and that the Adminis23 trator determines subject to section 55305 of title 46, 

24 United States Code. 

25 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The report under paragraph (1) 

26 shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(1) gross tonnage by department or agency of 

2 cargo (equipment, materials, or agricultural prod3 ucts) and by cargo type transported on United 

4 States flag vessels versus foreign vessels; and 

5 ‘‘(2) the total number of United States flag ves6 sels versus foreign vessels contracted by each depart7 ment or agency.’’. 

8 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

9 chapter 553 of title 46, United States Code, is 

10 amended by inserting before the item relating to sec11 tion 55302 the following new item: 

‘‘55301. Report on administration of programs.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. CARGOES PROCURED, FURNISHED, OR FINANCED 

13 BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 55305 of title 46, United 

15 States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) by striking subsection (a); 

17 (2) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘50’’ and in18 serting ‘‘75’’; 

19 (3) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub20 section (a); 

21 (4) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(c) WAIVERS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

25 provision of law, when the President, the Secretary 


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1 of Defense, or the Secretary of Transportation de2 clares the existence of an emergency justifying a 

3 temporary waiver of this section or section 55314, 

4 the President, the Secretary of Defense, or the Sec5 retary of Transportation, following a determination 

6 by the Maritime Administrator, acting in the Admin7 istrator’s capacity as Director, National Shipping 

8 Authority, of the non-availability of qualified United 

9 States flag capacity at fair and reasonable rates for 

10 commercial vessels of the United States to meet the 

11 requirements of this section or section 55314, may 

12 waive compliance with such section to the extent, in 

13 the manner, and on the terms the Maritime Admin14 istrator, acting in such capacity, prescribes, and no 

15 other waivers of the requirements of this section or 

16 section 55314 shall be authorized. 

17 ‘‘(2) DURATION OF WAIVER.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara19 graphs (B) and (C), a waiver issued under this 

20 subsection shall be for a period of not more 

21 than 60 days. 

22 ‘‘(B) WAIVER EXTENSION.—Upon termi23 nation of the period of a waiver issued under 

24 this subsection, the Maritime Administrator 

25 may extend the waiver for an additional period 


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1 of not more than 30 days, if the Maritime Ad2 ministrator makes the determinations described 

3 in paragraph (1). 

4 ‘‘(C) AGGREGATE DURATION.—The aggre5 gate duration of the period of all waivers and 

6 extensions of waivers under this subsection with 

7 respect to any one set of events shall not exceed 

8 3 months in a fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATIONS.—The Maritime Admin10 istrator shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) for each determination referred to in 

12 paragraph (1), identify any actions that could 

13 be taken to enable qualified United States flag 

14 capacity to meet the requirements of this sec15 tion or section 55314 at fair and reasonable 

16 rates for commercial vessels of the United 

17 States; 

18 ‘‘(B) provide notice of each determination 

19 referred to in paragraph (1) to the Secretary of 

20 Transportation and, as applicable, the Presi21 dent or the Secretary of Defense; and 

22 ‘‘(C) publish each determination referred 

23 to in paragraph (1)— 

24 ‘‘(i) on the website of the Maritime 

25 Administration not later than 24 hours 


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1 after notice of the determination is pro2 vided to the Secretary of Transportation; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) in the Federal Register. 

5 ‘‘(4) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—The Maritime 

6 Administrator shall notify— 

7 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Commerce, 

8 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 

9 the Committee on Transportation and Infra10 structure of the House of Representatives of— 

11 ‘‘(i) any request for a waiver (or an 

12 extension thereof) made by the Secretary 

13 of Transportation of this section or section 

14 55314(a) not later than 72 hours after re15 ceiving such a request; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the issuance of any such waiver 

17 (or an extension thereof), and why such 

18 waiver or extension was necessary, not 

19 later than 72 hours after such issuance; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Commerce, 

22 Science, and Transportation and the Committee 

23 on Armed Services of the Senate and the Com24 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure 


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1 and the Committee on Armed Services of the 

2 House of Representatives of— 

3 ‘‘(i) any request for a waiver (or an 

4 extension thereof) made by the Secretary 

5 of Defense of this section or section 

6 55314(a) not later than 72 hours after re7 ceiving such a request; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the issuance of any such waiver 

9 (or an extension thereof), and why such 

10 waiver or extension was necessary, not 

11 later than 72 hours after such issuance.’’; 

12 (5) by redesignating subsections (c) through (e) 

13 as subsections (d) through (f), respectively; 

14 (6) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE VESSELS.—To be eligible to carry 

17 cargo under this section, a privately-owned commercial 

18 vessel— 

19 ‘‘(1) shall be documented under the laws of the 

20 United States for at least 3 years; or 

21 ‘‘(2) may be documented under the laws of the 

22 United States for less than 3 years if— 

23 ‘‘(A) the vessel owner signs an agreement 

24 with the Secretary providing that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the vessel shall remain docu2 mented under the laws of the United 

3 States for at least 3 years; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the vessel owner shall, upon re5 quest of the Secretary, agree to enroll the 

6 vessel in an Emergency Preparedness Pro7 gram under chapter 531 or voluntary 

8 agreement authorize under section 708 of 

9 the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 

10 U.S.C. 4558) and shall remain so enrolled 

11 until the vessel ceases to be documented 

12 under the laws of the United States; 

13 ‘‘(B) the vessel— 

14 ‘‘(i) is a tank vessel that is 10 years 

15 of age or less on the date the vessel is doc16 umented under the laws of the United 

17 States; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) is any other type of vessel that is 

19 15 years of age or less on the date the ves20 sel is documented under the laws of the 

21 United States; and 

22 ‘‘(C) the vessel was not originally built in 

23 a country which is a proscribed country listed 

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1 monly known as the ‘International Traffic in 

2 Arms Regulations’). 

3 ‘‘(c) VIOLATION OF AGREEMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A vessel under an agree5 ment described in subsection (b)(2) may be seized by 

6 and forfeited to the United States if, in violation of 

7 such agreement— 

8 ‘‘(A) the vessel owner places the vessel 

9 under foreign registry; or 

10 ‘‘(B) a person operates the vessel under 

11 the authority of a foreign country. 

12 ‘‘(2) INAPPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAW.—Sec13 tion 12112 of title 46, United States Code, shall not 

14 apply to the seizure and forfeiture of a vessel pursu15 ant to paragraph (1).’’; and 

16 (7) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(g) AUDIT AND REPORT.—In carrying out this sec18 tion, the Secretary shall annually— 

19 ‘‘(1) audit the list of vessels that are operating 

20 under an agreement described in subsection (b)(2); 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(2) submit to Congress a report describing— 

23 ‘‘(A) each of the vessels operating under 

24 paragraph (2) of section 55305(b) and each 


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1 agreement signed by the Secretary pursuant to 

2 such paragraph; 

3 ‘‘(B) the results of any audit described in 

4 paragraph (1); and 

5 ‘‘(C) any other pertinent information that 

6 the Secretary determines to be of interest to 

7 Congress.’’. 

8 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.— 

9 (1) CHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The analysis for 

10 chapter 553 of title 46, United States Code, is 

11 amended by striking the item relating to subchapter 

12 I and inserting the following: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—GOVERNMENT IMPELLED TRANSPORTATION’’. 

13 (2) CARGOES PROCURED, FURNISHED, OR FI14 NANCED BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.— 

15 Section 55305(d)(2)(D) of title 46, United States 

16 Code, is amended by striking ‘‘section 25(c)(1) of 

17 the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 

18 U.S.C. 1303(a)(1))’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

19 1303(a)(1) of title 41, United States Code,’’. 

20 SEC. 4. TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN 

21 EXPORTS SPONSORED BY THE SECRETARY 

22 OF AGRICULTURE. 

23 Section 55314 of title 46, United States Code, is 

24 amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘titles I, 

2 II, or III of’’ after ‘‘carried out under’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (4) by striking ‘‘agricul4 tural commodities or their products’’ and in5 serting ‘‘agricultural products’’; 

6 (C) in paragraph (5) by striking ‘‘agricul7 tural commodities or their products’’ and in8 serting ‘‘agricultural products’’; 

9 (D) in paragraph (6) by striking ‘‘agricul10 tural commodities or their products’’ and in11 serting ‘‘agricultural products’’; 

12 (E) in paragraph (7) by striking ‘‘agricul13 tural commodities’’ and inserting ‘‘agricultural 

14 products’’; 

15 (F) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), 

16 (6), and (7) as paragraphs (6), (7), (8), and 

17 (9), respectively; and 

18 (G) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(4) carried out under the Food for Progress 

21 Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1736o); 

22 ‘‘(5) carried out under the McGovern-Dole 

23 International Food for Education and Child Nutri24 tion Program under section 3107 of the Farm SecuVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:18 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2373.IH H2373

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1 rity and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 

2 1736o–1);’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(d) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—At least once each 

5 fiscal year, the Secretary of Agriculture or the Adminis6 trator of the United States Agency for International De7 velopment, as applicable, shall submit to the appropriate 

8 congressional committees, in writing, a notice of any waiv9 er of the requirements of this section and the reasons for 

10 granting such waiver. 

11 ‘‘(e) AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT DEFINED.—In this 

12 section, the term ‘agricultural product’ means any food 

13 product, including an agricultural commodity (as such 

14 term is defined in section 402 of the Food for Peace Act 

15 (7 U.S.C. 1732(2))), specialty crop (as such term is de16 fined in section 3(1) of the Specialty Crops Competitive17 ness Act of 2004 (7 U.S.C. 1621 note)), or processed food 

18 product, exported from the United States.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

20 (a) REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF MILITARY

21 CARGO PREFERENCE.—Not later than 180 days after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense 

23 shall submit to Congress a report on the implementation 

24 by the Department of Defense of the amendments to sec25 tion 2631 of title 10, United States Code, made by section 


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1 1024 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National De2 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 

3 116–283). 

4 (b) REPORT ON PORT PREFERENCES FOR US–FLAG

5 VESSELS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact6 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall 

7 submit to Congress a report on the preference, if any, af8 forded by each port authority or marine terminal operator, 

9 as applicable, to vessels documented under the laws of the 

10 United States, including such vessels— 

11 (1) operated by an armed force (as such term 

12 is defined in section 101(4) of title 10, United 

13 States Code); 

14 (2) participating in the Maritime Security Pro15 gram or the Emergency Preparedness Program 

16 under chapter 531 of title 46, United States Code, 

17 the Cable Security Fleet under chapter 532 of such 

18 title, the Tanker Security Fleet under chapter 534 

19 of such title, or the National Defense Reserve Fleet 

20 under section 57100 of such title; and 

21 (3) with a coastwise endorsement under chapter 

22 121 of title 46, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 6. REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE. 

2 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Administrator of the Maritime Administra4 tion shall— 

5 (1) promulgate regulations under subchapter 

6 III of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, to 

7 fully implement and ensure compliance with section 

8 2631 of title 10, United States Code, and section 

9 55305 of title 46, United States Code; and 

10 (2) issue interagency guidance to other Federal 

11 departments and agencies on how to administer the 

12 programs in accordance with such Acts and the 

13 amendments made by the this Act, which shall in14 clude publication in the Federal Register and on the 

15 website of the Maritime Administration. 

Æ 


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