SHIP IT Act
Bill: H.R.7456 | Sponsor: Rep. Fischbach, Michelle (R-MN)
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Stopping Hindrances to Invigorate Ports and Increase Trade Act or the SHIP IT Act
This bill temporarily waives various requirements and makes other changes to address congestion at U.S. ports.
For example, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration must waive the hours of service limits (i.e., the number of hours a driver may operate a truck or motor carrier in a set period of time) and minimum age requirements that apply to commercial driver's licenses for individuals transporting cargo directly to or from a U.S. port.
Additionally, the Coast Guard may temporarily allow foreign-built, -owned, and -crewed vessels to transport cargo between U.S. ports and engage in certain ship-to-ship transfers of cargo. Current coastwise law, commonly known as the Jones Act, generally requires that vessels transporting cargo domestically be U.S.-built, -owned, and -crewed.
The Department of Defense must (1) inventory its intermodal equipment (e.g., trailers and chassis used to transport shipping containers) to identify equipment available for loan to trucking companies to relieve congestion at U.S. ports, and (2) establish a process to allow trucking companies to request the loan of such equipment.
The Maritime Administration and the Federal Maritime Commission must jointly convene a meeting to discuss the long-term feasibility of, and strategies for, using land or property under the jurisdiction of U.S. inland ports for the storage and transfer of cargo containers.
The Government Accountability Office must submit to Congress a report describing the adoption of technology at U.S. ports as compared to foreign ports.

To address the supply chain backlog in the freight network at United 
                 States ports, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stopping Hindrances to Invigorate 
Ports and Increase Trade Act'' or the ``SHIP IT Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the unprecedented supply chain 
backlog in the freight network of the United States is a national 
crisis that warrants congressional authorization of short-term Federal 
emergency actions to ameliorate that crisis.

SEC. 3. ADDRESSING SUPPLY CHAIN CRISIS IN UNITED STATES.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
        Administration.
            (2) Commercial motor vehicle; driver; motor carrier.--The 
        terms ``commercial motor vehicle'', ``driver'', and ``motor 
        carrier'' have the meanings given those terms in section 390.5 
        of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 
        regulation).
            (3) Direct assistance to a united states port.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``direct assistance to a 
                United States port'' means the transportation of cargo 
                directly to or from a United States port.
                    (B) Exclusions.--The term ``direct assistance to a 
                United States port'' does not include--
                            (i) the transportation of a mixed load of 
                        cargo that includes--
                                    (I) cargo that does not originate 
                                from a United States port; or
                                    (II) a container or cargo that is 
                                not bound for a United States port;
                            (ii) any period during which a motor 
                        carrier or driver is operating in interstate 
                        commerce to transport cargo or provide services 
                        not in support of transportation to or from a 
                        United States port; or
                            (iii) the period after a motor carrier 
                        dispatches the applicable driver or commercial 
                        motor vehicle of the motor carrier to another 
                        location to begin operation in interstate 
                        commerce in a manner that is not in support of 
                        transportation to or from a United States port.
            (4) Qualified applicant.--The term ``qualified applicant'' 
        means a person that--
                    (A) submits to the appropriate official an 
                application for a waiver under this section; and
                    (B) in the determination of that official, is 
                eligible, in accordance with this section, to receive 
                the waiver.
            (5) Temporary waiver.--The term ``temporary waiver'' means 
        a waiver that expires on the date that is 1 year after the date 
        of enactment of this Act.
    (b) FMCSA Temporary Waivers.--
            (1) Temporary waiver of certain requirements.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 7 days after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 
                issue to each qualified applicant a temporary waiver 
                that, subject to paragraph (3), waives the requirements 
                of parts 390 through 399 of title 49, Code of Federal 
                Regulations (or successor regulations), with respect to 
                commercial motor vehicle operations that are providing 
                direct assistance to a United States port.
                    (B) Eligibility.--An applicant is eligible for a 
                temporary waiver under subparagraph (A) if the 
                applicant is a motor carrier or driver that provides 
                direct assistance to a United States port.
            (2) Temporary waiver of minimum age requirement.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 2 days after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 
                issue to each qualified applicant a temporary waiver 
                from the requirement of section 391.11(b)(1) of title 
                49, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 
                regulation), for drivers that are at least 18 years 
                old, subject to paragraph (3).
                    (B) Eligibility.--An applicant is eligible for a 
                temporary waiver under subparagraph (A) if the 
                applicant--
                            (i) is providing direct assistance to a 
                        United States port; or
                            (ii) is directly assuming the commercial 
                        motor vehicle operations of a driver who has 
                        been rerouted to a United States port to 
                        provide direct assistance to a United States 
                        port.
            (3) Requirements.--A temporary waiver under paragraph (1) 
        or (2) shall not exempt any motor carrier or driver from--
                    (A) the hazardous materials regulations described 
                in subchapters A through C of chapter I of subtitle B 
                of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor 
                regulations);
                    (B) the controlled substances and alcohol use and 
                testing requirements described in part 382 of that 
                title (or successor regulations);
                    (C) except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
                commercial driver's license requirements described in 
                part 383 of that title (or successor regulations);
                    (D) the financial responsibility (including 
                insurance) requirements described in part 387 of that 
                title (or successor regulations);
                    (E) the requirement that every commercial motor 
                vehicle shall be operated in accordance with the laws, 
                ordinances, and regulations of the jurisdiction in 
                which the commercial motor vehicle is being operated, 
                including any applicable speed limits and other traffic 
                restrictions, as described in the first sentence of 
                section 392.2 of that title (or a successor 
                regulation);
                    (F) the prohibition against operating a commercial 
                motor vehicle while the ability of the driver is so 
                impaired, or so likely to become impaired, through 
                fatigue, illness, or any other cause as to make it 
                unsafe for the driver to begin or continue to operate 
                the commercial motor vehicle, as described in section 
                392.3 of that title (or a successor regulation);
                    (G) the prohibition against texting while driving 
                described in section 392.80 of that title (or a 
                successor regulation);
                    (H) the prohibition against using a hand-held 
                mobile telephone while driving described in section 
                392.82 of that title (or a successor regulation); or
                    (I) any applicable size or weight requirement.
            (4) Driver fatigue and safety.--
                    (A) In general.--A motor carrier receiving a 
                temporary waiver under paragraph (1) or (2) shall not 
                allow or require a fatigued driver to operate a 
                commercial motor vehicle.
                    (B) Requirement.--For the period during which a 
                temporary waiver under paragraph (1) or (2) is in 
                effect, a motor carrier described in subparagraph (A) 
                that receives from a driver notification that the 
                driver is in need of immediate rest shall immediately 
                provide the driver with not less than 10 consecutive 
                hours of off-duty time before the driver is required to 
                return to service.
    (c) Transportation Worker Identification Credentials.--The 
Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration and the 
Commandant of the Coast Guard shall jointly prioritize and expedite the 
consideration of applications for a Transportation Worker 
Identification Credential with respect to applicants, including 
commercial drivers operating under a temporary waiver issued under 
subsection (b)(2), that reasonably demonstrate that the purpose of the 
Transportation Worker Identification Credential is for providing, 
within the interior of the United States, direct assistance to a United 
States port.
    (d) Temporary Waiver of Jones Act Requirements for Certain Vessels 
Transporting Cargo.--
            (1) Authority.--
                    (A) Certificate of coastwise endorsement.--
                Notwithstanding section 12112 of title 46, United 
                States Code, and any other requirement under chapter 
                121 of that title, the Secretary of the department in 
                which the Coast Guard is operating (referred to in this 
                subsection as the ``Secretary'') may issue a 
                certificate of documentation with a coastwise 
                endorsement under that chapter in accordance with this 
                subsection for a vessel, without regard to whether the 
                vessel meets the requirements of section 12112 of that 
                title, in any case in which the person requesting the 
                certificate reasonably demonstrates the endorsement (or 
                the resulting exemption under subparagraph (B)) is for 
                the purpose of--
                            (i) transporting cargo from a United States 
                        port to another United States port in order to 
                        relieve any congestion, backlog, or delay at 
                        such a port; or
                            (ii) engaging in operations that entail a 
                        ship-to-ship transfer of cargo from a vessel 
                        anchored or located off the coast of the United 
                        States to another vessel that transports the 
                        cargo to a United States port (commonly known 
                        as ``lightering operations'').
                    (B) Exemption of additional requirements.--
                Notwithstanding section 55102 of title 46, United 
                States Code, during the period beginning on the date of 
                enactment of this Act and ending on the expiration date 
                described in paragraph (3), that section shall not 
                apply to any vessel that has been issued a certificate 
                of documentation with a coastwise endorsement under 
                subparagraph (A).
            (2) Timing.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 48 hours after 
                receiving a request for a certificate of documentation 
                with a coastwise endorsement under paragraph (1)(A), 
                the Secretary shall, as applicable--
                            (i) issue the certificate with the 
                        endorsement; or
                            (ii)(I) provide to the person requesting 
                        the certificate a detailed description of the 
                        reasons for denying the certificate; and
                            (II) publish the denial and description of 
                        reasons on the website of the department in 
                        which the Coast Guard is operating.
                    (B) Automatic issuance.--In any case in which the 
                Secretary fails to comply with subparagraph (A), a 
                certificate of documentation with a coastwise 
                endorsement for the applicable vessel shall be deemed 
                to be issued under paragraph (1)(A).
            (3) Expiration.--The authority under this subsection, 
        including any certificate of coastwise endorsement authorized 
        under this section, shall expire on the date that is 1 year 
        after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (e) Container Overflow Storage.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 14 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 
        Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the 
        Secretary of Transportation, and the Administrator of General 
        Services shall jointly consult with representatives of ocean 
        carriers, ports, railroads, and trucking companies--
                    (A) to identify plots of Federal land under the 
                jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture, the 
                Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, 
                the Secretary of Transportation, or the Administrator 
                of General Services that--
                            (i) are located within a 150 air-mile 
                        radius of a United States port; and
                            (ii) could temporarily be used as an 
                        overflow area for the storage and transfer of 
                        empty cargo containers in order to ease the 
                        congestion and backlog at United States ports; 
                        and
                    (B) to designate not fewer than 2 plots of Federal 
                land identified under subparagraph (A) for the use 
                described in clause (ii) of that subparagraph, subject 
                to the conditions that--
                            (i) each specific plot so designated shall 
                        be not more than 500 acres;
                            (ii) the stacking of containers shall be 
                        permitted at each specific plot so designated 
                        for a period of not more than 1 year beginning 
                        on the date on which the designation of the 
                        plot is published in the Federal Register under 
                        paragraph (2); and
                            (iii) containers shall not be stacked more 
                        than 6 high at any plot so designated.
            (2) Publication in federal register.--Each designation of a 
        plot of Federal land under paragraph (1)(B) shall be published 
        in the Federal Register.
            (3) Categorical exclusion.--The designation of a plot of 
        Federal land under paragraph (1)(B) shall be categorically 
        excluded from the requirements of the National Environmental 
        Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), subject to the 
        condition that, prior to the designation of the plot, the 
        applicable official described in paragraph (1)(A) having 
        jurisdiction over the plot shall--
                    (A) carefully consider the circumstances of the 
                designation; and
                    (B) determine that no extraordinary circumstances 
                warranting the preparation of an environmental 
                assessment or an environmental impact statement exist.
            (4) Treatment.--A plot of Federal land designated under 
        paragraph (1)(B) shall not, based on that designation, be 
        considered to be a facility (as defined in section 70101 of 
        title 46, United States Code) or a security zone (as defined in 
        section 70131 of that title) for purposes of--
                    (A) chapter 701 of subtitle VII of that title; or
                    (B) the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 
                2002 (Public Law 107-295; 116 Stat. 2064) and the 
                amendments made by that Act.
    (f) Loan of DOD Intermodal Equipment.--
            (1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    (A) Intermodal equipment.--The term ``intermodal 
                equipment'' has the meaning given the term in section 
                390.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or a 
                successor regulation).
                    (B) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the 
                Secretary of Defense.
            (2) Inventory of intermodal equipment.--Not later than 14 
        days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
        shall conduct an inventory of intermodal equipment that--
                    (A) is owned by the Department of Defense;
                    (B) is located within the United States; and
                    (C) could be made available for loan to 1 or more 
                trucking companies for the purposes of easing 
                congestion at United States ports.
            (3) Loan of intermodal equipment.--
                    (A) Process.--Not later than 7 days after the date 
                on which the inventory under paragraph (2) is complete, 
                the Secretary shall create a process for a trucking 
                company to submit to the Secretary an application 
                requesting the use of intermodal equipment identified 
                in the inventory.
                    (B) Conditions.--A loan of intermodal equipment 
                under this subsection shall be subject to the 
                conditions that--
                            (i) the borrowing trucking company shall 
                        agree to reimburse the Secretary for any damage 
                        caused to the intermodal equipment during the 
                        period of the loan;
                            (ii) the use of the intermodal equipment by 
                        the trucking company shall be for a period not 
                        longer than 180 days; and
                            (iii) the use of intermodal equipment by 
                        the borrowing trucking company shall not affect 
                        the national security of the United States.
                    (C) Fees.--
                            (i) In general.--Subject to clauses (ii) 
                        and (iii), the Secretary may charge a 
                        reasonable fee for a loan of intermodal 
                        equipment under this subsection.
                            (ii) Consultation.--The Secretary may 
                        charge a fee under clause (i) if the 
                        Secretary--
                                    (I) consults with the Secretary of 
                                Agriculture, the Secretary of the 
                                Interior, the Secretary of 
                                Transportation, and the Administrator 
                                of General Services; and
                                    (II) determines that charging a fee 
                                would be appropriate.
                            (iii) Amount.--The amount of a fee under 
                        clause (i) shall be based on the market rate 
                        for similar loans or rentals of intermodal 
                        equipment or similar equipment as of January 1, 
                        2020.
                            (iv) Deposit and use.--Any fee collected by 
                        the Secretary under clause (i) shall be--
                                    (I) deposited in the general fund 
                                of the Treasury; and
                                    (II) made available to the 
                                Secretary, the Secretary of 
                                Agriculture, the Secretary of the 
                                Interior, the Secretary of 
                                Transportation, and the Administrator 
                                of General Services for remediation of 
                                any Federal land designated under 
                                subsection (e)(1)(B).
                            (v) Restrictions.--A fee collected under 
                        clause (i) may not be used--
                                    (I) until the designation of the 
                                applicable plot of Federal land under 
                                subsection (e)(1)(B) has expired; or
                                    (II) for any purpose other than the 
                                remediation of land designated under 
                                subsection (e)(1)(B).
            (4) Recall of intermodal equipment.--To protect the 
        national security of the United States, the Secretary may 
        recall any intermodal equipment loaned to a trucking company 
        under this subsection by issuing to the trucking company a 
        notice not later than 72 hours before the time at which the 
        intermodal equipment is required to be returned to the 
        Secretary.

SEC. 4. DUTY-FREE TREATMENT OF CHASSIS IMPORTED FROM COUNTRIES WITH 
              COLLECTIVE DEFENSE ARRANGEMENTS WITH UNITED STATES.

    During the 2-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this 
Act, a finished or unfinished chassis classified under statistical 
reporting number 8716.39.0090, 8716.90.5010, or 8716.90.5060 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States and imported from a 
country with which the United States has in effect a collective defense 
arrangement as of such date of enactment shall enter the United States 
free of duty.

SEC. 5. USE OF UNITED STATES INLAND PORTS FOR STORAGE AND TRANSFER OF 
              CARGO.

    (a) Meeting.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Administrator of the Maritime Administration and the 
Chairperson of the Federal Maritime Commission, acting jointly, shall 
convene a meeting of representatives of entities described in 
subsection (b) to discuss the long-term feasibility of, and strategies 
for, using land or property under the jurisdiction of United States 
inland ports for the storage and transfer of cargo containers.
    (b) Description of Entities.--The entities referred to in 
subsection (a) are--
            (1) major gateway ports in the United States;
            (2) ocean carriers;
            (3) railroads;
            (4) trucking companies; and
            (5) United States inland port authorities.

SEC. 6. REPORT ON ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGY AT UNITED STATES PORTS.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a 
report describing the adoption of technology at United States ports, as 
compared to that adoption at foreign ports, including--
            (1) the technological capabilities of United States ports, 
        including the use of automated technology, as compared to 
        foreign ports;
            (2) an assessment of whether the adoption of automated 
        technology at United States ports could lower the costs of 
        cargo handling; and
            (3) an assessment of regulatory and other barriers to the 
        adoption of automated technology at United States ports.

SEC. 7. ALLIED PARTNERSHIP AND PORT MODERNIZATION.

    (a) Dredging.--Section 55109 of title 46, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph 
        (1), by striking ``subsection (b)'' and inserting ``subsections 
        (b) and (c)'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
    ``(c) Dredging by NATO-Affiliated Vessels.--
            ``(1) In general.--A vessel described in paragraph (2) may 
        engage in dredging in the navigable waters of the United 
        States.
            ``(2) Description of vessels.--A vessel referred to in 
        paragraph (1) is a vessel--
                    ``(A) documented under the laws of a country that 
                is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization;
                    ``(B) built by--
                            ``(i) a country that is a member of the 
                        North Atlantic Treaty Organization; or
                            ``(ii) a major non-NATO ally (as defined in 
                        section 2350a(i) of title 10); and
                    ``(C) a majority of the owners and operators of 
                which are entities incorporated in a country that is a 
                member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.''.
    (b) Excluding Dredged Material From Transportation Requirements.--
            (1) In general.--Section 55110 of title 46, United States 
        Code, is amended--
                    (A) in the section heading, by striking ``or 
                dredged material'' and inserting ``(excluding dredged 
                material)''; and
                    (B) by striking ``or dredged material'' and 
                inserting ``(excluding dredged material)''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--The analysis for chapter 551 of 
        title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking the item 
        relating to section 55110 and inserting the following:

``55110. Transportation of valueless material (excluding dredged 
                            material).''.
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