Title: Coastal and Inland Ports and Terminals Commerce Improvement Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Coastal and Inland Ports and Terminals Commerce Improvement Act
This bill directs the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) of the Department of Transportation to provide grants to the owners or operators of certain inland and small coastal port and terminal facilities, and for infrastructure improvements, equipment purchases, and capital investments at such facilities.
Eligible facilities include piers, wharves, docks, terminals, and similar structures used principally for the movement of goods, including areas of land, water, or areas in proximity to such structure that are necessary for the movement of goods, located at a port, to and from which the average annual tonnage of cargo for the immediately preceding three calendar years from the time an application is submitted is less than 8 million short tons as determined using U.S. Army Corps of Engineers data.
In providing assistance, MARAD must
MARAD may not provide funding unless it determines that sufficient funding is available for a recipient to meet federal matching requirements.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7416 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7416

 To amend title 46, United States Code, to allow the Administrator of 
  the Maritime Administration to provide assistance to the owners and 
   operators of certain ports and terminals, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 30, 2020

  Mr. Bost (for himself, Mr. Lamb, Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Reschenthaler, Mrs. 
Hartzler, Mr. Loebsack, and Mrs. Miller) introduced the following bill; 
       which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 
                             Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 46, United States Code, to allow the Administrator of 
  the Maritime Administration to provide assistance to the owners and 
   operators of certain ports and terminals, 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 ``Coastal and Inland Ports and 
Terminals Commerce Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE FOR INLAND AND SMALL COASTAL PORTS AND TERMINALS.

    Section 50302 of title 46, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2) by adding at the end the 
                following:
                    ``(H) In the case of a small project funded under 
                subsection (d), a private entity or group of 
                entities.'';
                    (B) in paragraph (6) by striking subparagraph (C);
                    (C) in paragraph (7)(B) by striking ``paragraph 
                (3)(A)'' and inserting ``subsection (d)'';
                    (D) in paragraph (8)(B)--
                            (i) in clause (i) by striking ``under this 
                        subsection'' and inserting ``under this 
                        subsection and subsection (d)''; and
                            (ii) in clause (ii) by inserting ``under 
                        subsection (d) or'' after ``project''; and
                    (E) in paragraph (11) by--
                            (i) striking ``under this subsection'' and 
                        inserting ``under this subsection and 
                        subsection (d)'' each place such phrase 
                        appears; and
                            (ii) striking ``fiscal year.'' and 
                        inserting ``fiscal year, and shall be awarded 
                        as grants under the subsection for which the 
                        original grant was made.'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e);
            (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) Assistance for Inland and Small Coastal Ports and 
Terminals.--
            ``(1) In general.--Of amounts reserved under subsection 
        (c)(7)(B), the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of 
        the Maritime Administration, shall make grants under this 
        subsection--
                    ``(A) to the owners or operators of a facility at a 
                port, as such term is defined in subsection (c), to and 
                from which the average annual tonnage of cargo for the 
                immediately preceding 3 calendar years from the time an 
                application is submitted is less than 8,000,000 short 
                tons as determined using Corps of Engineers data; and
                    ``(B) for infrastructure improvements, equipment 
                purchases, and capital investments at such a facility, 
                including piers, wharves, docks, terminals, and similar 
                structures used principally for the movement of goods, 
                including areas of land, water, or areas in proximity 
                to such structure that are necessary for the movement 
                of goods.
            ``(2) Awards.--In providing assistance under this 
        subsection, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) take into account--
                            ``(i) the economic advantage and the 
                        contribution to freight transportation at an 
                        eligible facility; and
                            ``(ii) the competitive disadvantage of an 
                        eligible facility;
                    ``(B) not make more than 1 award per applicant for 
                each fiscal year appropriation; and
                    ``(C) promote the enhancement and efficiencies of 
                an eligible facility.
            ``(3) Use of funds.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Assistance provided under this 
                subsection may be used to--
                            ``(i) make capital improvements;
                            ``(ii) construct, improve, repair, or 
                        maintain transportation or physical 
                        infrastructure, buildings, equipment, or 
                        facility security;
                            ``(iii) perform planning activities related 
                        to carrying out an activity described in clause 
                        (i); and
                            ``(iv) otherwise fulfill the purposes for 
                        which such assistance is provided.
                    ``(B) Acquisition methods.--The Secretary may not 
                require as a condition of issuing a grant under this 
                subsection--
                            ``(i) direct ownership of either a facility 
                        or equipment to be procured using funds awarded 
                        under this subsection; or
                            ``(ii) that equipment procured using such 
                        funds be new.
            ``(4) Prohibited uses.--Funds provided under this 
        subsection may not be used for--
                    ``(A) projects conducted on property lying outside 
                port or terminal boundaries and not owned or leased by 
                the applicant;
                    ``(B) any single grant award more than 10 percent 
                of total allocation of funds to carry out this 
                subsection per fiscal year appropriation; or
                    ``(C) activities, including channel improvements or 
                harbor deepening, authorized, as of the date of the 
                application for assistance under this subsection, to be 
                carried out by of the Corps of Engineers.
            ``(5) Matching requirements.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary may not provide 
                assistance under this subsection unless the Secretary 
                determines that sufficient funding is available to meet 
                the matching requirements of subsection (c)(8). Any 
                costs of the project to be paid by the recipient's 
                matching share may be incurred prior to the date on 
                which assistance is provided.
                    ``(B) Inclusions.--For the purpose of making the 
                determination under subparagraph (A), funding may 
                include a loan agreement, a commitment from investors, 
                cash on balance sheet, or other contributions 
                determined acceptable by the Secretary.
            ``(6) Application and award.--
                    ``(A) Minimum standards for payment or 
                reimbursement.--Each application submitted shall 
                include a comprehensive description of--
                            ``(i) the project;
                            ``(ii) the need for the project;
                            ``(iii) the methodology for implementing 
                        the project; and
                            ``(iv) documentation of matching funds as 
                        described in paragraph (5).
                    ``(B) Demonstration of effectiveness.--In 
                determining whether a project will achieve the purposes 
                for which such assistance is requested under this 
                subsection, the Secretary shall accept documentation 
                used to obtain a commitment of the matching funds 
                described in paragraph (5), including feasibility 
                studies, business plans, investor prospectuses, loan 
                applications, or similar documentation.
                    ``(C) Project approval required.--The Secretary may 
                not award a grant under this subsection unless the 
                Secretary determines that the--
                            ``(i) project will be completed without 
                        unreasonable delay; and
                            ``(ii) recipient has authority to carry out 
                        the proposed project.
            ``(7) Procedural safeguards, audits, and examinations.--
                    ``(A) Procedural safeguards.--The Administrator 
                shall issue guidelines to establish appropriate 
                accounting, reporting, and review procedures to ensure 
                that--
                            ``(i) assistance provided under this 
                        subsection is used for the purposes for which 
                        such assistance is made available; and
                            ``(ii) grantees have properly accounted for 
                        all expenditures of grant funds.
                    ``(B) Audits and examinations.--All grantees under 
                this subsection shall maintain such records as the 
                Administrator may require and make such records 
                available for review and audit by the Administrator.
            ``(8) Limitation.--Not more than 10 percent of the funds 
        made available under subsection (c)(7)(B) may be used for the 
        planning and design of eligible projects described in paragraph 
        (3)(A)(iii).
            ``(9) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Eligible facility.--The term `eligible 
                facility' means a facility or collection of facilities 
                that includes piers, wharves, docks, terminals, and 
                similar structures used principally for the movement of 
                goods, including areas of land, water, or areas in 
                proximity to such structure that are necessary for the 
                movement of goods, located at a port, as that term is 
                defined in subsection (c), to and from which the 
                average annual tonnage of cargo for the immediately 
                preceding 3 calendar years from the time an application 
                is submitted is less than 8,000,000 short tons as 
                determined using Corps of Engineers data.
                    ``(B) Project.--The term `project' has the meaning 
                given such term in subsection (c).''.
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