A concurrent resolution declaring a state of emergency due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in order to establish a waiver of the minimum tonnage requirements of section 55305 of title 46, United States Code.

Bill: 117-sconres-37
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Ernst, Joni [R-IA]
Introduced: 2022-05-02
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Conflicts and wars

Europe

Marine and inland water transportation

Military operations and strategy

Presidents and presidential powers, Vice Presidents

Public contracts and procurement

Russia

Ukraine

War and emergency powers
Latest action: action_date: 2022-05-02
text: Referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text: CR S2248)

Summaries:
action_date: 2022-05-02
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p>This concurrent resolution declares that a state of emergency exists due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It also states that such emergency justifies a waiver of the minimum tonnage requirements. Such requirements apply to cargoes that are transported on ocean vessels and that are procured, furnished, or financed by the United States.</p>

tv_txt: III 117th CONGRESS 2d Session S. CON. RES. 37 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 2, 2022 Ms. Ernst submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Declaring a state of emergency due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in order to establish a waiver of the minimum tonnage requirements of section 55305 of title 46, United States Code.

Whereas, in March and April 2014, the Russian military invaded and annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, and the Russian Federation took action to establish pro-Russian separatist states in the Donbas region of Ukraine; Whereas, the Russian Federation has failed to follow the cease-fire agreements established by the Minsk 1 and Minsk 2 accords, and conflict has been present in Ukraine since such invasion and annexation; Whereas, throughout 2021, Russia amassed troops, weapon systems, and hardware on the border of Russia and Ukraine; Whereas, on December 17, 2021, the Russian Federation presented the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (referred to in this preamble as NATO ) with a list of security demands, including that NATO would never allow Ukraine, or other former Soviet states, into the alliance; Whereas such demands are non-starters for NATO and its open door policy , which dates to the alliance’s founding and gives no third party a say in such deliberations, and such demands were only offered as a justification for a Russian invasion; Whereas, on February 21, 2022, President Vladimir Putin officially recognized the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states despite international consensus that those regions remain part of the sovereign territory of Ukraine; Whereas, on February 22, 2022, President Putin ordered Russian troops to enter Donetsk and Luhansk on a peacekeeping mission while setting the stage for a larger invasion; Whereas, on February 24, 2022, President Putin ordered Russian forces to conduct a full-scale invasion, moving beyond the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, and initiating attacks throughout broader Ukrainian territory; Whereas Russian forces continue to devastate Ukraine’s hospitals, schools, homes, and other civilian infrastructure, and threaten nuclear power plants with heavy artillery, multi-launch rocket systems, and munitions systems, with no regard for civilian casualties; Whereas, an October 19, 2017, Government Accountability Office Report stated that a 2015 analysis of agency data found that the application of CPFA requirements increased United States Agency for International Development’s and United States Department of Agriculture’s costs for shipping food aid by about 23 percent, or $107 million, compared with the estimated shipping costs without application of CPFA requirements, from April 2011 through fiscal year 2014. ; Whereas, in a United States Agency for International Development fact sheet titled: Food Aid Reform: Behind the Numbers , the United States Agency for International Development stated that eliminating the mandatory cargo preference reimbursements will reduce the deficit by an estimated $50,000,000 per year; Whereas, in March 2020, the American Enterprise Institute published a report titled The Cost of Cargo Preferences for International Food Aid Programs , which— (1) found that removing cargo preference requirements would allow for between $36 and $64 million of already appropriated funds to go to feeding the hungry and would benefit U.S. soft power globally ; (2) stated that Owners of U.S.-flagged vessels do not just charge higher freight rates for emergency aid shipments. They also use older, slower, and less efficient ships that take more time to complete their journeys, adding significantly to delays in the delivery of urgently needed resources to populations at risk of malnutrition. ; and (3) concluded that cargo preference for food aid imposes substantial costs of USAID’s Title II program budget. . . . The impacts are substantial, reducing the funds available for additional food aid programs by $52.83 million a year. ; Whereas, in a March 25, 2022, information note titled The importance of Ukraine and the Russian Federation for global agricultural markets and the risks associated with the current conflict , the Food and Agriculture Organization (referred to in this preamble as the FAO ) of the United Nations stated that— (1) the invasion of Ukraine could raise food prices by 8 to 22 percent above their already elevated baseline levels ; (2) current indications are that, as a result of the conflict, between 20 and 30 percent of areas sown to winter crops in Ukraine will remain unharvested during the 2022/23 season, with the yields of these crops also likely to be adversely affected ; and (3) FAO’s simulations suggest that under such a scenario, the global number of undernourished people could increase by 8 to 13 million people in 2022/23, with the most pronounced increases taking place in Asia-Pacific, followed by sub-Saharan Africa, and the Near East and North Africa. ; Whereas, on April 8, 2022, the Associated Press published that The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said its Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices for a basket of commodities, averaged 159.3 points last month, up 12.6% from February , and that As it is, the February index was the highest level since its inception in 1990. ; Whereas, on April 27, 2022, the United States Agency for International Development said in a press release that The world is suffering from historic levels of global food insecurity, which is being exacerbated by the impact Russia's war on Ukraine is having on global food supplies. Available estimates suggest that an additional 40 million people could be pushed into poverty and food insecurity as a result of Russia’s aggression. ; Whereas, on April 27, 2022, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, said that In Ukraine, which provides 10 percent of the world's wheat, farmers are struggling to plant and harvest their crops for fear of shelling and Russian landmines, and their path to exporting these vital commodities is severely restricted by Russia’s invasion, which caused the closure of Ukraine's ports. ; and Whereas, on April 27, 2022, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, said that Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine, a fellow major agricultural export country, is driving food and energy costs higher for people around the world. : Now, therefore, be it

That— (1) a state of emergency exists due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine; (2) such state of emergency justifies a waiver of the minimum tonnage requirements that apply to cargoes procured, furnished, or financed by the United States Government, in accordance with section 55305(c) of title 46, United States Code; and (3) the heads of the appropriate agencies shall be notified of such waiver.