Text of Senate Amendment 6453

Quick facts

Record: Senate Floor
Section type: Amendments
Chamber: Senate
Date: June 24, 2026
Congress: 119th Congress
Why this source matters: This section came from the Senate floor portion of the record.

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People mentioned: Young, Todd
Committees: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Committee on Appropriations

Readable version of the official text

SA 6453. Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mr. Kelly) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place in title X, insert the following:

Subtitle __—Maritime

SEC. . ALTERNATE STANDARDS.

(a) In General.—Chapter 33 of title 46, United States

Code, is amended—

(1) by redesignating sections 3317 and 3318 as sections

3318 and 3319, respectively; and

(2) by inserting after section 3316 the following:

“Sec. 3317. Alternate standards

“(a) In General.—Not later than 1 year after the date of

enactment of this section, the Secretary of Transportation,

in consultation with the Maritime Administrator, shall

establish a program to allow a self-propelled vessel used to

provide oceangoing transportation that is not documented

under chapter 121 of this title to be eligible for a

certificate of inspection if the Secretary determines that—

“(1) the owner of the vessel has agreed to apply to have

the vessel documented under chapter 121 of this title upon

receiving the certificate;

“(2) at the time of the receipt of such certificate, the

vessel is eligible for documentation under such chapter;

“(3) the vessel is classed by and designed in accordance

with the rules of a classification society accepted by the

Secretary;

“(4) in the case that the vessel was documented under the

laws of a country other than the United States before

becoming eligible for documentation under chapter 121 of this

title, the vessel complies with applicable international

agreements and associated guidelines, as determined by the

country in which the vessel was last documented immediately

before becoming eligible for documentation under such

chapter, notwithstanding any other law including any

regulation;

“(5) the vessel has been assessed for cybersecurity and

surveillance risks; and

“(6) in the case that the vessel was documented under the

laws of a country other than the United States before

becoming eligible for documentation under chapter 121 of this

title, the country in which the vessel was last documented

before becoming eligible for documentation under such chapter

has not been identified by the Secretary as inadequately

enforcing international vessel regulations as to that vessel.

“(b) Continued Eligibility for Certificate.—In the case

of a vessel described in subsection (a)(4), this section does

not apply to the vessel after any date on which the vessel

fails to comply with the applicable international agreements

and associated guidelines described in such subsection.

“(c) Reliance on Classification Society.—

“(1) In general.—The Secretary may rely on a

certification from the American Bureau of Shipping or,

subject to paragraph (2), another classification society

accepted by the Secretary to establish that a vessel is in

compliance with the requirements of paragraphs (3), (4), and

(6) of subsection (a) and of subsection (b).

“(2) Foreign classification society.—The Secretary may

accept certification from a foreign classification society

under paragraph (1) only—

“(A) to the extent that the government of the foreign

country in which the society is headquartered provides access

on a reciprocal basis to the American Bureau of Shipping; and

“(B) if the foreign classification society has offices and

maintains records in the United States.

“(d) Rulemaking Procedure.—The Secretary may initiate a

rulemaking procedure to implement the standard under this

section.

“(e) Savings Provision.—Nothing in this section shall be

interpreted to affect requirements related to merchant seamen

credentials under part E of subtitle II of this title or the

requirements related to manning of vessels under part F of

such subtitle.”.

(b) Clerical Amendment.—The table of sections for chapter

33 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking

the items relating to sections 3317 and 3318 and inserting

the following:

“3317. Alternate standards.
“3318. Fees.
“3319. Penalties.”.

SEC. __. RULEMAKING COMMITTEE ON COMMERCIAL MARITIME

REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS.

(a) Definitions.—In this section:

(1) Covered regulation.—The term “covered regulation”—

(A) means a commercial regulation or standard issued by the

Secretary relating to the operation of vessels in foreign

commerce, including—

(i) vessel design and engineering standards;

(ii) merchant mariner training and credentialing; or

(iii) vessel operating and environmental standards; and

(B) does not include any commercial regulation or standard

issued by the Secretary that exclusively applies to vessels

in domestic commerce.

(2) Rulemaking committee.—The term “rulemaking

committee” means the committee established under subsection

(b).

(3) Secretary.—The term “Secretary” means the Secretary

of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating.

(b) Establishment of Rulemaking Committee.—There is

established, in the department in which the Coast Guard is

operating, a rulemaking committee on commercial maritime

regulations and standards to—

(1) review, and develop findings and recommendations

regarding, the covered regulations; and

(2) provide to the Secretary a report on opportunities to

review and update regulations governing vessel design and

engineering, vessel and facility operation and environmental

standards, and merchant mariner credentialing, in order to—

(A) revitalize the merchant marine and the commercial

maritime industry in the United States; and

(B) better align, and limit redundancies between, the

regulatory standards of the Coast Guard and the International

Maritime Organization and international treaty requirements,

while protecting United States mariners and the United States

maritime industry from foreign regulations that undermine the

maritime industrial competitiveness of the United States.

(1) Composition of rulemaking committee.—The Secretary

shall appoint the following as members of the rulemaking

committee:

(A) Each of the following Federal officers or employees, or

their designees:

(i) The Maritime Administrator.

(ii) The Commandant of the Coast Guard.

(iii) The Secretary of Commerce.

(iv) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

(v) The Administrator of the Environmental Protection

Agency.

(vi) The Chair of the Federal Maritime Commission.

(vii) The chief United States delegate to the International

Maritime Organization.

(viii) The Secretary of State.

(B) Representatives from recognized classification

societies, including the American Bureau of Shipping.

(i) owners and operators of vessels in domestic and foreign

commerce of the United States;

(ii) shipbuilders; and

(iii) other representatives of industry the Secretary

determines appropriate.

(D) Individuals with a merchant mariner credential, as

defined in section 2101 of title 46, United States Code.

(E) Representatives of maritime labor organizations.

(F) Experts in maritime safety and regulatory matters.

(G) Other stakeholders the Secretary determines

appropriate.

(2) Period of appointment; vacancies.—

(A) In general.—A member of the rulemaking committee shall

be appointed for the life of the rulemaking committee.

(B) Vacancies.—A vacancy in the rulemaking committee—

(i) shall not affect the powers of the rulemaking

committee; and

(ii) shall be filled in the same manner as the original

appointment.

(3) Chairperson and vice chairperson.—The Secretary shall

select a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among the

members of the rulemaking committee.

(d) Meetings.—

(1) Initial meeting.—Not later than 180 days after the

date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall convene

the rulemaking committee for the first meeting of the

rulemaking committee.

(2) Quorum.—A majority of the members of the rulemaking

committee shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser number of

members may hold hearings.

(e) Duties of Committee.—

(1) Considerations.—The rulemaking committee shall

consider each of the following:

(A) How the covered regulations interact with and compare

to the treaty requirements and regulations established by the

International Maritime Organization, including comparisons

and interactions on the basis of—

(i) safety;

(ii) cost;

(iii) enforceability and compliance; and

(iv) international competitiveness.

(B) The benefits and challenges vessel owners and operators

and United States mariners encounter when complying with both

regulations of the International Maritime Organization and

the covered regulations.

size and strength of the merchant marine and the domestic and

international fleet of the United States.

(D) Recommended changes to covered regulations, and

regulatory frameworks, to better promote alignment with

international standards and the standards of countries that

are allies and partners, with a focus on—

(i) increasing opportunities for qualified mariners that

enter the merchant marine and reducing the barriers that lead

qualified mariners to leave the merchant marine;

(ii) increasing the number of vessels of the United States

that are operating in domestic and foreign commerce;

(iii) enhancing United States leadership within the

International Maritime Organization and other international

treaty organizations with a focus on the maritime industry;

(iv) streamlining regulatory processes and processing

timelines to minimize duplicative reviews and eliminate

preventable delays; and

(v) maintaining and enhancing the safety and security of

the merchant marine.

(E) Recommended changes to covered regulations and

regulatory frameworks that govern mariner education training

requirements, which may include—

(i) expanding the pool of qualified instructors for mariner

training programs;

(ii) streamlining requirements related to training facility

size and design to improve operational efficiencies at

mariner training facilities, including requirements related

to classroom size and design;

(iii) standardizing and streamlining training course and

curriculum approval and evaluation to provide more certainty

to mariner training programs; and

(iv) enhancing opportunities for mariner training programs

to flexibly integrate sea-time into course instruction,

consistent with treaty requirements and regulations

established by the International Maritime Organization.

(F) Any other matters the Secretary determines appropriate.

(2) Report.—Not later than 1 year after the date of

enactment of this Act, the rulemaking committee shall submit

to the Secretary a report that includes the findings and

recommended changes to covered regulations of the rulemaking

committee, as required under paragraph (1).

(f) Powers of Rulemaking Committee.—

(1) Hearings.—The rulemaking committee may hold such

hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such

testimony, and receive such evidence as the rulemaking

committee considers advisable to carry out this section.

(2) Information from federal agencies.—

(A) In general.—The rulemaking committee may secure

directly from a Federal department or agency such information

as the rulemaking committee considers necessary to carry out

this section, as permitted by law.

(B) Furnishing information.—On request of the Chairperson

of the rulemaking committee, the head of the department or

agency shall furnish the information to the rulemaking

committee.

(g) Rulemaking Committee Personnel Matters.—

(1) No compensation.—A member of the rulemaking committee

shall not be compensated for service on the rulemaking

committee.

(2) Travel expenses.—A member of the rulemaking committee

shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu

of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies

under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States

Code, while away from their homes or regular places of

business in the performance of services for the rulemaking

committee.

(h) Administration.—Except as specified otherwise in this

section, the rulemaking committee shall be treated as a

committee established under chapter 151 of title 46, United

States Code, for purposes of section 15109 of such title and

shall not be considered a temporary organization under

section 3161 of title 5, United States Code.

(i) Termination.—The rulemaking committee shall terminate

on the earlier of—

(1) the date that is 90 days after the date on which the

rulemaking committee submits the report under subsection

(e)(2); or

(2) the date that is 7 years after the date on which the

rulemaking committee is established.

(j) Duties of the Secretary.—The Secretary shall—

(1) not later than 30 days after receiving the rulemaking

committee's report under subsection (e)(2), submit to the

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and

Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, and make

publicly available, a copy of such report and the Secretary's

views on the recommendations of the committee; and

(2) not later than 90 days after submitting the report

under paragraph (1)—

(A) initiate a rulemaking activity and make such policy and

guidance updates determined necessary by the Secretary to

address the consensus recommendations reached by the

rulemaking committee under subsection (e);

(B) submit a report to the appropriate committees of

Congress identifying the recommendations of the rulemaking

committee that require legislative changes; and

recommendations of the rulemaking committee that require

changes to treaty requirements and regulations established by

the International Maritime Organization, including

recommendations that should inform the policy of the United

States as a member of the International Maritime

Organization.

SEC. __. STREAMLINED ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.

The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act is

amended—

(1) in section 41001(6) (42 U.S.C. 4370m(6))—

(A) in subparagraph (A)—

(i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting “the

maritime industry” after “waterways,”;

(ii) by redesignating clauses (iii) and (iv) as clauses

(iv) and (v), respectively; and

(iii) by inserting after clause (ii) the following:

“(iii) is covered by a programmatic plan or environmental

review developed for a project related to the maritime

industry;”; and

(B) by adding at the end the following:

“(D) Maritime industry.—For the purposes of subparagraph

(A), the term `construction of infrastructure' for the

maritime industry includes construction of—

“(i) shipyards and ship repair facilities;

“(ii) port terminals and other port facilities;

“(iii) manufacturing facilities for equipment and

technology instrumental to the facilitation of maritime trade

and commerce, as defined by the Council; and

“(iv) other industrial base facilities that support the

Navy or the merchant marine of the United States.”; and

(2) in section 11503(b) (42 U.S.C. 4370m note)—

(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by inserting “,

and except with respect to the Maritime Administration,”

after “Except as expressly provided in section 41003(f) and

subsection (o) of section 139 of title 23, United States

Code”; and

(B) in paragraph (1), by striking “, 46,”.

SEC. __. MERCHANT MARINER CREDENTIALING MODERNIZATION.

(a) Merchant Mariner Credentialing Modernization.—The

Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is

operating, in consultation with the Secretary of

Transportation, shall carry out necessary system and process

changes to carry out the activities described in paragraphs

(1) through (5).

(1) Licensing, certification, and documentation database.—

Replacement of the merchant mariner licensing, certification,

and documentation database such that the database allows

for—

(A) the electronic submission of merchant mariner

credential applications (including sea service, professional

qualifications, course completion data, safety and

suitability, and medical records) and course approval

requests;

(B) the merchant mariner to elect direct submission of sea

service information from employers and course completion data

from training providers and other stakeholders to provide

data securely and directly so that documentation does not

need to be submitted later by the merchant mariner; and

for the issuance of credentials and course approvals,

including the capability for the Secretary to complete remote

evaluation of the information submitted.

(2) System for data exchange.—Implementation of a system

that provides for the exchange of data with government

agencies and industry stakeholders, which provides the

Maritime Administration and other agencies, as appropriate,

anonymized and aggregated data showing the following:

(A) The total amount of sea service for individuals with a

valid merchant mariner credential.

(B) The number of credentialed mariners by individual

rating and the capability to filter data by endorsements.

ethnicity, address or location, uniform service, and service

status.

(D) National Maritime Center processing times.

(E) The number of Coast Guard approved training providers,

and, for each such training provider, the number of courses

taken by individuals who have, or who are applying for, a

merchant mariner credential from that training provider.

(3) Public-facing platform.—Implementation of a system to

accept merchant mariner applicant information, including

credential applications, course completion data, and course

approval requests. To the maximum extent practicable, the

Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is

operating may integrate with, approve a contact with, or

partner with commercial entities that provide a system of

secure and compliant platforms capable of delivering these

services. Any such system shall meet all applicable

requirements for cybersecurity, privacy, and data integrity

in accordance with Federal law.

(4) Examination processes.—Upgrading the examination

processes for merchant mariner examinations, by—

(A) implementing an examination regime that provides for

electronic and third party administration of examinations;

(B) reassessing the content of tests through the

development of job task analysis for all credentials; and

data.

(5) Requirement for sea service documentation.—A maritime

employer shall provide documentation of all sea service

performed by a mariner upon termination of employment, or

upon the mariner's request if not less than 30 days of

service have elapsed since the last such documentation was

issued, not later than 5 days after the date of such

termination or request. Such documentation shall meet all

requirements of section 10.232 of title 46, Code of Federal

Regulations (or any similar successor regulation) in a

standardized format provided by the Secretary.

(b) Report.—The Secretary of the department in which the

Coast Guard is operating shall submit—

(1) an annual report to the Committee on Commerce, Science,

and Transportation, the Committee on Appropriations, and the

Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, and the Committee

on Transportation and Infrastructure, the Committee on

Appropriations, and the Committee on Armed Services of the

House of Representatives, on the progress of the system and

process changes required under subsection (a); and

(2) a final report to those Committees 1 year after full

operating capability of the complete system, comprised of all

4 systems required under subsection (a).

to be appropriated to carry out this section, $20,000,000 for

fiscal year 2027, to remain available until expended.

SEC. __. MERCHANT MARINER LICENSES.

(a) Renewal of Merchant Mariners Licenses and Documents.—

Section 7507(d) of title 46, United States Code, is amended

to read as follows:

“(d) Renewal.—With respect to any renewal of a valid

merchant mariner credential issued under this part, which is

made not earlier than 8 months before the date of expiration

of the current credential, and that is not an extension under

subsection (a) or (b), the validity period of such credential

shall begin the day after the expiration of the current

credential.”.

(b) Reactivation of Expired License.—Chapter 75 of

subtitle II of part E, of title 46, United States Code, is

amended by adding at the end the following:

“Sec. 7513. Authority for reactivation of United States

Merchant Mariner credentials

“(a) Licenses and Certificates of Registry.—

Notwithstanding sections 7106 and 7107, the Secretary of the

department in which the Coast Guard is operating may renew

for not more than 2 years an expired license or certificate

of registry issued for an individual under chapter 71 if the

Secretary determines that the renewal is in response to a

national emergency declared by Congress or declared under

section 201 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1621),

as deemed necessary by the Secretary.

“(b) Merchant Mariner Documents.—Notwithstanding section

7302(g), the Secretary may renew for not more than 2 years an

expiring merchant mariner's document issued for an individual

under chapter 73 if the Secretary determines that the renewal

is in response to a national emergency proclaimed by the

President or declared by Congress, as deemed necessary by the

Secretary.

“(c) Manner of Renewal.—Any renewal granted under this

section may be granted to individual seamen or a specifically

identified group of seamen.”.

75 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at

the end the following:

“7513. Authority for reactivation of United States Merchant Mariner

credentials.”.

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