Sponsors (8)
The bill aims to improve seaport inspection capacity and transparency by allowing fee‑funded capital projects and reporting, but it shifts more cost and operational risk onto users, ports, and local communities, potentially raising fees and inspection delays for some while giving Congress better data to oversee needs.
Ports, freight handlers, and businesses will get upgraded seaport inspection facilities and documented capital‑needs planning, enabling faster cargo inspections and potentially lower shipping delays and costs for businesses and consumers.
Taxpayers and Congress gain clearer visibility into how merchandise processing fee (MPF) revenue is collected and spent through annual reports, improving transparency and allowing committees to make more informed oversight and funding decisions.
CBP can fund passenger inspection capital costs from user‑fee receipts, reducing reliance on annual appropriations and giving the agency a more predictable funding source for certain inspection investments.
Importers, shippers, and ultimately consumers may face higher merchandise processing fees as more seaport capital projects are funded with user fees rather than appropriations, raising costs for small businesses and households.
Reduced on‑site access to CBP facilities at ports (or reliance on voluntary port provision) could slow inspections and increase wait times for ships and cargo, disrupting supply chains and imposing costs on transportation workers and businesses.
Shifting more capital costs onto travelers, shippers, and ports (via fees or voluntary facility arrangements) reduces the role of congressional appropriations and oversight, concentrating costs on users rather than spreading them broadly.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Allows MPF receipts to fund seaport inspection capital costs, bars CBP from forcing seaports to provide certain facilities, and requires annual MPF/facility reporting.
Official title: To amend the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to provide authority to adjust the rate of merchandise processing fees to offset the capital costs incurred by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 10, 2025 by Laurel Lee · Last progress July 10, 2025
Allows Treasury to use user-fee receipts to pay capital costs for passenger inspection services and to consider capital costs when setting the merchandise processing fee (MPF) rate, effective 180 days after enactment. Prevents CBP from forcing seaports to provide or maintain administrative, training, or recreational facilities for inspections, preserves existing donation authority, and requires an annual CBP report on MPF collections, spending on seaport inspection facilities, and outstanding capital needs.