Sponsors (4)
The bill shifts more of the cost of shipping pollution onto operators through fees, reporting, and targeted grants—likely improving air quality and accelerating cleaner shipping but raising compliance costs, higher import prices, and financial risks for carriers, importers, and some communities.
Residents in port and coastal communities (especially near fencelines) would breathe cleaner air and face fewer pollution-related health harms as the bill incentivizes lower‑emission shipping and funds local monitoring/mitigation.
Operators, importers, and regulators would face stronger incentives to adopt cleaner fuels and technologies because fees and reporting tie costs to pollutant intensity, reducing greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions from shipping.
Fee revenue would fund EPA administration, community mitigation, and transition programs—shifting some costs to polluters and providing resources for emissions reduction and local projects.
Consumers, importers, and small businesses would likely face higher shipping and import costs as fees and compliance expenses are passed down the supply chain.
Carriers and importers face substantial cash‑flow risk and potential supply‑chain disruption from strict payment rules, prepayment requirements, and steep late‑payment penalties that can compound rapidly.
Vessel operators, ports, and agencies would face increased compliance, reporting, and administrative burdens—plus legal uncertainty from cross‑statute references and broad agency information demands—raising costs and risks of disputes.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Mandates voyage reporting and levies lifecycle CO2‑equivalent and per‑pollutant fees on large cargo voyages to U.S. ports and funds a Jones Act vessel decarbonization program.
Official title: Require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to assess certain fees on shipping and other vessels, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 10, 2025 by Sheldon Whitehouse · Last progress July 10, 2025
Imposes lifecycle greenhouse‑gas and air‑pollutant reporting and per‑voyage fees on large foreign and foreign‑origin cargo voyages that end at U.S. ports, with fee rates based on lifecycle CO2‑equivalent and per‑pound NOx, SO2, and PM emissions. Requires detailed quarterly voyage reporting beginning Jan 1, 2027, establishes fee collection and late‑payment penalties, allows limited crediting for comparable foreign fees, and sunsets the fee if a comparable global fee is enforced. Directs 25% of fees collected to a Maritime Administration grant, rebate, and low‑interest loan program (starting FY2029) to retrofit or replace Jones Act vessels to battery or very low‑carbon propulsion, prioritizing projects that maximize greenhouse‑gas reductions and public‑health benefits.