Sponsors (5)
The bill speeds delivery of emergency supplies to distant U.S. states and territories by allowing short-term waivers of certain vessel requirements, improving immediate disaster response but increasing short-term safety risks and creating potential for weakened or uneven regulatory enforcement over time.
Residents of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the CNMI, Alaska, and Hawaii (and other disaster-affected noncontiguous areas) can receive emergency aid and supplies more quickly because the agency head may temporarily waive certain vessel-inspection/navigation requirements for up to 10 days (extendable), reducing delivery delays after disasters.
Transporters, relief agencies, and local governments can deliver emergency cargo to affected noncontiguous areas faster because temporary waivers reduce certain regulatory barriers to vessel movement during declared emergencies.
Four congressional committees are notified within 48 hours when a waiver is used, giving lawmakers timely information and increasing transparency and oversight of emergency waiver decisions.
Crew members, port staff, and local communities face higher short-term safety risks because waiving vessel-inspection or navigation requirements may allow noncompliant or inadequately inspected vessels to operate during the waiver period.
Frequent or prolonged use of waivers (potentially up to 45 days aggregate with extensions) could erode long-term regulatory standards and enforcement, creating precedent for relaxed oversight that may increase future risks or costs for taxpayers and localities.
Giving Governors a role in extending waivers by consultation may produce uneven application across states and territories, leading to inconsistent safety or operational standards during disasters.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows the maritime agency to temporarily waive navigation and vessel‑inspection laws for disaster relief shipments to/from specified noncontiguous U.S. areas after a Stafford Act declaration.
Official title: To amend title 46, United States Code, to provide for a waiver of navigation or vessel-inspection laws in noncontiguous areas upon a declaration of a major disaster or emergency, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 29, 2025 by James Moylan · Last progress July 29, 2025
Authorizes the federal maritime agency to temporarily waive certain navigation and vessel‑inspection law requirements for vessels carrying disaster relief cargo to or from Presidentially declared major disasters or emergencies in noncontiguous U.S. areas (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Hawaii, and Alaska). Waivers run up to 10 days, may be extended once for up to 10 more days after consulting the affected governor, and total aggregate waiver time per disaster cannot exceed 45 days; Congress must be notified within 48 hours of any waiver or extension.