Sponsor
Mike Lee
Senator · R-UT
Senator · R-UT
The bill clarifies and expands coastwise endorsement eligibility and mandates new Coast Guard safety rules—potentially improving maritime commerce and safety—while imposing new compliance costs, tightening a fast rulemaking deadline that could produce rushed rules, and removing a statutory enforcement tool.
Small-business vessel owners/operators can obtain coastwise endorsements for vessels that meet U.S. law, clarifying eligibility and potentially expanding commercial shipping opportunities.
Transportation workers, crew, and passengers benefit from a required Coast Guard rulemaking to issue safety and security regulations, which should improve maritime safety and reduce risks.
Vessel owners/operators and courts face clearer, simpler maritime law because duplicative or outdated statutory references are removed, reducing legal uncertainty.
Small-business vessel owners/operators and transportation workers may incur new compliance costs to meet Coast Guard-prescribed safety and security requirements.
The 90-day deadline for the Coast Guard to issue implementing regulations risks rushed or unclear rules, creating administrative burden and uncertainty for the Coast Guard and vessel owners/operators.
State and local governments and courts may lose an enforcement tool because repealing the loss-of-privileges provision reduces statutory penalties for coastwise trade violations, potentially making enforcement harder.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Revises coastwise endorsement eligibility and repeals a prior statutory provision, and requires the Coast Guard to issue safety and security regulations within 90 days.
Official title: Repeal the Jones Act restrictions on coastwide trade, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 12, 2025 by Mike Lee · Last progress June 12, 2025
Makes changes to the federal coastwise trade rules by repealing a statutory provision and rewriting coastwise endorsement eligibility so a coastwise endorsement may be issued for any vessel that qualifies under U.S. law to engage in coastwise trade. The Coast Guard must adopt implementing safety and security regulations within 90 days of enactment to ensure vessels permitted in coastwise trade meet appropriate standards. Also updates multiple statutes to remove references to the repealed provision and aligns other vessel-specific rules (tank vessels, liquefied gas tankers, small passenger vessels, oil spill response vessels, measurement rules, and court-sale rules) with the revised coastwise-endorsement language.